Málaga

Málaga
Municipality
View from Gibralfaro
Cathedral of the Incarnation
El Cenachero
Alcazaba
Calle Marqués de Larios
Botanical Garden
La Malagueta Beach
Location of Málaga
Coordinates: 36°43′10″N 4°25′12″W / 36.71944°N 4.42000°W / 36.71944; -4.42000
CountrySpain
Autonomous communityAndalusia
ProvinceMálaga
Founded8th century BC[1]
Government
 • TypeAyuntamiento
 • BodyCity Council of Málaga
 • MayorFrancisco de la Torre Prados (PP)
Area
 • Municipality
398 km2 (154 sq mi)
 • Urban
827 km2 (319 sq mi)
Elevation
11 m (36 ft)
Highest elevation
(Pico Reina)
1,031 m (3,383 ft)
Lowest elevation0 m (0 ft)
Population
 (2024)[2]
 • Municipality
592,346
 • Rank6th
 • Density1,500/km2 (3,900/sq mi)
 • Urban967,250
 • Urban density1,200/km2 (3,000/sq mi)
GDP
 • Metro€28.244 billion (2020)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Postcode
29001-29018
Calling code+34 (Spain) 95 (Málaga)
Websitewww.malaga.eu

Málaga (/ˈmæləɡə/ ; Spanish: [ˈmalaɣa] ) is a municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 592,346 in 2024, it is the 2nd-largest city in Andalusia and the 6th-largest in the country.[2] It lies in Southern Iberia on the Costa del Sol ("Coast of the Sun") of the Mediterranean, primarily in the left bank of the Guadalhorce. The urban core originally developed in the space between the Gibralfaro Hill and the Guadalmedina.

Málaga's history spans about 2,800 years, making it one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Western Europe. According to most scholars, it was founded about 770 BC by the Phoenicians from Tyre as Malaka.[5] From the 6th century BC the city was under the hegemony of Ancient Carthage, and from 218 BC, it was under Roman rule, economically prospering owing to garum production.[6] In the 8th century, after a period of Visigothic and Byzantine rule, it was placed under Islamic rule. In 1487, the Crown of Castile gained control in the midst of the Granada War. In the 19th century, the city underwent a period of industrialisation followed by a decay in all socioeconomic parametres in the last third of the century.[7]

The most important business sectors in Málaga are tourism, construction and technology services, but other sectors such as transportation and logistics are beginning to expand. Málaga has consolidated as a tech hub, with companies mainly concentrated in the Málaga TechPark (Technology Park of Andalusia).[8] It hosts the headquarters of the region's largest bank, Unicaja, and it is the fourth-ranking city in Spain in terms of economic activity behind Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia.[9] Regarding transportation, Málaga is served by the Málaga–Costa del Sol Airport and the Port of Málaga, and the city was connected to the high-speed railway network in 2007.

  1. ^ Aubet, María Eugenia. The Phoenicians and the West: politics, colonies and trade. Cambridge University Press. Archived 23 June 2016 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ a b "Annual population census 2021-2024". INE.
  3. ^ "Ministerio de Fomento: Las Grandes Áreas Urbanas y sus municipios (ordenadas por población)" (PDF). Retrieved 1 June 2019.
  4. ^ "Gross domestic product (GDP) at current market prices by metropolitan regions". ec.europa.eu.
  5. ^ Christopher Wawn; David Wood (2000). In Search of Andalucia: A Historical Geographical Observation of the Málaga Sea Board. Pentland. p. 4. ISBN 978-1-85821-690-4.
  6. ^ Corrales Aguilar, Pilar (2005). "Aportaciones de la arqueología urbana para el conocimiento de la Málaga romana" (PDF). Mainake (27): 125. ISSN 0212-078X.
  7. ^ López Cano, Damián; Santiago Ramos, Antonio (1992). "Industrialización/desindustrialización malagueña en los siglos XIX y XX: Una nueva aproximación". Estudios Geográficos. 53 (207). Madrid: CSIC Press: 314–316. doi:10.3989/egeogr.1992.i207.307. S2CID 248246218.
  8. ^ Castillo, Carlos del (28 May 2021). "El insospechado éxito de "Málaga Valley": así le está levantando la inversión tecnológica a capitales europeas". eldiario.es.
  9. ^ "LaCaixa Bank economic report, 2011 (Spanish)". Archived from the original on 20 June 2012.