The Porto Metropolitan Area (; abbreviated as AMP) is a

metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region consisting of a densely populated urban area, urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories which share Industry (economics), industries, commercial areas, Transport infrastructure, transport network ...

in northern

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

centered on the City of Porto, Portugal's second largest city.Fernanda Paula Oliveira (2009), The metropolitan area, covering 17

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

, is the second largest

urban area An urban area is a human settlement with a high population density and an infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas originate through urbanization, and researchers categorize them as cities, towns, conurbations or suburbs. In urbani ...

in the country and one of the largest in the European Union, with a population in 2021 of 1,737,395 in an area of 2,040.31 km².Instituto Nacional de Estatística
/ref> The Porto Metropolitan Area is a major economic engine in Portugal, with a very high HDI (

Human Development Index The Human Development Index (HDI) is a statistical composite index of life expectancy, Education Index, education (mean years of schooling completed and expected years of schooling upon entering the education system), and per capita income i ...

) and a GDP above the European average. Porto has been Portugal's largest manufacturing region since the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...

and is home to many of the country's largest corporations. It is chaired by Eduardo Vítor Rodrigues ( PS).

History

The original ''Metropolitan Area of Porto'' was constituted by nine municipalities:

Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...

(the capital), Espinho, Gondomar, Maia,

Matosinhos Matosinhos () is a City#Portugal, city and a Concelho, municipality in the district of Porto District, Porto in Portugal. The municipality covers an area of approximately and had 172,557 inhabitants in 2021. It is bordered by the municipalities o ...

Póvoa de Varzim Póvoa de Varzim () is a Portugal, Portuguese city in Norte Region, Portugal, Northern Portugal and sub-region of Greater Porto, from its city centre. It sits in a sandy coastal plain, a cuspate foreland, halfway between the Minho River, Minho ...

, Vila Nova de Gaia, Valongo, and Vila do Conde. The process of enlargement: * Arouca (joined 08/01/2005) *

Oliveira de Azeméis Oliveira de Azeméis () is a city and municipality in the Porto Metropolitan Area of Portugal. Administratively, the municipality belongs to the District of Aveiro. The population of the municipality in 2011 was 68,611, in an area of 161.10 ...

(joined 01/09/2008) * Paredes (joined 12/09/2013) *

São João da Madeira São João da Madeira (), officially the City of S. João da Madeira (), is a city and a List of municipalities of Portugal, municipality in northwestern region of the Portugal, Portuguese Norte Region, Portugal, Norte region. It's part of the la ...

(joined 08/01/2005) * Santa Maria da Feira (joined 08/01/2005) * Santo Tirso (joined 08/01/2005) * Trofa (joined (08/01/2005) * Vale de Cambra (joined (01/09/2008)

Government

The metropolitan area is governed by the ''Junta Metropolitana do Porto'' (JMP), headquartered in Avenida dos Aliados, in downtown Porto. The current President of the Metro area is Eduardo Vítor Rodrigues, ( PS), also the mayor of Vila Nova de Gaia municipality, in office since 2017, when he succeeded Hermínio Loureiro, the then mayor of

. The ''Conselho Metropolitano do Porto'' (Porto Metropolitan Council) is composed by the 17 mayors of the municipalities that integrate the Metropolitan Area: 11 mayors from the Socialist Party (PS), 4 from the Social Democratic Party (PSD), 1 from the CDS – People's Party (CDS–PP) and 1 Independent. Although the government has halted the intention of creating new metropolitan areas and urban communities, it is keen to ensure greater autonomy to Porto and Lisbon metropolitan areas.

Urban areas and agglomeration

The Porto metropolitan area is the second largest

of Portugal, with about 1.7 million people. It groups the larger ''Porto Urban Area'', the second largest in the country, assembled by the municipalities of Porto, Matosinhos, Vila Nova de Gaia, Gondomar, Valongo and Maia. It also includes three smaller urban areas: Póvoa de Varzim-Vila do Conde, Trofa-Santo Tirso and Santa Maria da Feira-São João da Madeira-Oliveira de Azeméis.NORTE 2030 - Estratégia de Desenvolvimento da RegiãoNorte
/ref> The urban-metropolitan agglomeration known as ''Porto Metropolitan Arch'' is a regional urban system of polycentric nature that encompasses the Porto Metropolitan Area and the sub-regions of Cávado, Ave and Tâmega e Sousa, including cities such as

Braga Braga (; ) is a cities of Portugal, city and a Municipalities of Portugal, municipality, capital of the northwestern Portugal, Portuguese Braga (district), district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality ...

and Guimarães.Atlas da Grande Área Metropolitana do Porto
/ref>

Population

Transportation

The Metropolitan area is keen to develop its transportation network. Porto Metro is a Rapid transit system that links the municipalities of

, Vila Nova de Gaia,

, Gondomar, Maia, Vila do Conde and

. The Porto/ Francisco de Sá Carneiro Airport / Pedras Rubras (OPO), between the municipalities of Maia,

, and Vila do Conde, is also one of its greater investments. It was transformed from an old and obsolete airport to a modern transportation centre, linked to Porto Metro. The JMP is also trying to pressure the government to add a TGV line to link

Vigo Vigo (, ; ) is a city and Municipalities in Spain, municipality in the province of province of Pontevedra, Pontevedra, within the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, Spain. Located in the northwest ...

in Galicia to Porto Airport in order to make Porto the air traffic centre of the North-Western

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, comprisin ...

and to tighten its historical ties with that Spanish province. Greater Porto is served by a great number of Motorways linking the main central areas of the metropolitan region and the region with other main Portuguese cities ( cidades portuguesas). Main Harbour: Leixões (Matosinhos). Motorways: *A1 -

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

(North Motorway) *A3 - Porto - Valença *A4 - Porto - Quintanilha/ Espanha *A7 -

- Vila Pouca de Aguiar *A20 - Carvalhos - Nó de Francos (CRIP - Porto Inner-Ring Motorway) *A28 - Porto - Caminha ( Northern Littoral Motorway) *A29 - Angeja - Porto *A32 -

- Porto *A41 - Perafita - Espinho (CREP - Porto Outer-Ring Motorway) *A42 - A41 - Felgueiras *A43 - Porto (A-20) -

Aguiar de Sousa Aguiar de Sousa is a Portuguese parish of the municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and region ...

*A44 - Gulpilhares (A29) - A20 File:Oporto - Jardim Do Morro - 20110425 133656.jpg, Porto Metro network reaches seven municipalities of the metropolitan area. File:Oporto (Portugal) (26222898946).jpg, A20 motorway, Porto's Inner-Ring Motorway. File:Porto International Airport (1).jpg, Francisco de Sá Carneiro Airport handles 16 million passengers per year. File:Con Term N 20230420 1.jpg, Leixões harbour in Matosinhos.

References

External links

Official website
{{Coord missing, Portugal Porto Metropolitan areas of Portugal