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Leça da Palmeira

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Parish of the municipality of Matosinhos (Matosinhos), district of Porto.

Leça da Palmeira had 19.000 residents in the 2021 Census, 23,1% of whom were aged 65 or over, and 31,6% of the population aged 15 or over had completed higher education. It borders 4 parishes and its centroid is 2,7 km in a straight line from the centroid of the municipality of Matosinhos.

Population (inh.)
  • 5.367 – 9.019
  • 10.968 – 13.311
  • 17.091 – 17.935
  • 19.000 – 22.844
  • 26.988 – 30.034
Density (inh./km²)
  • 1.061,8 – 1.462,4
  • 1.538,8 – 1.876,1
  • 2.444,2 – 2.661,1
  • 2.974,3 – 4.568,8
  • 5.994,8 – 7.139,7
Area (km²)
  • 3,7 – 3,7
  • 3,8 – 5,0
  • 5,0 – 6,0
  • 7,1 – 8,7
  • 9,1 – 10,3
Quantile classes · current parish
Parish highlighted. Click a neighbouring parish to open its page. Geometry: CAOP2025, Direção-Geral do Território (simplified).

The 10 parishes of Matosinhos

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

#ParishPopulationArea (km²)Inhab./km²
1Custóias17.9356,032.974,3
2Guifões9.0193,692.444,2
3Lavra10.96810,331.061,8
4Leça da Palmeira19.0007,142.661,1
5Leça do Balio17.0919,111.876,1
6Matosinhos30.0345,015.994,8
7Perafita13.3118,651.538,8
8Santa Cruz do Bispo5.3673,671.462,4
9Senhora da Hora26.9883,787.139,7
10São Mamede de Infesta22.8445,004.568,8
Code (DTMNFR)
130818
Resident population (2021)
19.000
Area
7,14 km²
Density
2.661,1 inh./km²
Share of the municipality (population)
11,0%
Rank in the municipality (population)
4th of 10

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
8.887 (46,8%)
Women
10.113 (53,2%)
Portuguese nationality
18.449 (97,1%)
Foreign nationality
551 (2,9%)
Ageing index
174,6 elderly per 100 young people
Private households
7.916
Dwellings
9.368
Classic family dwellings
9.363
Buildings
3.544
Buildings with 7 or more floors
76
With higher education (15+)
31,6% (5.206)
Unemployment rate †
9,44%
Active / employed population
9.280 / 8.404

Population by age group

Population by age group0-14 years: 2.511 (13,2%); 15-24 years: 1.796 (9,5%); 25-64 years: 10.309 (54,3%); 65+ years: 4.384 (23,1%)0-142.511 · 13,2%15-241.796 · 9,5%25-6410.309 · 54,3%65+4.384 · 23,1%
Residents by age group and share of the total (19.000).
Age groupTotalMenWomen
0-14 years2.5111.2511.260
15-24 years1.796914882
25-64 years10.3094.8165.493
65+ years4.3841.9062.478

Source: INE, Censos 2021 — indicators 0014630, 0014631, 0014627, 0014623, 0014621, 0014635, 0014636, 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. † Unemployment rate calculated by us: (active population − employed population) ÷ active population × 100 (indicators 0014635 and 0014636, 2025 geography). 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

Perafita · Matosinhos · Santa Cruz do Bispo · Guifões

Straight-line distance to the centroid of the municipality of Matosinhos
2,7 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
16.719
Voters
9.689
Turnout
57,95%
Seats
13
ListVotes%Seats
PS
Partido Socialista		4.08742,18%6
PPD/PSD.CDS-PP
AD MATOSINHOS - Coligação PSD/CDS		2.95430,49%5
CH
CHEGA		9679,98%1
IL
Iniciativa Liberal		6316,51%1
PCP-PEV
CDU - Coligação Democrática Unitária		4784,93%0
B.E.
Bloco de Esquerda		2442,52%0
ADN
ALTERNATIVA DEMOCRÁTICA NACIONAL		490,51%0
Blank votes1841,90%
Null votes950,98%

Most-voted list, which elects the parish-council president: PS.

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.

Parish-council contacts

Address
Av. Dr. Fernando Aroso, 371
Leça da Palmeira
4450-665 Matosinhos
Email
presidencia@jf-lecadapalmeira.pt

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

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