Málaga is a province in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. The province is divided into 103 municipalities. Spanish census, Málaga is the 6th most populous of Spain's 50 provinces, with inhabitants, and the 35th largest by land area, spanning . Municipalities are the most basic local political division in Spain and can only belong to one province. They enjoy a large degree of autonomy in their local administration, being in charge of tasks such as urban planning, water supply, lighting, roads, local police, and firefighting.

The organisation of municipalities in Spain is outlined by the local government law Ley 7/1985, de 2 de abril, Reguladora de las Bases del Régimen Local (), which was passed by the Cortes Generales—Spain's national parliament—on 2 April 1985 and finalised by royal decree on 18 April 1986. Municipalities in Málaga are also governed by the Statute of Autonomy of Andalusia, which includes provisions concerning their relations with Andalusia's autonomous government. All citizens of Spain are required to register in the municipality in which they reside. Each municipality is a corporation with independent legal personhood: its governing body is called the ayuntamiento (municipal council or corporation), a term often also used to refer to the municipal offices (city and town halls). The ayuntamiento is composed of the mayor (), the deputy mayors (tenientes de alcalde) and the councillors (concejales), who form the plenary (pleno), the deliberative body. Municipalities are categorised by population for determining the number of councillors: three when the population is up to 100 inhabitants, five for 101250, seven for 2511,000, nine for 1,0012,000, eleven for 2,0015,000, thirteen for 5,00110,000, seventeen for 10,00120,000, twenty-one for 20,00150,000, and twenty-five for 50,001100,000. One councillor is added for every additional 100,000 inhabitants, with a further one included if the total would otherwise be even, to avoid tied votes.

The mayor and the deputy mayors are elected by the plenary assembly, which is itself elected by universal suffrage. Elections in municipalities with more than 250 inhabitants are carried out following a proportional representation system with closed lists, whilst those with a population lower than 250 use a block plurality voting system with open lists. The plenary assembly must meet periodically, with meetings occurring more or less frequently depending on the population of the municipality: monthly for those whose population is larger than 20,000, once every two months if it ranges between 5,001 and 20,000, and once every three months if it does not exceed 5,000. Many ayuntamientos also have a local governing board (), which is appointed by the mayor from amongst the councillors and is required for municipalities of over 5,000 inhabitants. The board, whose role is to assist the mayor between meetings of the plenary assembly, may not include more than one third of the councillors.

The largest municipality by population in the province as of the 2024 Spanish census is Málaga, its capital, with 592,346 residents, while the smallest is Atajate, with 196 residents. The largest municipality by area is Antequera, which spans , while Árchez is the smallest at .

Municipalities

+ Name Population(2024 census) Population(2011 census) Population change Land area (km2) To access the information, scroll down the page and download the file entitled "Nomenclátor Geográfico de Municipios y Entidades de Población" by clicking the left icon in the column "Descarga". Then open the downloaded zip folder and the file titled "MUNICIPIOS", which provides the land area for every municipality in Spain under the header "Superficie". Population density(2024) Alameda Alcaucín Alfarnate Alfarnatejo Algarrobo Algatocín Alhaurín de la Torre Alhaurín el Grande Almáchar Almargen Almogía Álora Alozaina Alpandeire Antequera Árchez Archidona Ardales Arenas Arriate Atajate Benadalid Benahavís Benalauría Benalmádena Benamargosa Benamocarra Benaoján Benarrabá Campillos Canillas de Aceituno Canillas de Albaida Cañete la Real Carratraca Cartajima Cártama Casabermeja Casarabonela Casares Coín Colmenar Comares Cómpeta Cortes de la Frontera Cuevas Bajas Cuevas del Becerro Cuevas de San Marcos Cútar Estepona Faraján Frigiliana Fuengirola Fuente de Piedra Gaucín Genalguacil Guaro Humilladero Igualeja Iznate Jimera de Líbar Jubrique Júzcar MacharaviayaMálaga Manilva Marbella Mijas Moclinejo Mollina Monda Montecorto599 No data Montejaque Nerja Ojén Parauta Periana Pizarra Pujerra Rincón de la Victoria Riogordo Ronda Salares Sayalonga Sedella Serrato458 No data Sierra de Yeguas Teba Tolox Torremolinos Torrox Totalán Valle de Abdalajís Vélez-Málaga Villanueva de Algaidas Villanueva de la Concepción Villanueva de Tapia Villanueva del Rosario Villanueva del Trabuco Viñuela Yunquera Province of Málaga Andalusia Spain

See also Geography of Spain List of municipalities of Spain

Notes

References

Works cited

External links