Santa Cruz
Municipality of the Autonomous Region of Madeira (Ilha da Madeira).
Santa Cruz had 42.168 residents in the 2021 Census, of whom 14,7% were aged 65 or over; 18,1% of the population aged 15 or over had completed higher education.
Arriving here
Mayor: Élia Luísa Dias Gonçalves Ascensão · Tel. 291520100 · Email: geral@cm-santacruz.pt · www.cm-santacruz.pt more contacts
Summary for arrivals. The telephone code is that of the district/region seat (ANACOM numbering plan), not exclusive to this municipality. School, parish-council and town-hall counts come from the official lists already on this site. Hospitals are NHS institutions whose official name includes the municipality.
- 822
- 3.925
- 6.239
- 7.136
- 24.046
- 55,7
- 256,1
- 315,9
- 565,6
- 2.002,2
- 6,9
- 12,0
- 14,8
- 19,8
- 27,9
The 5 parishes of Santa Cruz
Sorted by resident population (2021 Census, 2025 geography). Click a header to sort; hover a row to highlight it on the map.
Download CSV parish list (UTF-8)
| # | Parish | Population | Area (km²) | Inhab./km² |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Caniço | 24.046 | 12,01 | 2.002,2 |
| 2 | Santa Cruz | 7.136 | 27,86 | 256,1 |
| 3 | Camacha | 6.239 | 19,75 | 315,9 |
| 4 | Gaula | 3.925 | 6,94 | 565,6 |
| 5 | Santo António da Serra | 822 | 14,75 | 55,7 |
- INE code (DTMN)
- 3108
- Resident population
- 42.168
- Area
- 81,31 km²
- Density
- 518,6 inh./km²
- Parishes
- 5
- Share of the region
- 16,8%
- Rank in the region (population)
- 2nd of 11
- National rank (population)
- 68th of 308
- National rank (density)
- 35th of 308
- National rank (area)
- 269th of 308
INE, Censos 2021 (população residente, ind. 0014525, via dados.gov.pt); DGT, CAOP2025 (área e freguesias)
2021 Census in detail
- Men
- 20.152 (47,8%)
- Women
- 22.016 (52,2%)
- Portuguese nationality
- 41.079 (97,4%)
- Foreign nationality
- 1.089 (2,6%)
- Ageing index
- 98,0 elderly per 100 young people
- Private households
- 15.641
- Average household size
- 2,65 people
- Dwellings
- 20.391
- Buildings
- 12.472
- With higher education (15+)
- 18,1% (6.478)
- Unemployment rate
- 11,27%
Population by age group
Source: INE, Censos 2021 (API de indicadores) — indicators 0014630, 0014631, 0014627, 0014623, 0014621, 0014635, 0014636, 0012328, 0012481, 0014632, licence CC BY 4.0.
2025 local elections
Municipal council
- Registered
- 40.384
- Voters
- 22.772 (56,39%)
- Seats
- 7
| List | Votes | % | Seats |
|---|---|---|---|
| JPP (elected council president) | 10.703 | 47,00% | 4 |
| PPD/PSD.CDS-PP | 8.029 | 35,26% | 3 |
| CH | 1.705 | 7,49% | 0 |
| PS | 813 | 3,57% | 0 |
| IL | 266 | 1,17% | 0 |
| PAN | 241 | 1,06% | 0 |
| B.E. | 201 | 0,88% | 0 |
| PTP | 179 | 0,79% | 0 |
| PCP-PEV | 176 | 0,77% | 0 |
Municipal assembly
- Registered
- 40.384
- Voters
- 22.774 (56,39%)
- Seats
- 21
| List | Votes | % | Seats |
|---|---|---|---|
| JPP | 11.147 | 48,95% | 12 |
| PPD/PSD.CDS-PP | 8.297 | 36,43% | 8 |
| PS | 1.111 | 4,88% | 1 |
| IL | 473 | 2,08% | 0 |
| PAN | 364 | 1,60% | 0 |
| B.E. | 290 | 1,27% | 0 |
| PCP-PEV | 261 | 1,15% | 0 |
| PTP | 260 | 1,14% | 0 |
| CH | 0 | 0,00% | 0 |
Source: SGMAI — resultados oficiais das Autárquicas 2025. Official results; only the list that elects the council president is marked (the person’s name is not in these results).
Contacts
- Mayor
- Élia Luísa Dias Gonçalves Ascensão
- Address
- Praça Dr. João Abel de Freitas, 9100-157 Santa Cruz - Madeira
- Telephone
- 291520100
- geral@cm-santacruz.pt
- Website
- www.cm-santacruz.pt
Source: DGAL — Portal Autárquico, Lista de Presidentes e contactos dos Municípios (atualizada 04/09/2026).
On the web
Q658823 · Wikipedia · www.cm-santacruz.pt/
Source: Wikidata (CC0).
Neighbouring municipalities
Funchal (8,0 km) · Machico (6,4 km)
Straight-line distance to the centroid of the district/region of Região Autónoma da Madeira: 12,7 km.
Source: DGT, CAOP2025 (CC BY 4.0) — adjacência de limites; distância em linha reta entre centróides (licence CC BY 4.0).
Services and territory
Median rent of new contracts in the municipality, 2025: 10,48 €/m² (INE 0014773). INE also publishes the value for 0 parishes of this municipality. See parish by parish.
Schools (Infoescolas 2020)
Infoescolas 2020 does not list schools in this municipality.
Source: DGEEC, Infoescolas 2020 (CC BY 4.0). Rents: INE 0014773 (CC BY 4.0).
Location in the region
- 2.517 – 5.149
- 6.553 – 8.360
- 10.915 – 12.680
- 19.593 – 32.162
- 42.168 – 105.782
- 30,4 – 68,6
- 97,9 – 120,6
- 180,7 – 193,7
- 287,1 – 518,6
- 616,5 – 1.387,9
- 42,7 – 52,2
- 65,5 – 68,3
- 76,2 – 78,8
- 81,3 – 82,9
- 95,5 – 111,5
Compare Santa Cruz with other municipalities… · Compare parishes…
Other municipalities of the Autonomous Region of Madeira
Calheta · Câmara de Lobos · Funchal · Machico · Ponta do Sol · Porto Moniz · Porto Santo · Ribeira Brava · Santana · São Vicente
Sources: INE, 2021 Census (resident population) · DGT, CAOP2025 (area and parishes) · more details · Data updated on 24/09/2026