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Vila Real de Santo António

Municipality of the district of Faro (District of Faro), region Algarve (NUTS III: Algarve).

Vila Real de Santo António had 18.824 residents in the 2021 Census, of whom 26,1% were aged 65 or over; 12,8% of the population aged 15 or over had completed higher education.

Arriving here

18.824inhabitants (2021 Census)
289district-seat telephone code
1town hall3parish councils9schools

Mayor: Álvaro Palma de Araújo · Tel. 281510000 · Email: geral@cm-vrsa.pt · www.cm-vrsa.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.

Population (inh.)
  • 3.197
  • 3.873
  • 11.754
Density (inh./km²)
  • 84,1
  • 757,6
  • 1.069,5
Area (km²)
  • 4,2
  • 11,0
  • 46,0
Quantile classes
Hover (or tap) a parish to see the figures; click to open its page. Geometry: CAOP2025, Direção-Geral do Território (simplified).

The 3 parishes of Vila Real de Santo António

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)

#ParishPopulationArea (km²)Inhab./km²
1Vila Real de Santo António11.75410,991.069,5
2Vila Nova de Cacela3.87346,0384,1
3Monte Gordo3.1974,22757,6
INE code (DTMN)
0816
Resident population
18.824
Area
61,25 km²
Density
307,3 inh./km²
Parishes
3
Share of district population
4,0%
Rank in the district (population)
10th of 16
National rank (population)
126th of 308
National rank (density)
53rd of 308
National rank (area)
289th of 308

INE, Censos 2021 (população residente, ind. 0014525, via dados.gov.pt); DGT, CAOP2025 (área e freguesias)

2021 Census in detail

Men
9.064 (48,2%)
Women
9.760 (51,8%)
Portuguese nationality
17.110 (90,9%)
Foreign nationality
1.714 (9,1%)
Ageing index
195,1 elderly per 100 young people
Private households
7.656
Average household size
2,43 people
Dwellings
20.778
Buildings
8.213
With higher education (15+)
12,8% (2.089)
Unemployment rate
13,16%

Population by age group

0-142.522 · 13,4%15-241.875 · 10,0%25-649.506 · 50,5%65+4.921 · 26,1%
Residents by age group (18.824 in total).

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
17.065
Voters
9.610 (56,31%)
Seats
7
ListVotes%Seats
PS (elected council president)3.79139,45%3
PPD/PSD.CDS-PP3.65538,03%3
CH1.31813,71%1
PCP-PEV5065,27%0
B.E.981,02%0

Municipal assembly

Registered
17.065
Voters
9.610 (56,31%)
Seats
21
ListVotes%Seats
PPD/PSD.CDS-PP3.76939,22%9
PS3.42635,65%8
CH1.45515,14%3
PCP-PEV5745,97%1
B.E.1361,42%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
Álvaro Palma de Araújo
Address
Praça Marquês de Pombal nº 22, 8900-231 Vila Real de Santo António
Telephone
281510000
Email
geral@cm-vrsa.pt
Website
www.cm-vrsa.pt

Source: DGAL — Portal Autárquico, Lista de Presidentes e contactos dos Municípios (atualizada 04/09/2026).

On the web

Q750578 · Wikipedia · www.cm-vrsa.pt/

Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Neighbouring municipalities

Castro Marim (11,0 km) · Tavira (16,6 km)

Straight-line distance to the centroid of the district/region of Faro: 55,1 km.

Source: DGT, CAOP2025 (CC BY 4.0) — adjacência de limites; distância em linha reta entre centróides (licence CC BY 4.0).

Location in the district

Population (inh.)
  • 2.523 – 6.045
  • 6.439 – 18.824
  • 23.725 – 33.494
  • 37.766 – 44.614
  • 59.845 – 72.332
Density (inh./km²)
  • 4,4 – 21,4
  • 31,9 – 55,5
  • 73,3 – 157,3
  • 268,8 – 314,0
  • 328,7 – 340,9
Area (km²)
  • 61,3 – 140,7
  • 153,4 – 182,1
  • 202,6 – 300,8
  • 323,5 – 575,4
  • 607,0 – 763,7
Quantile classes · current municipality
Vila Real de Santo António highlighted. Click a neighbouring municipality to open its page. Geometry: CAOP2025, Direção-Geral do Território (simplified).

Compare Vila Real de Santo António with other municipalities… · Compare parishes…

Other municipalities of the district of Faro

Albufeira · Alcoutim · Aljezur · Castro Marim · Faro · Lagoa · Lagos · Loulé · Monchique · Olhão · Portimão · Silves · São Brás de Alportel · Tavira · Vila do Bispo

Sources: INE, 2021 Census (resident population) · DGT, CAOP2025 (area and parishes) · more details · Data updated on 24/09/2026