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Colares

Parish of the municipality of Sintra (Sintra), district of Lisboa.

Colares had 7.746 residents in the 2021 Census, 25,3% of whom were aged 65 or over, and 25,1% of the population aged 15 or over had completed higher education. It borders 3 parishes and its centroid is 9,6 km in a straight line from the centroid of the municipality of Sintra.

Population (inh.)
  • 3.676 – 5.205
  • 7.746 – 12.788
  • 13.347 – 26.310
  • 29.896 – 41.323
  • 47.804 – 68.649
Density (inh./km²)
  • 199,4 – 232,1
  • 232,7 – 426,5
  • 470,4 – 3.001,2
  • 4.290,6 – 6.910,2
  • 7.191,2 – 15.470,6
Area (km²)
  • 2,2 – 3,6
  • 4,4 – 8,6
  • 15,7 – 16,5
  • 22,8 – 33,4
  • 39,8 – 63,6
Quantile classes · current parish
Parish highlighted. Click a neighbouring parish to open its page. Geometry: CAOP2025, Direção-Geral do Território (simplified).

The 15 parishes of Sintra

Hover a row to highlight it on the map. Click a header to sort.

#ParishPopulationArea (km²)Inhab./km²
1Algueirão-Mem Martins68.64916,004.290,6
2Almargem do Bispo9.26139,80232,7
3Belas26.31022,841.151,9
4Casal de Cambra13.3472,176.150,7
5Colares7.74633,37232,1
6Montelavar3.6768,62426,5
7Pêro Pinheiro4.32515,65276,4
8Queluz26.1043,637.191,2
9Rio de Mouro49.48916,493.001,2
10São João das Lampas12.78857,50222,4
11Terrugem5.20526,10199,4
12União das freguesias de Agualva e Mira-Sintra41.3235,986.910,2
13União das freguesias de Massamá e Monte Abraão47.8043,0915.470,6
14União das freguesias de Sintra (Santa Maria e São Miguel, São Martinho e São Pedro de Penaferrim)29.89663,55470,4
15União das freguesias do Cacém e São Marcos39.6834,448.937,6
Code (DTMNFR)
111105
Resident population (2021)
7.746
Area
33,37 km²
Density
232,1 inh./km²
Share of the municipality (population)
2,0%
Rank in the municipality (population)
12th of 15

INE, Censos 2021 (população residente por freguesia, geografia 2025, ind. 0014584); DGT, CAOP2025 (área). Population refers to the 2021 census moment, compiled by INE for the parish boundaries in force in 2025.

2021 Census in detail

Men
3.686 (47,6%)
Women
4.060 (52,4%)
Portuguese nationality
7.099 (91,6%)
Foreign nationality
646 (8,3%)
Stateless
1 (less than 0.1%)
Ageing index
186,6 elderly per 100 young people
Private households
3.195
Average household size *
2,37 people
Dwellings
6.096
Classic family dwellings
6.087
Buildings
5.075
Buildings with 7 or more floors
0
With higher education (15+)
25,1% (1.681)
Unemployment rate *
7,38% (H 7,15% · M 7,61%)
Active / employed population
3.510 / 3.251

Population by age group

Population by age group0-14 years: 1.050 (13,6%); 15-24 years: 770 (9,9%); 25-64 years: 3.967 (51,2%); 65+ years: 1.959 (25,3%)0-141.050 · 13,6%15-24770 · 9,9%25-643.967 · 51,2%65+1.959 · 25,3%
Residents by age group and share of the total (7.746).
Age groupTotalMenWomen
0-14 years1.050537513
15-24 years770387383
25-64 years3.9671.9362.031
65+ years1.9598261.133

Source: INE, Censos 2021 — indicators 0014630, 0014631, 0014627, 0014623, 0014621, 0014635, 0014636, 0012481, 0012328, 0014632, obtained from the INE indicators API on 24/09/2026 (licence CC BY 4.0). Parish geography of 2025 (CAOP2025). Nationality (Portuguese, foreign, stateless) is INE indicator 0014632. * Indicator published by INE only for 2013 parish geography (NUTS 2024); used because the parish has the same territory in both geographies (identical population by sex and age group). Ageing index = population aged 65+ ÷ population aged 0–14 × 100; share with higher education = residents with completed higher education ÷ residents aged 15 or over (our calculations from INE figures).

Neighbouring parishes

Straight-line distance to the centroid of the municipality of Sintra
9,6 km

Neighbourhood calculated from official boundaries: DGT, Carta Administrativa Oficial de Portugal (CAOP) 2025 (licence CC BY 4.0); two parishes are neighbours when they share a boundary segment. The distance is the straight-line (great-circle) distance between the geometric centroid of the parish and that of the municipality (in territories with islets, of the main part), not a road distance.

2025 local elections — Parish assembly

Registered voters
6.611
Voters
3.979
Turnout
60,19% (2021: 54,26%)
Seats
13
ListVotes%Seats
PPD/PSD.IL.PAN
SEMPRE COM OS SINTRENSES
1.67342,05%6
PS.L
AS PESSOAS, SEMPRE - COLIGAÇÃO PS/L
1.09527,52%4
CH
CHEGA
57014,33%2
PCP-PEV
CDU - Coligação Democrática Unitária
3047,64%1
CDS-PP/PPM/ADN
Por Sintra, a Nossa Casa
2085,23%0
Blank votes721,81%
Null votes571,43%

Most-voted list, which elects the parish-council president: PPD/PSD.IL.PAN.

Source: SGMAI — official results of the local elections of 12 October 2025 (Secretary-General of the Ministry of Internal Administration), consulted on 25/09/2026. Percentages calculated by SGMAI over total voters.

Heraldry

Coat of arms: Escudo de vermelho, torre de prata, aberta e frestada de negro, entre dois pares de árvores de verde, tudo assente em terrado do mesmo; em chefe três colares de ouro. Coroa mural de prata de 4 torres. Listel de prata com a legenda a negro “COLARES”.

Flag: Esquartelada de branco e verde; cordões e borlas de verde e prata. Haste e lança douradas.

Seal: nos termos da Lei n.º 53/91, com a legenda: “Junta de Freguesia de Colares”.

Heraldic ordinance published by Edital n.º 121/2025, Diário da República n.º 15/2025, Série II de 2025-01-22 (issuer: Freguesia de Colares). Excerpt of the official text (coat of arms, flag and seal), reproduced unchanged.

Parish-council contacts

Address
Avenida Bombeiros Voluntários, N.º 77
Colares (SINTRA)
2705-180 COLARES
Telephone
219290788
Email
colares@jf-colares.pt
Website
www.jf-colares.pt

Source: DGAL - Portal Autárquico (Direção-Geral das Autarquias Locais), consulted on 25/09/2026.

More information

Patron saint (Wikidata)
Virgem Maria
Coordinates
38,79915, -9,44697
Official website
www.jf-colares.pt
Wikipedia
Colares (Sintra)
Wikidata
Q1107623

Source: Wikidata (data under CC0 1.0), consulted on 24/09/2026. The patron saint and coordinates are those recorded on Wikidata.

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