This is a list of the largest metropolitan areas in Spain by population.
Estimates are from the following sources:
- the "Functional Urban Areas" (FUAs) of the Study on Urban Functions of the European Spatial Planning Observation Network (ESPON, 2007)
- the "Larger Urban Zone" (LUZs) of Urban Audit project (2004), supported by the European Union. Not all cities were included in this survey.
- calculations by Francisco Ruiz from data of the Instituto Nacional de Estadística (2008 estimates). As well as "metropolitan area" data, Ruiz has produced larger "conurbation" data for some areas. The "conurbation" figure is used where available, and is cited as such; otherwise, the "metropolitan area" figure is used.
The figures differ between the reports due to the difference in survey dates and differences in methodology. For example, ESPON considers Oviedo–Gijón–Avilés as a single FUA, while Urban Audit has separate LUZs for Oviedo and Gijón. Similarly, Vilanova i la Geltrú is included in Barcelona metropolitan area by ESPON, but as a separate conurbation by Ruiz.
| Metropolitan area | ESPON | Urban Audit | Ruiz |
|---|---|---|---|
| Madrid | 5,263,000 | 70065804829000000005,804,829 | 70066138056000000006,138,056 |
| Barcelona | 4,251,000 | 70064233638000000004,233,638 | 70064542490000000004,542,490 |
| Valencia–Sagunto | 1,499,000 | 70061564145000000001,564,145 | 70062300000000000002,300,000 |
| Seville | 1,262,000 | 70061249346000000001,249,346 | 70061360361000000001,360,361 |
| Bilbao | 947,000 | 7005939994000000000939,994 | 7005953152000000000953,152 |
| Málaga | 844,000 | 7005699916000000000699,916 | 7005923104000000000923,104 |
| Oviedo–Gijón–Avilés | 844,000 | 7005617300000000000617,300 |
7005863050000000000863,050 |
| Alicante–Elche | 793,000 | 7005429060000000000429,060 | 7005785020000000000785,020 |
| Las Palmas | 640,000 | 7005625892000000000625,892 | 7005741826000000000741,826 |
| Zaragoza | 639,000 | 7005685873000000000685,873 | 7005715894000000000715,894 |
| Murcia–Orihuela | 623,000 | 7005479313000000000479,313 | 7005763723000000000763,723 |
| Santa Cruz de Tenerife | 581,947 | 7005481592000000000481,592 | |
| Granada | 440,000 | 5000000000000000000— | 7005498365000000000498,365 |
| Palma | 433,000 | 7005593386000000000593,386 | 7005509116000000000509,116 |
| Vigo | 413,000 | 7005548799000000000548,799 | 7005666292000000000666,292 |
| Cádiz | 400,000 | 5000000000000000000— | 7005425462000000000425,462 |
| San Sebastián | 393,000 | 5000000000000000000— | 7005404921000000000404,921 |
| A Coruña–Oleiros–Arteixo | 376,000 | 5000000000000000000— | 7005408068000000000408,068 |
| Valladolid | 369,000 | 7005430576000000000430,576 | 7005395984000000000395,984 |
| Tarragona(–Reus) | 325,000 | 5000000000000000000— | 7005423360000000000423,360 |
| Córdoba | 314,000 | 7005779870000000000779,870 | 7005325453000000000325,453 |
| Pamplona | 286,000 | 7005355577000000000355,577 | 7005328511000000000328,511 |
| Castellón de la Plana | 259,000 | 5000000000000000000— | 7005386906000000000386,906 |
| Santander–Torrelavega | 249,000 | 7005290785000000000290,785 | 7005391293000000000391,293 |
| Alzira–Xàtiva | 241,000 | 5000000000000000000— | 7005348582000000000348,582 |
| Cartagena–Torre-Pacheco | 231,000 | 5000000000000000000— | 7005273005000000000273,005 |
| Vitoria-Gasteiz | 226,000 | 7005252384000000000252,384 | 7005242837000000000242,837 |
| Algeciras–La Línea de la Concepción | 206,000 | 5000000000000000000— | 7005230203000000000230,203 |
| Huelva | 193,000 | 5000000000000000000— | 7005215530000000000215,530 |
| Almería | 192,000 | 5000000000000000000— | 7005218236000000000218,236 |
| Salamanca | 192,000 | 5000000000000000000— | 7005205489000000000205,489 |
| Jerez de la Frontera | 189,000 | 5000000000000000000— | 7005209690000000000209,690 |
| León | 187,000 | 5000000000000000000— | 7005201987000000000201,987 |
| Albacete | 185,000 | 5000000000000000000— | 7005173457000000000173,457 |
| Jaén–Martos | 180,000 | 5000000000000000000— | 7005191652000000000191,652 |
| Burgos | 176,000 | 5000000000000000000— | 7005192692000000000192,692 |
| Logroño | 156,000 | 7005171599000000000171,599 | 7005186985000000000186,985 |
| Ferrol–Narón | 155,000 | 5000000000000000000— | 7005156111000000000156,111 |
| Lleida | 147,000 | 7005363900000000000363,900 | 7005176543000000000176,543 |
| Girona–Salt | 144,000 | 5000000000000000000— | 7005180426000000000180,426 |
| Pontevedra–Marín | 142,000 | 5000000000000000000— | 7005149255000000000149,255 |
| Badajoz | 141,000 | 7005663896000000000663,896 | 7005151579000000000151,579 |
| La Orotava–Puerto de la Cruz(–Los Realejos) | 140,000 | 5000000000000000000— | 7005151623000000000151,623 |
| Santiago de Compostela | 138,000 | 7005186332000000000186,332 | 7005151690000000000151,690 |
| Ourense | 137,000 | 5000000000000000000— | 7005138600000000000138,600 |
| Benidorm(–La Vila Joiosa) | 134,000 | 5000000000000000000— | 7005183253000000000183,253 |
| Gandia(–Oliva) | 132,000 | 5000000000000000000— | 7005169916000000000169,916 |
| Blanes(–Pineda de Mar–Lloret de Mar) | 131,000 | 5000000000000000000— | 7005182673000000000182,673 |
| Manresa | 122,000 | 5000000000000000000— | 7005145215000000000145,215 |
| Marbella | 116,000 | 5000000000000000000— | 7005138447000000000138,447 |
| Torrelavega | 116,000 | 5000000000000000000— | 7005129509000000000129,509 |
| Vic–Manlleu | 111,000 | 5000000000000000000— | 7005129994000000000129,994 |
| Guadalajara | 104,000 | 5000000000000000000— | 7005144687000000000144,687 |
| Lugo | 99,000 | 5000000000000000000— | 7005106066000000000106,066 |
| Palencia | 99,000 | 5000000000000000000— | 7005103511000000000103,511 |
| Toledo | 95,000 | 7005167036000000000167,036 | 7005119368000000000119,368 |
Famous quotes containing the words list of, list, metropolitan, areas and/or spain:
“A man’s interest in a single bluebird is worth more than a complete but dry list of the fauna and flora of a town.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Do your children view themselves as successes or failures? Are they being encouraged to be inquisitive or passive? Are they afraid to challenge authority and to question assumptions? Do they feel comfortable adapting to change? Are they easily discouraged if they cannot arrive at a solution to a problem? The answers to those questions will give you a better appraisal of their education than any list of courses, grades, or test scores.”
—Lawrence Kutner (20th century)
“In metropolitan cases, the love of the most single-eyed lover, almost invariably, is nothing more than the ultimate settling of innumerable wandering glances upon some one specific object.”
—Herman Melville (1819–1891)
“Helping children at a level of genuine intellectual inquiry takes imagination on the part of the adult. Even more, it takes the courage to become a resource in unfamiliar areas of knowledge and in ones for which one has no taste. But parents, no less than teachers, must respect a child’s mind and not exploit it for their own vanity or ambition, or to soothe their own anxiety.”
—Dorothy H. Cohen (20th century)
“How the devil am I to prove to my counsel that I don’t know my murderous impulses through C.G. Jung, jealousy through Marcel Proust, Spain through Hemingway ... It’s true, you need never have read these authorities, you can absorb them through your friends, who also live all their experiences second-hand. What an age!”
—Max Frisch (1911–1991)