Velas
Municipality of the Autonomous Region of the Azores (Ilha de São Jorge).
Velas had 4.936 residents in the 2021 Census, of whom 20,9% were aged 65 or over; 11,9% of the population aged 15 or over had completed higher education.
Arriving here
Mayor: Catarina de Oliveira Cabeceiras · Tel. 295412214 · Email: geral@cmvelas.pt · www.cmvelas.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.
- 361 – 463
- 661
- 790
- 896
- 1.765
- 14,5 – 27,3
- 32,2
- 35,1
- 65,5
- 127,1
- 11,2 – 13,7
- 13,9
- 22,5
- 24,2
- 31,9
The 6 parishes of Velas
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 | Velas (São Jorge) | 1.765 | 13,89 | 127,1 |
| 2 | Urzelina (São Mateus) | 896 | 13,69 | 65,5 |
| 3 | Santo Amaro | 790 | 22,53 | 35,1 |
| 4 | Rosais | 661 | 24,23 | 27,3 |
| 5 | Norte Grande (Neves) | 463 | 31,85 | 14,5 |
| 6 | Manadas (Santa Bárbara) | 361 | 11,20 | 32,2 |
- INE code (DTMN)
- 4502
- Resident population
- 4.936
- Area
- 117,38 km²
- Density
- 42,1 inh./km²
- Parishes
- 6
- Share of the region
- 2,1%
- Rank in the region (population)
- 11th of 19
- National rank (population)
- 262nd of 308
- National rank (density)
- 189th of 308
- National rank (area)
- 234th of 308
INE, Censos 2021 (população residente, ind. 0014525, via dados.gov.pt); DGT, CAOP2025 (área e freguesias)
2021 Census in detail
- Men
- 2.443 (49,5%)
- Women
- 2.493 (50,5%)
- Portuguese nationality
- 4.837 (98,0%)
- Foreign nationality
- 99 (2,0%)
- Ageing index
- 166,8 elderly per 100 young people
- Private households
- 2.027
- Average household size
- 2,39 people
- Dwellings
- 3.263
- Buildings
- 2.955
- With higher education (15+)
- 11,9% (512)
- Unemployment rate
- 3,53%
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
- 4.989
- Voters
- 3.043 (60,99%)
- Seats
- 5
| List | Votes | % | Seats |
|---|---|---|---|
| CDS-PP (elected council president) | 1.798 | 59,09% | 4 |
| PS | 888 | 29,18% | 1 |
| PCP-PEV | 137 | 4,50% | 0 |
| CH | 111 | 3,65% | 0 |
Municipal assembly
- Registered
- 4.989
- Voters
- 3.043 (60,99%)
- Seats
- 15
| List | Votes | % | Seats |
|---|---|---|---|
| CDS-PP | 1.366 | 44,89% | 8 |
| PS | 661 | 21,72% | 3 |
| PPD/PSD | 641 | 21,06% | 3 |
| PCP-PEV | 177 | 5,82% | 1 |
| CH | 98 | 3,22% | 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
- Catarina de Oliveira Cabeceiras
- Address
- Rua de São João, 9800-539 Velas
- Telephone
- 295412214
- geral@cmvelas.pt
- Website
- www.cmvelas.pt
Source: DGAL — Portal Autárquico, Lista de Presidentes e contactos dos Municípios (atualizada 04/09/2026).
On the web
Q1010468 · Wikipedia · cm-velas.azoresdigital.pt/ · cmvelas.pt/
Source: Wikidata (CC0).
Neighbouring municipalities
Calheta (22,8 km)
Straight-line distance to the centroid of the district/region of Região Autónoma dos Açores: 59,9 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: 5,91 €/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
- 384 – 3.220
- 3.437 – 4.368
- 4.936 – 6.319
- 10.323 – 19.463
- 31.388 – 67.229
- 20,1 – 27,2
- 27,9 – 43,0
- 43,1 – 67,4
- 82,8 – 141,3
- 174,2 – 311,2
- 17,1 – 70,1
- 70,9 – 101,5
- 106,4 – 142,4
- 147,1 – 173,1
- 180,2 – 239,0
Compare Velas with other municipalities… · Compare parishes…
Other municipalities of the Autonomous Region of the Azores
Angra do Heroísmo · Calheta · Corvo · Horta · Lagoa · Lajes das Flores · Lajes do Pico · Madalena · Nordeste · Ponta Delgada · Povoação · Ribeira Grande · Santa Cruz da Graciosa · Santa Cruz das Flores · São Roque do Pico · Vila Franca do Campo · Vila da Praia da Vitória · Vila do Porto
Sources: INE, 2021 Census (resident population) · DGT, CAOP2025 (area and parishes) · more details · Data updated on 24/09/2026