fbpx
Wikipedia

Districts of Portugal

February 07, 2023

The Districts of Portugal (Portuguese: Distritos de Portugal), are the most important first-level administrative subdivisions of continental Portugal. Currently, mainland Portugal is divided into 18 districts.

District
Category1st-level administrative division
LocationPortugal
Created
  • 1835
Number18
Populations104,923 (Portalegre District)–2,275,385 (Lisbon District)
Areas2,255–10,225 km²
Government
  • Appointed administration
Subdivisions

As an administrative division, each district serves mainly as the area of jurisdiction of a civil governor, who acts as the local delegate of the Central Government of Portugal.

Overview

The Districts of Portugal were established by a royal decree of 18 July 1835. On the Portuguese mainland, they correspond to the current districts, with the exception of Setúbal District, which is the result of a split of Lisbon District in 1926. This decree did not affect the then extensive colonial empire.

The 1976 Portuguese Constitution specifies that Portugal has only, as first-level divisions, the autonomous regions (Azores and Madeira) and the administrative regions (to be created in mainland Portugal). According to the Constitution, the districts shall be disestablished in territories in which an autonomous or administrative region has been created.

The districts were abolished in Azores and Madeira in 1976, when the autonomous regions were created. In 1998, a proposal was submitted to referendum to create eight administrative regions in mainland Portugal, and so to extinguish the districts. The proposal was rejected at the ballot box and so the districts continued to exist in mainland Portugal. It is worth noting that despite their abolition in the autonomous regions, the areas of the three former districts of Azores are still used as areas of jurisdiction of some government and non-government entities, like the district finance directorates (Tax Authority regional offices) and the district football championships.

However, the importance of the districts has been decreasing. In recent years, some administrative, financial and political competencies have been delivered to the CCDRs (Comissão de Coordenação e Desenvolvimento Regional, English: Commission for Regional Coordination and Development) and to the municipalities, to the detriment of the districts. In 2003, the Portuguese municipalities were allowed to organize themselves into intermunicipal communities (comunidades intermunicipais) and metropolitan areas (áreas metropolitanas), which allowed for a lessening in the importance of the districts.

Also, the abolition of the districts is a subject that returned to discussion in Portuguese society. In 2009, during the campaign for the legislative election of 2009, the leader of the Socialist Party, José Sócrates, promised a new referendum to the administrative regions[1] and therefore, the abolition of districts, if he won the election. Other personalities support the creation of administrative regions and therefore the abolition of districts.

Despite being in the process of being phased out by the decentralisation policies of the government, the districts still remain the most relevant subdivision in the country by serving as a basis for a series of administrative divisions such as electoral constituencies, police, and civil protection regional commands; sports district associations; and championships.

On September 8, 2011, a decree from the Portuguese Government de facto extinguished all the offices of civil governor by transferring most of their functions to other bodies. As the existence of the civil governors is still included in the Portuguese Constitution, its de jure extinction may occur only after a constitutional amendment.

Present purpose

In mainland Portugal, for administrative purposes, the districts are still used as the areas of jurisdiction of the local branches and field offices of several Government ministries and agencies. Some of the bodies that have each district as their jurisdiction area are:

  • District and metropolitan commands of the Public Security Police;
  • Territorial commands of the Portuguese National Republican Guard;
  • District rescue operations commands of the National Civil Protection Authority;
  • Finance directorates of the Ministry of Finance / Tax and Customs Authority (in this case, including the former districts of Azores, that are still used as the jurisdiction areas for the three finance directorates existing in this autonomous region);
  • District Social Security centers of the Portuguese Social Security;
  • District motor vehicle delegations of the Mobility and Land Transports Institute;
  • District archives of the Directorate-General of Archives;
  • Regional delegations of the Estradas de Portugal (Road Agency).

Furthermore:

  • The area of each of the 18 electoral constituencies (círculo eleitoral, electoral circle) of mainland Portugal coincides with the area of each district;
  • In the new judicial division of Portugal, the area of each of the comarcas (first instance judicial districts) of mainland Portugal coincides with the area of an administrative district (with the exception of the comarcas of Greater Lisbon and Greater Oporto).

For non-Government purposes, the districts are used as the area of jurisdiction of many entities, including:

  • The regional organizations of the major political parties,
  • The regional organizations of most of the Portuguese sports federations (football, athletics, roller skating, etc.) and its district championships (including the three former districts of Açores);
  • Regional federations of trade unions;
  • District delegations of the Institutions of Engineers.

List

CoA District Municipalities Parishes Pop.
(2021)[2]		 Area
(km2) 		Density
(/km2)
  Azores 19 156 236,413 2,322 106
  Aveiro 19 147 700,787 2,798 250
  Beja 14 75 144,401 10,229 14
  Braga 14 347 846,293 2,706 313
  Bragança 12 226 122,804 6,608 19
  Castelo Branco 11 120 177,962 6,675 27
  Coimbra 17 155 408,551 3,947 104
  Évora 14 69 152,444 7,393 21
  Faro 16 67 467,343 4,960 94
  Guarda 14 242 142,974 5,518 26
  Leiria 16 110 458,605 3,505 131
  Lisbon 16 134 2,275,385 2,761 824
  Madeira 11 54 250,744 801 334
  Portalegre 15 69 104,923 6,065 17
  Porto 18 243 1,785,405 2,408 742
  Santarém 21 141 424,973 6,747 63
  Setúbal 13 55 874,806 5,064 173
  Viana do Castelo 10 208 231,266 2,255 103
  Vila Real 14 197 185,695 4,328 43
  Viseu 24 277 351,292 5,007 70
  Total Portugal 308 3,092 10,343,066 92,097 112

Former districts of Portugal

Azores

Madeira

  • Funchal District [pt] – 1835 to 1976

Mainland Portugal

  • Lamego District – in 1835 and 1919

Districts of the Portuguese Overseas

Following the model of European Portugal, the major Portuguese overseas territories (Angola, Mozambique and Portuguese India) were also divided in districts. In these territories, each district was headed by a district governor, subordinated to the governor-general. In Angola and Mozambique, the former district areas mostly coincide with the modern province areas. In the former Portuguese India, the Damão and Diu districts are still divisions of the present union territory of Daman and Diu, while the present state of Goa (former Goa District) is now divided into two districts.

Angola

Mozambique

Portuguese India

See also

References

Notes
  1. ^ . Archived from the original on 2011-07-15. Retrieved 2010-06-24.
  2. ^ "Definitive Results of the 2021 Census". ine.pt. INE. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
Sources
  • Gwillim Law (1999). "Portugal". Administrative Subdivisions of Countries: A Comprehensive World Reference, 1900 through 1998. US: McFarland & Company. pp. 296+. ISBN 0786407298.
  • Portugal (2005). "Constituição da República Portuguesa: VII Revisão Constitucional" (in Portuguese). Lisbon, Portugal: Assembleia da República.

February 07, 2023
districts, portugal, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, june, . This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Districts of Portugal news newspapers books scholar JSTOR June 2021 Learn how and when to remove this template message This article includes a list of general references but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations June 2021 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Districts of Portugal Portuguese Distritos de Portugal are the most important first level administrative subdivisions of continental Portugal Currently mainland Portugal is divided into 18 districts DistrictCategory1st level administrative divisionLocationPortugalCreated1835Number18Populations104 923 Portalegre District 2 275 385 Lisbon District Areas2 255 10 225 km GovernmentAppointed administrationSubdivisionsMunicipalityParishAs an administrative division each district serves mainly as the area of jurisdiction of a civil governor who acts as the local delegate of the Central Government of Portugal Contents 1 Overview 2 Present purpose 3 List 4 Former districts of Portugal 4 1 Azores 4 2 Madeira 4 3 Mainland Portugal 5 Districts of the Portuguese Overseas 5 1 Angola 5 2 Mozambique 5 3 Portuguese India 6 See also 7 ReferencesOverview EditThe Districts of Portugal were established by a royal decree of 18 July 1835 On the Portuguese mainland they correspond to the current districts with the exception of Setubal District which is the result of a split of Lisbon District in 1926 This decree did not affect the then extensive colonial empire The 1976 Portuguese Constitution specifies that Portugal has only as first level divisions the autonomous regions Azores and Madeira and the administrative regions to be created in mainland Portugal According to the Constitution the districts shall be disestablished in territories in which an autonomous or administrative region has been created The districts were abolished in Azores and Madeira in 1976 when the autonomous regions were created In 1998 a proposal was submitted to referendum to create eight administrative regions in mainland Portugal and so to extinguish the districts The proposal was rejected at the ballot box and so the districts continued to exist in mainland Portugal It is worth noting that despite their abolition in the autonomous regions the areas of the three former districts of Azores are still used as areas of jurisdiction of some government and non government entities like the district finance directorates Tax Authority regional offices and the district football championships However the importance of the districts has been decreasing In recent years some administrative financial and political competencies have been delivered to the CCDRs Comissao de Coordenacao e Desenvolvimento Regional English Commission for Regional Coordination and Development and to the municipalities to the detriment of the districts In 2003 the Portuguese municipalities were allowed to organize themselves into intermunicipal communities comunidades intermunicipais and metropolitan areas areas metropolitanas which allowed for a lessening in the importance of the districts Also the abolition of the districts is a subject that returned to discussion in Portuguese society In 2009 during the campaign for the legislative election of 2009 the leader of the Socialist Party Jose Socrates promised a new referendum to the administrative regions 1 and therefore the abolition of districts if he won the election Other personalities support the creation of administrative regions and therefore the abolition of districts Despite being in the process of being phased out by the decentralisation policies of the government the districts still remain the most relevant subdivision in the country by serving as a basis for a series of administrative divisions such as electoral constituencies police and civil protection regional commands sports district associations and championships On September 8 2011 a decree from the Portuguese Government de facto extinguished all the offices of civil governor by transferring most of their functions to other bodies As the existence of the civil governors is still included in the Portuguese Constitution its de jure extinction may occur only after a constitutional amendment Present purpose EditIn mainland Portugal for administrative purposes the districts are still used as the areas of jurisdiction of the local branches and field offices of several Government ministries and agencies Some of the bodies that have each district as their jurisdiction area are District and metropolitan commands of the Public Security Police Territorial commands of the Portuguese National Republican Guard District rescue operations commands of the National Civil Protection Authority Finance directorates of the Ministry of Finance Tax and Customs Authority in this case including the former districts of Azores that are still used as the jurisdiction areas for the three finance directorates existing in this autonomous region District Social Security centers of the Portuguese Social Security District motor vehicle delegations of the Mobility and Land Transports Institute District archives of the Directorate General of Archives Regional delegations of the Estradas de Portugal Road Agency Furthermore The area of each of the 18 electoral constituencies circulo eleitoral electoral circle of mainland Portugal coincides with the area of each district In the new judicial division of Portugal the area of each of the comarcas first instance judicial districts of mainland Portugal coincides with the area of an administrative district with the exception of the comarcas of Greater Lisbon and Greater Oporto For non Government purposes the districts are used as the area of jurisdiction of many entities including The regional organizations of the major political parties The regional organizations of most of the Portuguese sports federations football athletics roller skating etc and its district championships including the three former districts of Acores Regional federations of trade unions District delegations of the Institutions of Engineers List EditCoA District Municipalities Parishes Pop 2021 2 Area km2 Density km2 Azores 19 156 236 413 2 322 106 Aveiro 19 147 700 787 2 798 250 Beja 14 75 144 401 10 229 14 Braga 14 347 846 293 2 706 313 Braganca 12 226 122 804 6 608 19 Castelo Branco 11 120 177 962 6 675 27 Coimbra 17 155 408 551 3 947 104 Evora 14 69 152 444 7 393 21 Faro 16 67 467 343 4 960 94 Guarda 14 242 142 974 5 518 26 Leiria 16 110 458 605 3 505 131 Lisbon 16 134 2 275 385 2 761 824 Madeira 11 54 250 744 801 334 Portalegre 15 69 104 923 6 065 17 Porto 18 243 1 785 405 2 408 742 Santarem 21 141 424 973 6 747 63 Setubal 13 55 874 806 5 064 173 Viana do Castelo 10 208 231 266 2 255 103 Vila Real 14 197 185 695 4 328 43 Viseu 24 277 351 292 5 007 70 Total Portugal 308 3 092 10 343 066 92 097 112Former districts of Portugal EditAzores Edit Angra do Heroismo District 1835 to 1976 Horta District 1835 to 1976 Ponta Delgada District 1835 to 1976Madeira Edit Funchal District pt 1835 to 1976Mainland Portugal Edit Lamego District in 1835 and 1919Districts of the Portuguese Overseas EditFollowing the model of European Portugal the major Portuguese overseas territories Angola Mozambique and Portuguese India were also divided in districts In these territories each district was headed by a district governor subordinated to the governor general In Angola and Mozambique the former district areas mostly coincide with the modern province areas In the former Portuguese India the Damao and Diu districts are still divisions of the present union territory of Daman and Diu while the present state of Goa former Goa District is now divided into two districts Angola Edit Bengo Benguela District Bie Cabinda Cuando Cubango District Cuanza Norte District Cuanza Sul District Cunene Huambo District Huila Luanda District Lunda Norte District Lunda Sul District Malanje District Moxico Mocamedes District Uige District Zaire DistrictMozambique Edit Niassa District Cabo Delgado District Nampula District Zambezia District Tete District Manica District Sofala District Gaza District Inhambane District Lourenco Marques DistrictPortuguese India Edit Goa District Damao District Diu DistrictSee also EditRanked list of Portuguese districts Subdivisions of PortugalReferences EditNotes Socrates quer maioria absoluta promete referendo a regionalizacao e defende casamento homossexual Politica PUBLICO PT Archived from the original on 2011 07 15 Retrieved 2010 06 24 Definitive Results of the 2021 Census ine pt INE Retrieved 26 November 2022 SourcesGwillim Law 1999 Portugal Administrative Subdivisions of Countries A Comprehensive World Reference 1900 through 1998 US McFarland amp Company pp 296 ISBN 0786407298 Portugal 2005 Constituicao da Republica Portuguesa VII Revisao Constitucional in Portuguese Lisbon Portugal Assembleia da Republica Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Districts of Portugal amp oldid 1130924609, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.