The Porto Metropolitan Area (; abbreviated as AMP) is a metropolitan area in northern Portugal centered on the City of Porto, Portugal's second largest city. The metropolitan area, covering 17 municipalities, is the second largest urban area in the country and one of the largest in the European Union, with a population in 2024 of 1,818,217
The Porto Metropolitan Area is a major economic engine in Portugal, with a very high HDI (Human Development Index) and a GDP above the European average.
The Conselho Metropolitano do Porto (Porto Metropolitan Council) is composed by the 17 mayors of the municipalities that integrate the Metropolitan Area: 8 mayors from the Socialist Party (PS), 8 from the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and 1 from the CDS – People's Party (CDS–PP).
Although the government has halted the intention of creating new metropolitan areas and urban communities, it is keen to ensure greater autonomy to Porto and Lisbon metropolitan areas.
Urban areas and agglomeration
The Porto metropolitan area is the second largest metropolitan area of Portugal, with about 1.8 million people. It groups the larger Porto Urban Area, the second largest in the country, assembled by the municipalities of Porto, Matosinhos, Vila Nova de Gaia, Gondomar, Valongo and Maia. It also includes three smaller urban areas: Póvoa de Varzim-Vila do Conde, Trofa-Santo Tirso and Santa Maria da Feira-São João da Madeira-Oliveira de Azeméis.
The urban-metropolitan agglomeration known as Porto Metropolitan Arch is a regional urban system of polycentric nature that encompasses the Porto Metropolitan Area and the sub-regions of Cávado, Ave and Tâmega e Sousa, including cities such as Braga and Guimarães.