The comarques of the Valencian Community form an intermediate level of administrative subdivision between municipalities and provinces. They are used as a basis for the provision of local services by the Generalitat Valenciana, but do not have any representative or executive bodies of their own.
In 1987, the Generalitat Valenciana published an official proposal for Homologated Territorial Demarcations, Demarcacions Territorials Homologades (DTH), of three degrees, where the first degree largely coincides with the territorial concept of comarca. Until now, the practice of these demarcations has been limited as a reference to the administrative decentralisation of the different services offered by the Generalitat, such as education, health, or agriculture. In fact, there is no legal provision for these DTHs to ultimately have the intended “territorial impact”, that is, comarca-level political or administrative bodies. Instead, the powers shared between several municipalities are being articulated through mancomunitats, or commonwealths.
Article 65 of the 2006 Statute of Autonomy provides the first legislative foundation for the comarques.
As of 2019, there are thirty-four comarques (including the city of Valencia), with a median population of 147,227.55 and a median area of 685.43 km².
Comarca | Population (2019) [1] | Area (km²) [1] | Density (i./km²) | Capital |
---|---|---|---|---|
Alacantí | 487,113 | 673.57 | 723.15 | Alicante / Alacant |
Alcalatén | 15,585 | 648.68 | 24.02 | L'Alcora |
Alcoià | 109,196 | 539.66 | 202.33 | Alcoi |
Alt Maestrat | 6,657 | 663.16 | 10.03 | Albocàsser |
Alt Millars | 3,908 | 667.06 | 5.85 | Cirat |
Alto Palancia / Alt Palància | 23,753 | 965.15 | 24.61 | Segorbe |
Alt Vinalopó / Alto Vinalopó | 52,401 | 644.76 | 81.27 | Villena |
Baix Maestrat | 81,871 | 1,221.32 | 67.03 | Vinaròs |
Baix Vinalopó | 293,775 | 488.78 | 601.03 | Elche / Elx |
Camp de Morvedre | 91,662 | 271.20 | 337.96 | Sagunt |
Camp de Túria / Campo de Turia | 162,991 | 823.37 | 197.96 | Llíria |
Canal de Navarrés | 15,687 | 709.29 | 22.11 | Enguera |
Comtat | 28,096 | 377.77 | 74.37 | Cocentaina |
Costera | 71,522 | 528.26 | 130.47 | Xàtiva |
Horta Nord | 228,424 | 140.51 | 1626.48 | Puçol |
Horta Oest | 354,334 | 178.84 | 1888.77 | Catarroja |
Horta Sud | 178,118 | 166.19 | 1071.96 | Torrent |
Hoya de Buñol / Foia de Bunyol | 42,598 | 817.37 | 52.08 | Buñol |
Marina Alta | 175,156 | 758.02 | 228.30 | Dénia |
Marina Baixa | 188,623 | 578.67 | 338.04 | La Vila Joiosa |
Ports | 4,400 | 904.07 | 4.84 | Morella |
Plana Alta | 252,828 | 957.29 | 264.10 | Castelló de la Plana |
Plana Baixa | 190,925 | 605.15 | 315.50 | Borriana |
Requena-Utiel | 37,753 | 1,721.03 | 21.87 | Requena |
Ribera Alta | 220,366 | 970.04 | 227.17 | Alzira |
Ribera Baixa | 79,869 | 276.81 | 288.50 | Sueca |
Rincón de Ademuz / Racó d'Ademús | 2,266 | 370.22 | 6.12 | Ademuz |
Serranos | 16,159 | 1,405.28 | 11.49 | Chelva |
Safor | 171,903 | 429.80 | 400.12 | Gandia |
València | 794,288 | 134.63 | 5.89 | València |
Vall d'Albaida | 87,349 | 722.22 | 120.63 | Ontinyent |
Valle de Ayora / Vall de Cofrents | 9,835 | 1,141.15 | 8.61 | Cofrentes |
Vega Baja del Segura / Baix Segura | 355,257 | 957.28 | 362.24 | Orihuela |
Vinalopó Mitjà | 171,069 | 797.99 | 214.74 | Elda |
Total | 5,005,737 | 23,254.49 | 214.79 |
Some comarques are made up of two or more subcomarques. Most of them correspond with local geographical features. For instance, Alcoià is made up of two subcomarques: Foia de Castalla and Valls d'Alcoi.
Historical comarques refer to former comarques that are no longer extant.
Some historical comarques of the Valencian Community are now part of other comarques in the new territorial demarcation, such as Tinença de Benifassà and Ports de Morella.
The comarques of Catalonia are internal divisions in Catalonia. A comarca is a group of municipalities, roughly equivalent to a county in the US. Currently, Catalonia is divided into 42 comarques and one unique territorial entity, Aran.
A comarca is a traditional region or local administrative division found in Portugal, Spain, and some of their former colonies, like Brazil, Nicaragua, and Panama. The term is derived from the term marca, meaning a "march, mark", plus the prefix co-, meaning "together, jointly".
Alcalà de Xivert is a town and municipality in the Baix Maestrat comarca, province of Castelló, Valencian Community, Spain.
Xert is a municipality in the comarca of Baix Maestrat in the Valencian Community, Spain.
Tuéjar is a municipality in the comarca of Los Serranos in the Valencian Community, Spain.
Alt Vinalopó or Alto Vinalopó is a comarca in the province of Alicante, Valencian Community, Spain.
Albocàsser or Albocácer in Spanish is a municipality in Castellón, Valencia, Spain.
Culla is a municipality in the comarca of Alt Maestrat, Castellón, Valencia, Spain.
The Valencian Community is an autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish autonomous community after Andalusia, Catalonia and the Community of Madrid with more than five million inhabitants. Its homonymous capital Valencia is the third largest city and metropolitan area in Spain. It is located along the Mediterranean coast on the east side of the Iberian Peninsula. It borders Catalonia to the north, Aragon and Castilla–La Mancha to the west, and Murcia to the south, and the Balearic Islands are to its east. The Valencian Community is made up of three provinces: Castellón, Valencia and Alicante.
Tinença de Benifassà is a historical comarca of the Valencian Community, Spain. It is nowadays part of the Baix Maestrat, one of the present-day Comarques of the Valencian Community, even though commercial and human relationships have been stronger with Els Ports in the west, the Terres de l'Ebre in the northeast and the Matarranya in the northwest in historical times.
Betxí is a municipality in the comarca of Plana Baixa in the province of Castellón, Spain.
Rossell is a municipality in the comarca of Baix Maestrat in the Valencian Community, Spain.
Càlig is a municipality in the comarca of Baix Maestrat in the Valencian Community, Spain.
La Jana is a municipality in the comarca of Baix Maestrat in the Valencian Community, Spain. The Cervera Mountains rise just east of the town extending southwards.
Santa Magdalena de Polpís is a town and municipality in the Baix Maestrat comarca, province of Castelló, Valencian Community, Spain.
La Torre d'en Doménec or La Torre dels Domenges is a small municipality in the province of Castelló, Valencian Community, Spain. The town is located inland close to the mountain range known as Serra d'en Galceran that protects the town from the strong northern and eastern wind from the ocean.
Vilanova d'Alcolea is a municipality in the province of Castelló, Valencian Community, Spain. The town is located inland 36 km northeast of the town of Castelló de la Plana, on the north of the Valencian Community. It is a rural dryland farming town surrounded by vineyards as well as olive, almond and carob trees.
Canet lo Roig is a municipality in the comarca of Baix Maestrat in the Valencian Community, Spain.
Cervera del Maestre is a municipality in the comarca of Baix Maestrat in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is located at the southern end of the Cervera Mountains, above the Rambla de Cervera seasonal river.
La Serra d'en Galceran is a small municipality in the province of Castelló, Valencian Community, Spain. It is located inland surrounded by the mountain range known as Serra d'en Galceran. The town gives its name to the range.