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)[1]
- the "Larger Urban Zone" (LUZs)[2] of Urban Audit project (2004), supported by the European Union.[3] Not all cities were included in this survey.[3]
- calculations by Francisco Ruiz from data of the Instituto Nacional de Estadística (2008 estimates).[4][5] As well as "metropolitan area" data,[6] Ruiz has produced larger conurbation data for some areas.[7] 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.
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| Metropolitan area (2018) | ESPON | Urban Audit | Ruiz |
|---|---|---|---|
| Madrid | 6,155,116 | 6,204,829[8] | 7,038,056[7] |
| Barcelona | 5,179,243 | 5,233,638[9] | 5,142,490[7] |
| Valencia(–Sagunto) | 1,645,342 | 1,564,145[10] | 2,300,000[7] |
| Seville | 1,305,342 | 1,249,346[11] | 1,360,361[7] |
| Bilbao | 987,000 | 989,994[12] | 953,152 |
| Málaga | 944,000 | 1,218,245[13] | 923,104 |
| Oviedo–Gijón–Avilés | 844,000 | 617,300 (295,640[14] + 321,660[15]) |
863,050[7] |
| Alicante–Elche(–Elda) | 793,000 | 429,060[16] | 785,020[7] |
| Las Palmas | 640,000 | 625,892[17] | 741,826[7] |
| Zaragoza | 639,000 | 685,873[18] | 715,894 |
| Murcia–Orihuela | 623,000 | 479,313[19] | 763,723[7] |
| Santa Cruz de Tenerife–La Laguna | 581,947 | 481,592[20] | 481,592 |
| Granada | 440,000 | — | 498,365 |
| Palma | 433,000 | 593,386[21] | 509,116 |
| Vigo | 413,000 | 548,799[22] | 666,292[7] |
| Cartagena | 409,000 | — | 316,398 (229,733 + 55,170 + 31,495) |
| Cádiz | 400,000 | — | 425,462 |
| San Sebastián | 393,000 | — | 404,921 |
| A Coruña–Oleiros–Arteixo | 376,000 | — | 408,068 |
| Valladolid | 369,000 | 430,576[23] | 395,984 |
| Tarragona(–Reus) | 325,000 | — | 423,360 |
| Córdoba | 314,000 | 779,870[24] | 325,453 |
| Pamplona | 286,000 | 355,577[25] | 328,511 |
| Castellón de la Plana | 259,000 | — | 386,906[7] |
| Santander–Torrelavega | 249,000 | 290,785[26] | 391,293[7] |
| Alzira–Xàtiva | 241,000 | — | 348,582[7] |
| Vitoria-Gasteiz | 226,000 | 252,384[27] | 242,837 |
| Algeciras–La Línea | 206,000 | — | 230,203 |
| Huelva | 193,000 | — | 215,530 |
| Almería | 192,000 | — | 218,236 |
| Salamanca | 192,000 | — | 205,489 |
| Jerez de la Frontera | 189,000 | — | 209,690 |
| León | 187,000 | — | 201,987 |
| Albacete | 185,000 | — | 173,457 |
| Jaén–Martos | 180,000 | — | 191,652 |
| Burgos | 176,000 | — | 192,692 |
| Logroño | 156,000 | 171,599[28] | 186,985 |
| Ferrol–Narón | 155,000 | — | 156,111 |
| Lleida | 147,000 | 363,900[29] | 176,543 |
| Girona–Salt | 144,000 | — | 180,426 |
| Pontevedra–Marín | 142,000 | — | 149,255 |
| Badajoz | 141,000 | 663,896[30] | 151,579 |
| La Orotava–Puerto de la Cruz(–Los Realejos) | 140,000 | — | 151,623 |
| Santiago de Compostela | 138,000 | 186,332[31] | 151,690 |
| Ourense | 137,000 | — | 138,600 |
| Benidorm(–La Vila Joiosa) | 134,000 | — | 183,253 |
| Gandia(–Oliva) | 132,000 | — | 169,916 |
| Blanes(–Pineda de Mar–Lloret de Mar) | 131,000 | — | 182,673 |
| Manresa | 122,000 | — | 145,215 |
| Marbella | 116,000 | — | 138,447 |
| Torrelavega | 116,000 | — | 129,509 |
| Vic–Manlleu | 111,000 | — | 129,994 |
| Guadalajara | 104,000 | — | 144,687 |
| Lugo | 99,000 | — | 106,066 |
| Palencia | 99,000 | — | 103,511 |
| Toledo | 95,000 | 167,036[32] | 119,368 |