Porto metropolitan area

The Porto Metropolitan Area (Portuguese: Área Metropolitana do Porto; abbreviated as AMP) is a metropolitan area in northern Portugal centered on the City of Porto, Portugal's second largest city. The metropolitan area, covering 17 municipalities, is the second largest urban area in the country and one of the largest in the European Union, with a population in 2024 of 1,818,217 in an area of 2,040.31 km².

The Porto Metropolitan Area is a major economic engine in Portugal, with a very high HDI (Human Development Index) and a GDP above the European average. Porto has been Portugal's largest manufacturing region since the Industrial Revolution and is home to many of the country's largest corporations.

It is chaired by Eduardo Vítor Rodrigues (PS).

The original Metropolitan Area of Porto was constituted by nine municipalities: Porto (the capital), Espinho, Gondomar, Maia, Matosinhos, Póvoa de Varzim, Vila Nova de Gaia, Valongo, and Vila do Conde. The process of enlargement:

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 Oliveira de Azeméis.

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.

The Porto metropolitan area is the second largest metropolitan area of Portugal, with about 1.8 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.