Autonomous Regions of Portugal in the context of "Azores"

Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. It is an unitary semi-presidential republic composed by continental Portugal and two autonomous regions, with Lisbon as both its capital and largest city. The continental portion borders Spain to the north and east, with Madeira and the Azores in the Atlantic Ocean. It features the westernmost point in continental Europe.

The western Iberian Peninsula has been continuously inhabited since prehistoric times, with the earliest signs of settlement dating to 5500 BC. Celtic and Iberian peoples arrived in the first millennium BC. The region came under Roman control in the second century BC. A succession of Germanic peoples and the Alans ruled from the fifth to eighth centuries AD. Muslims invaded mainland Portugal in the eighth century, but were gradually expelled by the Christian Reconquista, culminating with the capture of the Algarve between 1238 and 1249. Modern Portugal began taking shape during this period, initially as a county of the Christian Kingdom of León in 868, and formally as a sovereign kingdom with the Manifestis Probatum in 1179.

Madeira, officially the Autonomous Region of Madeira, is an autonomous region of Portugal, in the Atlantic Ocean about 805 km (500 miles) southwest of mainland Portugal. Together with the Azores, it is one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal and a special territory of the European Union. It is the southernmost point and region of Portugal.

Madeira is an archipelago situated in the North Atlantic Ocean, in the region of Macaronesia, just under 400 kilometres (250 mi) north of the Canary Islands, Spain, 520 kilometres (320 mi) west of Morocco and 805 kilometres (500 mi) southwest of mainland Portugal. Madeira sits on the African Tectonic Plate, but is culturally, politically and ethnically associated with Europe, with its population predominantly descended from Portuguese settlers. Its population was 251,060 in 2021. The capital of Madeira is Funchal, on the main island's south coast.

Intermunicipal communities (Portuguese: comunidades intermunicipais) are a type of administrative division in Portugal. Since the 2013 local government reform, there are 21 intermunicipal communities. They replaced the urban communities, the intermunicipal communities for general purposes and some metropolitan areas that were created in 2003, and abolished in 2008. The territories of the intermunicipal communities are the basis of the NUTS III statistical regions.

The branches of administration of the intermunicipal community are the intermunicipal assembly, the intermunicipal council, the intermunicipal executive secretariat and the strategic board for intermunicipal development. The intermunicipal assembly is composed of elected members of the municipal assemblies of the municipalities. The intermunicipal council is composed of the presidents of the municipal chambers of the municipalities.

Portugal is a unitary state with delegated authority to three levels of local government that cover the entire country:

• 2 autonomous regions (Azores and Madeira), and in Continental Portugal: 2 metropolitan areas, and 21 intermunicipal communities
• 308 municipalities
• 3091 civil parishes (freguesias) (except Corvo Island which only has a single municipality)

The Judiciary of Portugal has a separate geographic system. Portugal has a long history of complex, inconsistent and layered administrative geography. As a result, there is no single, unified layer of administrative units that spans the entire Portugal.

The subdivisions of Portugal are based on a complex administrative structure. The second-level administrative division, after the 7 regions and 2 autonomous regions, is 308 municipalities (concelhos) which are further subdivided into 3091 civil parishes (freguesias).