Municipalities of Portugal
| Municipality | |
|---|---|
|
Also known as: Concelho |
|
 |
|
| Category | 2nd-level administrative division |
| Location | Portugal |
| Found in |
Administrative region Autonomous region |
| Created | Middle Ages |
| Number | 308 |
| Populations | 451–529,485 |
| Areas | 7.9–1,720.6 km² |
| Government |
Municipal Chamber Municipal Assembly |
| Subdivisions | Parish |
The municipality (Portuguese: município or concelho) is the second-level administrative subdivision of Portugal, as defined by the 1976 Constitution.
As a general rule, each municipality is further subdivided into parishes (freguesias); the municipalities in the north of the country usually have a higher number of parishes. Six municipalities are composed of only one parish, and Barcelos is the municipality with most parishes, with 61. Corvo is, by law, the only municipality with no parishes.
Since the creation of a democratic local administration, in 1976, the Portuguese municipalities have been ruled by a system composed by an executive body (the municipal chamber) and a deliberative body (the municipal assembly). The municipal chamber is the executive body and is composed of the president of the municipality and a number of councillors proportional to the municipality's population. The municipal assembly is composed of the presidents of all the parishes that compose the municipality, as well as by a number of directly elected deputies, at least equal to the number of parish presidents plus one. Both bodies are elected for four years.
Portugal has an entirely separate system of cities and towns. Cities and towns are located in municipalities but often do not have the same boundaries, even they are continuously built up. There are around twice as many cities and towns as there are municipalities.
The municipality has been the most stable subdivision of Portugal since the foundation of the country in the 12th century. They have their origin in the foral, a legal document, issued by the King of Portugal, which assigned privileges to a town or a region. The present subdivisions have their origins in the 19th century after the administrative reforms conducted by the middle of 19th century by the governments of the constitutional monarchy.
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