Malaga Province

Málaga is one of the eight Spanish provinces that make up the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is located to the south of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Mediterranean coast, between the provinces of Granada, to the east, and Cádiz, to the west. To the north it limits with the provinces of Córdoba and Seville. Its capital is the city of Malaga. The province is famous thanks to its entire coastline, known worldwide as the Costa del Sol, which enjoys the privilege of being the third in terms of tourism in the Iberian Peninsula, where the second most important city in Malaga, Marbella, is also located.

It has an area of 7,308 km² distributed in 103 municipalities, 9 counties and 12 judicial districts. Its population exceeds one million six hundred and ninety thousand inhabitants, according to the 2019 census, being the second province of Andalusia and the sixth in Spain by population.

The territory occupied by the province of Malaga was inhabited since ancient times, as evidenced by the set of dolmens of Antequera, the cave paintings of the Cueva de Nerja, the first known to humanity dating back more than 40,000 years, those of the Cueva de la Pileta in Benaoján and the Cueva del Tesoro in Rincón de la Victoria. Dominated by the first Mediterranean colonizers, the Phoenicians in Malaka and the Greeks in the Toscanos and Mainake, the province was an economic and commercial center for the Carthaginians, Romans and Byzantines, and had a historical background as the ancient Muslim kingdom of the Taifa of Málaga of the XI century, being constituted in its current configuration after the administrative division of 1833, conforming to territories attached at that historical moment to the ancient kingdoms of Granada and Seville. The postal code of the municipalities of Malaga begins with 29 and the telephone prefixes are 951 and 952.

Toponymy

Verdial dancer

As is common in much of Spain, the province has taken its name from its capital, the city of Malaga. For this reason, he shares his official names with her, malagueño/a and malacitano/a, alluding to the old Phoenician place name Malaka.

Symbols

The coat of arms and the flag of the province of Malaga are its official symbols.

Shield

The coat of arms is divided into two quarters. The right partition is made up of the elements of the coat of arms of the city of Málaga: in a field of azure, some rocks crowned by a town accompanied by a port below, all on waves of the sea of silver and azure, and in the right-hand corner of boss, employers. The partition on the left consists of a gold field with six gules stripes, which represent the twelve judicial districts of the province, not counting the city of Malaga. Split border of sínople (green) and purple, charged with four bundles of five arrows held by a yoke, all of it made of silver and a bouquet of the same metal (color), alternating. The timbre, Spanish royal crown, open and without diadems (ancient royal crown) with rosettes that differ from the usual ones. The shield appears on parchment and the whole surrounded by a ribbon loaded with the motto "The first in the danger of Liberty, the very Noble, very Loyal, very Hospitable, very Beneficent and always Brave City of Malaga" written in saber letters..

Flag

The design of the flag is based on the flag of the maritime province of Malaga. Its shape and colors are a white background with the shield in the center and a light blue border around the edge.

Geography

Topography of the province

Sierras Prieta y de la Cabrilla

Defiladero de los Gaitanes

Aerial view of the province of Malaga from the ISS.

The provincial territory is located between parallels 37º 17' and 36º 18' north latitude and los meridanos 3º 47' and 5th 37' west longitude. The relief is markedly mountainous, with maximum altitudes around 2000 m s. no. m. on the summits of La Maroma (2066 m.a.s.l.) and El Torrecilla (1919 m.a.s.l.). Approximately one third of the territory is between 0 and 400 m s. no. m. Another third, between 400 and 800 m s. no. m. And the last third, between 800 and 2000 m s. no. m.

Provincial boundary

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Interactive map — Province of Malaga

Relief

The province of Malaga is included in the Betic Systems. The Penibética mountain range crosses the province in an east-west direction, descending to the sea, to which it falls into cliffs at some points. To the north of the Penibética appears the Surco Intrabético, which in this province forms the Ronda Depression and the Hoya de Antequera, and to the north of these, the southern foothills of the Subbética mountain range mark the northern limit of the province.

To the west is the Serranía de Ronda and to the east the major reliefs are the Almijara, Tejeda and Alhama mountains. To the south, parallel to the Serranía de Ronda is the Sierra Bermeja.

The Penibética mountain range runs parallel to the coastline, forming a barrier between the coast and the interior, made up of a set of coastal mountain ranges that often exceed 1000 m s. no. m. altitude. From east to west, the Sierras de Tejeda and Almijara constitute the mountainous environment of the eastern coast, where the Montes de Málaga are also inserted. The Sierra de Mijas, Sierra Alpujata and Sierra Blanca make up the beginning of the western coastal ranges, while Sierra Bermeja and its small extension in Sierra Crestellina close this mountainous alignment.

In the narrow strip between the mountains and the sea there is a great diversity of landscapes: beaches, cliffs, mouths, coves and dunes. The coastline shows a slightly cut profile. Sandy areas occupy most of the Costa del Sol, except for some rocky sections in Manilva, Mijas, Torremolinos, Benalmádena, Rincón de la Victoria and the Maro cliffs, in the municipality of Nerja.

In the coastal relief, the bays of Malaga and Estepona stand out, separated by Punta de Calaburras. The emergent lands are extended under the sea by a narrow and shallow continental shelf that reaches an average width of about 5 km and a maximum depth of 150-200 m.

Hydrography

The province of Malaga belongs, along with the provinces of Cádiz, Granada and Almería, to the Andalusian Mediterranean basin. The main river is the Guadalhorce, which runs through the province from north to south, collecting water from almost half of the territory, and which in summer shows many dry sections due to excessive use of water. In the western part, thanks to high rainfall, the Guadiaro River and its tributary, the Genal, stand out. Along with these, other smaller rivers in the western half of the province, the Verde River, the Guadalmansa, the Guadalmina, the El Burgo River (Sierra de las Nieves), the Guadaiza and the Fuengirola River, are the only ones that carry water. all year. In the eastern part, the Guadalmedina River and the Vélez River stand out, which dry up during the summer months. The Fuente de Piedra lagoon, famous for the colony of flamingos that inhabits it, is the largest in the province.

Climate

The Mediterranean warm temperate climate predominates with long dry and hot summers and short and mild winters. The relief and geographical location give rise to variations from one area to another. In general, in the eastern coastal areas the subtropical Mediterranean climate predominates and in the extreme west, the oceanic Mediterranean, with more abundant rainfall. To the north, the continental Mediterranean climate with colder winters.

Mean annual temperatures range from 12.5 °C to 19 °C.

Flora and fauna

The most common species of flora in the province of Malaga are the Mediterranean species. The landscape is dominated by scrub that has gradually replaced the original forests, although forests of pines, Spanish firs, holm oaks and cork oaks remain above all. There are more than 80 endemic species to the province, highlighting the areas of the Serranía de Ronda and the western coastal mountain ranges on the one hand and the Sierras del Arco Limezo Central and Tejeda and Almijara up to the cliffs of Maro-Cerro Gordo for their floral richness. for the other. In 2002 it was revealed that Málaga is the province with the most endangered species in mainland Spain and the Balearic Islands. As for fauna, according to a 2004 study, the wild fauna of vertebrates that inhabit the province of Málaga It is made up of nine species of fish, eleven of amphibians, 21 of reptiles, 302 of birds and 53 of mammals, distributed unevenly in the different habitats of the province that are listed below.

Mountain areas

Cabra montés en El Torcal

The mountains and escarpments located between 600 and 2000 m s. no. m. They occupy just over 32% of the provincial territory and make up the bulk of the protected area in the Los Alcornocales, Sierra de Grazalema, Montes de Málaga, Sierra de las Nieves and Sierras de Tejeda, Almijara and Alhama natural parks, as well as the of the Gaitanes Gorge, Los Reales de Sierra Bermeja, Sierra Crestellina and El Torcal de Antequera.

The long-tailed lizard, the ocellated lizard, the bastard snake, the ladder snake and the long-nosed viper are found here among the reptile species. Among the bird species, the rock thrush, the mountain bunting, the black wheatear, the crow, the jackdaw and the red-billed chough, of the passerine order, stand out. Apodiforms present include the Common Swift and the Royal Swift. The birds of prey present are the eagle owl, the little owl, the golden eagle, Bonelli's eagle, the griffon vulture, the Egyptian vulture, the peregrine falcon and the common kestrel. For its part, among the mammals are the ibex and small and medium-sized carnivores such as the fox, the Iberian lynx, the only surviving canid in the province, the badger, the genet and the mongoose.

Forests

The forest areas correspond to the Mediterranean forest, with a predominance of cork oaks in the extreme west of the province, the fir forest in the Sierra de las Nieves, the pine forests in the Almijara and Bermeja mountains, the holm oaks in the Sierra de Líbar and the chestnut groves in Genal.

This habitat shelters the bastard snake, the ladder snake, the collared snake, the common salamander and the marbled newt among reptiles and amphibians. Ornithofauna species include columbiforms such as the wood pigeon and European turtle dove, woodpeckers such as the woodpecker and great spotted woodpecker, passerines such as the tree-creeper, great tit, tick, crossbill and the threatened royal redstart. There are also diurnal birds of prey such as the common goshawk, the common hawk, the short-toed eagle, the booted eagle and the buzzard, as well as strigiformes such as the barn tawny owl, the long-eared owl and the little owl and corvids such as the jay and the dartwing. Of the mammals, the deer, the roe deer and the wild boar stand out, and other smaller ones such as the squirrel, the weasel, the marten, the polecat, the badger, the wild cat, the mongoose, the genet and the fox.

Scrub

The scrubland habitat in the province is the result of human activity on the forests. It is configured by mastic, arbutus, rockrose, gorse, rosemary, hawthorn and shrubs such as the kermes oak, dotted with holm oak pastures. The herpetofauna is very similar to that found in forested areas, highlighting the chameleon in the Axarquía area. The bird life presents a great diversity: the black-headed warbler, the dartboard warbler, the wren, the stonechat, the gray wheatear, the yellow wheatear, the lark, the mountain lark, the common nightingale, the bee-eater and the red partridge. Among the mammals, in addition to the species present in the wooded areas, there are the Iberian hare, rabbit and bats, which are the most numerous mammals in the province.

Wetlands

Flamencos in the Fountain of Stone

The wetlands of the province can be natural, that is, lagoons and river courses, or artificial swamps. The main humid ecosystems are concentrated in the Antequera depression, where the natural reserves of the Fuente de Piedra Lagoon, the Ratosa Lagoon, the Archidona Lagoons and the Campillos Lagoons are located. The most common trees that grow on the banks of the rivers are poplar, willow, ash, elm and ojaranzo from the Cortes de la Frontera area and the alder from Genal.

Reptiles and amphibians such as the gallipato, the marbled newt, the southern spotted frog, the common frog, the leper turtle, the viperine snake and the collared snake are found here. Once again, birds are the most numerous species, represented by anseriformes such as the mallard, the red duck, the common teal and the white-headed duck, which coexist with other species of different orders such as the common grebe, the great crested grebe, the coot, moorhen, gray heron, cattle egret, white stork, avocet, stilt, common ibis, and common flamingo, which has its largest breeding colony in Spain in the Fuente de Piedra lagoon, the common crane, the black stork and the warbler, the oriole, the dipper, the kingfisher and the marsh harrier, more linked to peripheral vegetation.

Mammals are present with the fox, the palearctic otter, rodents such as the dormouse and the water vole, insectivores such as the common hedgehog, the Moorish hedgehog and the shrew and the mustelids mentioned above. The autochthonous ichthyofauna includes the gypsy barbel, the river vogue, the cachuelo, the tusk and the friar. However, they are threatened species due to the introduction of alien species. It is also worth mentioning the only native crustacean: the crayfish, seriously threatened by the American crayfish.

Coastline

Rorcual stranded being removed from a beach in Marbella

The proximity of the Atlantic Ocean favors the faunal diversity of the Mediterranean coast of Malaga. It is noteworthy that almost the entire coastline has undergone major transformations since the 1960s, with much of its scenic and natural interest having disappeared. The marine fauna is divided between the sandy habitat that represents 80% of the coast, where meadows of marine phanerogams such as Posidonia oceanica and seagrass develop, very scarce today, which are home to mollusks, crustaceans and coelenterates of various species and fish such as sole, spider, ruby, red mullet, blacksmith, seahorses, dogfish, sea bream, snapper, mullet and whitebait. The extraction of sand for the artificial regeneration of the beaches that is carried out annually has a great impact on said fauna. The rocky habitat is even richer in biodiversity with a large number of communities of molluscs, crustaceans and coelenterates and fish such as the vieja, the goby, the rockfish, the conger eel, the moray eel, the wren, the wren, the bream, the sea bream. and the grouper.

On the high seas there are anchovies, sardines, tuna, mackerel, horse mackerel, swordfish, hake and sunfish among others, as well as large reptiles such as the loggerhead turtle, the green turtle and the hawksbill turtle and cetaceans such as the common dolphin, the striped dolphin, the bottlenose dolphin, the pilot whale, the pilot whale and the minke whale. The coastal avifauna includes species of shearwaters, storm petrels, terns, cormorants, skuas, gulls, albatrosses, plovers, sandpipers, redshanks, turnstones, oystercatchers, etc.

Agricultural areas

The predominant agricultural areas are olive groves, almond groves, citrus fruits and herbaceous crops, which extend mainly through the Antequera depression and the Ronda depression or in hilly reliefs. These habitats support a herpetofauna with species of ocellated lizard, Iberian lizard, common gecko, Iberian skink, [[snake bastard]], ladder snake, common toad and common frog. The ornithofauna includes the great tit, the blue tit, the common blackbird, the common finch, the goldfinch, the linnet, the greenfinch, the barn swallow, the red partridge, the common quail, the ominous little bustard, the Montagu's harrier, the lesser kestrel, the barn owl, the short-eared owl and the little owl. The mammals that have adapted to this habitat are the fox, the weasel, the genet, the common hedgehog, the field mouse, the country rat, the Iberian mole, the wild boar, the rabbit and the Iberian hare.

Urban areas

Seagulls on a beach in Estepona

Urban ecosystems logically present less biodiversity and are characterized by the effects of the incorporation of alien species and excessive urbanization. Within the city of Malaga, the mountains of Gibralfaro and Victoria stand out, covered for the most part by Aleppo pines. The Toquero Stream was destroyed in recent decades to give rise to a residential area. Recently, the upper part of the stream, where there were still populations of natterjack toads, painted toads, chameleons and bee-eaters, has been completely eliminated and turned into a concrete drain. All the areas between the city and the motorway that surrounds it are facing the same fate, despite their potential for environmental education and beautification of the city, which is highly visited by tourists. Currently, all the surroundings of the city accumulate rubble, rubbish and illegal constructions, and also suffer from the proliferation of tracks created by cyclists and motorcyclists, with the consequent destruction of vegetation and soil erosion. This is extensible to other large towns in the province, especially on the coast, where the destruction of natural habitats is constant (mouth of the Vélez river, Marbella dunes, coastal scrub, etc.). Even so, it is still possible to observe reptiles and amphibians such as the chameleon, already very rare, the common gecko, the Iberian lizard, the common frog and the common toad. More numerous are the species of birds, among which are the yellow-legged gull, the lesser black gull and the black-headed gull, present in coastal urban areas. The common swift, pallid swift, barn swallow, house martin, common kestrel, lesser kestrel and peregrine falcon nest on top of buildings, while robins, common blackbirds, house sparrows, scops and the barn owl prefer landscaped areas. Flocks of common starlings and the Eurasian turtle dove are frequent, as well as alien species such as the Argentine parrot. The fox and the common hedgehog are the mammals present in the urban peripheries, as well as the common rat, adaptable to any urban area.

Natural monuments

Threats to fauna and flora

The two main threats facing the fauna and flora of Malaga are: firstly, the destruction of habitats and secondly, the proliferation of introduced species. Although some areas of the province enjoy some form of protection, others remain, inexplicably, without any type of effective protection. A clear example is that of the Sierra de Mijas, where despite its endemic botanicals and important fauna, it lacks legal protection. In the last decades, the destruction of habitats has increased enormously, mainly due to the urbanization of extensive areas for second homes and the construction of numerous communication routes. All of this has led to the destruction or overexploitation of aquifers (Abdalajís), the destruction of riverbeds (Guadalhorce), the felling of trees (holm oaks in the Serranía de Ronda), the correction of mountain slopes, erosion, water pollution, extinction local species (such as the chameleon), etc.

History

Dioniso hijo y Herma báquica del Museo de Málaga

The territory occupied by the province of Malaga was inhabited since ancient times, as evidenced by the set of dolmens of Antequera, the cave paintings of the Cueva de Nerja, the first known to humanity dating back more than 40,000 years, those of the Cueva de la Pileta in Benaoján and the Cueva del Tesoro in Rincón de la Victoria. Dominated by the first Mediterranean colonizers, the Phoenicians in Malaka and the Greeks in the Toscanos and Mainake, the province was an economic and commercial center for the Carthaginians, Romans and Byzantines, and had a historical background as the ancient Muslim kingdom of the Taifa of Málaga of the XI century, being constituted in its current configuration after the administrative division of 1833, conforming to territories attached at that historical moment to the ancient kingdoms of Granada and Seville.

Fortaleza de Vélez-Málaga

In 1801 the maritime province of Málaga was established, independent of Granada, and in 1809, with the division of Spain into departments, the department of El Salado was created, with its capital in Málaga, dependent on the province of Granada. On September 8, 1820, the Liberal Cortes approved a Resolution that confirmed a Royal Decree of September 25, by which the province of Málaga, 2nd class, was separated from that of Granada.

The Royal Decree of November 30, 1833 confirmed the already existing Province of Málaga, which was formed by uniting towns from the Kingdom of Granada and the Kingdom of Seville. The following belonged to the Kingdom of Seville: Teba, Cañete la Real, Archidona, Hardales and Sierra de las Yeguas. To Granada all other towns: Málaga, Ronda, Antequera, Fuente Piedra, Marbella, Estepona, Torre del Mar, Vélez-Málaga, Comares, Coín, Alora, Alhaurin, Cártama, Casarabonela, Casa Bermeja, Almoxia, Alhaurinejo or Alhaurin el Chico, Colmenar, Río Gordo, Torrox, Nerja, Frigiliana and Monda.

Since its conquest in 1497, Melilla depended on Malaga for administrative and legal purposes and was linked to it through a permanent maritime link. In 1995 the city of Melilla obtained its Statute of Autonomy, becoming an autonomous city and segregating itself from the province of Malaga. The province is currently made up of the municipalities that can be seen in the annex Municipalities of the province of Malaga.

Foreign residents by continents

Proceedings	Total	% Total Ext.	% Total AC.	% Pob.
Europeans	185 520	65.4%	46%	11.4%
European Union	168 861	59.5%	45.6 per cent	10.4%
American	48 587	17.1%	34.6 per cent	3%
African	37 970	13.4%	23.9 per cent	2.3 per cent
Asian	11 241	3.9 per cent	41.7 per cent	0.7 per cent
Oceania and stateless persons	180	0.06%	42.8 per cent	0.01%
Total	283 498	100%	38.8 per cent	17.4%

Demographics

Population pyramid in the province of Malaga in 2008, compared to 1981 (in red)

Ibero-American folk group during the celebration of the International Fair of Peoples in Fuengirola and Mijas

Municipal map of immigrants in the Province of Malaga in 2007

As of July 1, 2021, the province of Málaga has a population of 1,700,752 inhabitants, which makes it the second most populous province in Andalusia and the sixth in Spain and the one experiencing the highest demographic growth despite the COVID 19 pandemic. The demography of Málaga, therefore, has experienced strong growth in recent decades compared to both the regional and national average.

The population is mainly concentrated in the metropolitan area of Malaga and along the coastal strip. In the interior, the municipalities of Antequera, Ronda or Alhaurín de la Torre stand out, with more than 37,000 inhabitants. The population density exceeds both the Andalusian and the Spanish average, reaching 227.67 inhabitants/km².

Málaga is a province with a clear cosmopolitan vocation and has a percentage close to 20% of the foreign population, made up mainly of citizens of the European Union. Among them stands out the British community with about 73,000 residents. Regarding the Andalusian Autonomous Community, the province of Malaga concentrates more than 50% of foreign citizens from countries such as the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Finland or Argentina, among others, and 46% of the total number of European citizens who They reside in Andalusia.

Distribution

The province of Malaga is the 14th in Spain in which there is a higher percentage of inhabitants concentrated in its capital (34.79%, compared to 31.96% for the whole of Spain).

Main foreign nationalities

Country	Total	% Total Ext.	% Total AC.	% Pob.'
United KingdomUnited Kingdom	72 852	25.7 per cent	62.1 per cent	4.5%
MoroccoMorocco	29 261	10.3%	24.7%	1.8%
GermanyGermany	16 761	5.9 per cent	60.8%	1%
Romania Romania	14 230	5%	14.3%	0.9%
ItalyItaly	11 877	4.2%	56.2%	0.7 per cent
Argentina	10 929	3.5%	53.2 per cent	0.67%
Paraguay Paraguay	8084	2.8%	66.2 per cent	0.5%
Ukraine Ukraine	7354	2.6%	59.5%	0.45%
France	7242	2.5%	45%	0.4%
FinlandFinland	6600	2.3 per cent	96%	0.4%
ColombiaColombia	6535	2.3 per cent	30.2%	0.4%
ChinaChina	5794	2%	35.8 per cent	0.35%

Most populated municipalities

According to the INE municipal register, the twenty most populated municipalities in the province in 2022 were:

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  Population density 2021

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  Population map by municipalities in the province of Malaga

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  Variation of the municipal population 2001-2011

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  Variation of the municipal population 2011-2021

Politics and Administration

Provincial Government

Former Palacio de la Diputación, in Plaza de la Marina de Málaga

The Government and the autonomous administration of the province correspond to the Provincial Council of Malaga, an organization similar to that of the other Spanish provinces. The Provincial Council was created in 1836, following the organization of Spain into provinces. At that time, he exercised powers in the areas of public works, education, charity, as well as intermediate functions between the municipalities and the state administration. On April 26, 1979 (Málaga Province Day) it was established as a democratic body along with the transition process that was taking place in Spain.

The Provincial Council, as its governing bodies, are made up of the president, the vice-presidents, the Corporation, the Plenary and the informative Commissions. Its president is Elías Bendodo, a member of the Popular Party, elected in 2011.

Territorial organization

Judicial parties

Regions of the Congress

In the territorial organization of the province, a distinction is made between the county level, the municipal level and the local autonomous entities. For the different sectoral policies, an ad hoc regionalization has been carried out. Thus, there are judicial districts (judicial districts), tourism, health, etc., used for the planning and management of public facilities. The one with the greatest historical tradition is the judicial district, which divides the province into eleven judicial districts, whose heads are: Antequera, Vélez-Málaga, Málaga, Ronda, Fuengirola, Marbella, Estepona, Torrox, Coín, Archidona and Torremolinos.

As established in article 137 of the Spanish Constitution, the province of Malaga is divided into municipalities with autonomy of management and their own executive and legislative powers. Municipalities may be composed of various population entities. They can also be grouped in supra-municipal organizations and associations of various kinds that manage aspects of mutual interest such as tourism, water supply, landfills, etc.

The most widespread regional division in the province is regulated by the Malaga Provincial Council, which establishes 9 regions.

State and regional policy

The province of Malaga is one of the 52 constituencies used as electoral districts since 1977 for the lower house of the Cortes Generales, the Congress of Deputies, and one of the 60 for the upper house, the Senate. In addition, since the establishment of the autonomous Government of Andalusia in 1982, it is at the same time one of the eight electoral constituencies for the Andalusian Parliament.

Under Spanish electoral law, in the 1977 general elections, 8 members of Congress were elected by Málaga. This figure was increased to 9 members for the general elections of 1986 and to 10, for those of 1989, a figure that has been maintained since then. In the case of the Parliament of Andalusia, the Málaga constituency corresponds to 16 of a total of 109 seats, according to the provisions of article 17 of Law 1/1986, of January 2, Electoral of Andalusia.

Municipal policy

The parties with the greatest presence in all the different municipalities of the province of Malaga are the major state and regional parties: PP, PSOE-A and IULV-CA.

Economy

Wind farm in the Sierra de Baños

Puerto Banús, exponent of tourism of high purchasing power in Marbella and the Costa del Sol

The economy of the province of Malaga is the second of all the Andalusian provinces. According to the La Caixa Economic Yearbook 2011, the economic activity index for the province of Malaga, whose value reflects the relative weight of economic activity with respect to the total for Spain (100,000), would be 3,106 points.

Historically, the province of Malaga has had the greatest sources of wealth creation in agriculture and in the trade of agricultural and manufactured products. The contemporary production structure took shape during the 1960s, when an accelerated process of industrialization took place on a par with the rest of Spain, but with the peculiarity of the enormous weight acquired by the tourism sector on the Costa del Sol. In the XXI continues the national trend regarding the outsourcing of the economy. Thus, the services sector generates three quarters of activity and around 70% of employment, while agriculture continues to decline.

Tourism and construction have been to a great extent the engines of the provincial economy, although the province also has an important industrial fabric, notable in the sector of new technologies.

Exports from the province reached 2,198 million euros in 2017.

According to AEAT data for 2018, the municipalities in the province with the highest average gross income are Benahavís, Rincón de la Victoria, Marbella, Málaga and Alhaurín de la Torre.

Fishing industry

Small fishing boat on the Malaga coast

The fishing sector in Malaga has a long tradition as a source of income and job creation in the capture, marketing and transformation of fishing products. However, currently, the Malaga fishing industry is going through a recessive period, as part of its fishing grounds and resources may have exceeded the permissible catch limit.

According to 2008 data, some 800 families in the province live from fishing. The Malaga fleet is made up of 340 vessels (45 purse seine, 57 trawler, 238 small gear, 140 shellfish and 98 other gear) of which only 235 fish regularly. This contingent caught in 2007, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, some 14.5 million kilos that had a combined value of 25.5 million euros gross.

The fishing fleet is grouped into five brotherhoods in the ports of Estepona, Marbella, Fuengirola, Málaga and Vélez-Málaga, the latter bringing together a third of the fleet.

Transportation

Air transportation

Málaga-Costa del Sol airport is the third airport in the Iberian Peninsula and the fourth in Spain in number of passengers. In 2019 it registered 144,920 flights and 19,856,299 passengers (2.5% more than in 2018), of which 16,851,281 correspond to international flights (+4%) which represents around 85% of international traffic the region and places it as the main communications infrastructure of Andalusia, the region's door to the world and the great airport in the south of the peninsula and in North Africa. More than 50 airlines (53 in total) maintain connections Direct international flights with 136 cities around the world, mainly throughout Europe, but also in North Africa, the Middle East (Qatar, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia) and North America (New York, Toronto and Montreal), in addition to domestic flights to the main Spanish cities. Since 1996, it has also operated a regular helicopter service between Malaga airport and Ceuta heliport, which transports around 20,000 passengers each year.

The airport is connected to the city by urban bus 24 hours a day (line A, Aeropuerto - Paseo del Parque) and by numerous intercity buses to the Costa del Sol, as well as by train suburban. Since 2010 it has a third terminal and since June 2012 with a second runway.

Port of Malaga

Sea transport

By sea through the Port of Malaga, the capital of the province communicates with various ports on the Mediterranean Sea, currently being the second port for tourist cruises in Spain after Barcelona, although the only regular line service It is the ferry that connects Malaga with Melilla. Since the 1990s, remodeling has been carried out to integrate the port into the city, expand the docks and dikes, and build different buildings and museums. There are also other ports in Malaga for sports use: Puerto El Candado and the marina of the Real Club Mediterráneo.

In the province we find numerous essentially fishing and sports ports: Puerto Banús, Puerto Marina, the Port of La Bajadilla, the Port of Fuengirola, the Port of La Caleta de Vélez, the Port of Estepona, the Port of Cabopino, the Port de la Duquesa and the Marina of Marbella.

In 2011, a pioneering Aqua Taxi service in Spain came into operation. It will link the Port of Malaga with those of Benalmádena, Fuengirola, Marbella and Puerto Banús in vessels of up to 12 passengers. The plans contemplate its extension to Gibraltar and Nerja.

Marine lighthouses

Interior of the Malaga-María Zambrano Station in Malaga

Rail transport

From the new Málaga-María Zambrano de Adif Station, the capital is linked with some towns in the province, especially on the Costa del Sol and the Guadalhorce valley, through the Málaga suburban network, and with the rest of Spain with daily trains to Madrid, Barcelona and Córdoba, among other destinations.

Tramway from Vélez-Málaga

The Málaga-Córdoba high-speed line (AVE) was inaugurated on December 23, 2007, reducing the trip to Madrid to two and a half hours. This line connects the city with Antequera-Santa Ana, Puente Genil, Puertollano and Ciudad Real. In the same way, an AVE line is established between Malaga and Seville using the Malaga-Córdoba-Sevilla routes, saving 35 minutes on the journey. In addition, it also has AVE connections with direct trains to Valencia and Barcelona, passing through Zaragoza.

Apart from high-speed services, it has Medium Distance routes, the only two routes with passenger service are to Seville and Ronda, both circulating through El Chorro.

Road network

The main roads in the province are those that form part of the State Highway Network, of national interest and built and maintained by the Government of Spain. The coastal axis of the Mediterranean highway stands out, built in the 1980s in its section between Malaga and Marbella and which was one of the first free highways in Andalusia. In the 1990s, this highway was extended at its ends to Estepona and Nerja, and the road access to Malaga from Antequera was doubled, connecting with the interior of Andalusia and Spain. A toll motorway between Fuengirola and Estepona was also put into service, later extended to the provincial border with Cádiz. In the 2000s, the coastal highway finally reached the borders of the province, and in 2010, several projects were completed in order to relieve traffic congestion in the province. The capital's second ring road and a toll highway to Puerto de las Pedrizas were opened to traffic; Actions were also carried out on urban highways such as the new access to the Airport and the burying of the highway through San Pedro Alcántara.

The regional network is secondary but equally fundamental, not only for provincial routes, but also for regional and national ones. The A-92 stands out, a transversal highway built on old national highways that connects Seville with Almería, passing through the north of the province of Málaga. It was built in the 1990s; later it was complemented with a shortcut to shorten the journeys between Malaga and Granada, and consequently with Madrid. The other autonomous highway in the province is the A-357, which began connecting the center of Malaga with the new university campus and the Andalusia Technology Park, and in successive extensions it reached various municipalities in the Guadalhorce Valley. Other outstanding single carriageway roads in the regional network are the A-384 from Antequera to Arcos de la Frontera (Cádiz), the A-397 from Ronda to San Pedro Alcántara, and the A-356 that connects Vélez-Málaga with Casabermeja and therefore with the A-45.

The dual carriageways and highways that run through the province are:

Intercity bus

From the Malaga bus station, managed by the EMT, located on Paseo de los Tilos, next to the María Zambrano train station, it connects the capital with all the municipalities of the province, and the main cities from Spain and Europe.

To facilitate communications with the periphery, in February 2005 the single ticket of the Málaga Area Metropolitan Transport Consortium came into force, which coordinates the urban bus lines of Málaga and Alhaurín de la Torre, and the lines that connect the city with the municipalities of the Metropolitan Area of Malaga. Currently, the Consorcio card can be used on the suburban train and in the future, it will include the metro. The vehicles are beige, and the line number has three figures, preceded by an M (Metropolitan)

There is also a bus station at Muelle Heredia, rehabilitated by the Transport Consortium in 2010, in the center of the city, next to the Port of Malaga, with destinations to various locations in its metropolitan area: Rincón de La Victoria, Vélez-Málaga, Churriana, Campanillas, Torremolinos, Benalmádena, the Barriada del Sexmo (Cártama) and the Barriada de Los Núñez (Almogía).

Interurban lines of the Transport Consortium
Line	Traject.	Tour and Hours	Plan
M-110	Malaga-Benalmadena Costa	Tour and Hours	Plan
M-112	Malaga-Mijas	Tour and Hours	Plan
M-113	Málaga-Fuengirola (Directo)	Tour and Hours	Plan
M-114	Mijas-Teatinos	Tour and Hours	Plan
M-115	Malaga-Benalmadena Costa (Directo)	Tour and Hours	Plan
M-116	Benalmadena-Teatinos	Tour and Hours	Plan
M-120	Torremolinos-Fuengirola	Tour and Hours	Plan
M-121	Torremolinos-Benalmádena-Mijas	Tour and Hours	Plan
M-122	Mijas-Fuengirola	Tour and Hours	Plan
M-123	Churriana-Benalmádena Costa	Tour and Hours	Plan
M-124	Carola-Torremolinos	Tour and Hours	Plan
M-125	Patronato-Torremolinos	Tour and Hours	Plan
M-126	Benalmadena-Torremolinos	Tour and Hours	Plan
M-127	Las Lagunas- Estación de Autobuses	Tour and Hours	Plan
M-130	Malaga-Santa Rosalía	Tour and Hours	Plan
M-131	Malaga-Cártama	Tour and Hours	Plan
M-132	Malaga-Alhaurín the Great	Tour and Hours	Plan
M-131	Málaga-Alhaurín de la Torre-Pinos de Alhaurín	Tour and Hours	Plan
M-134	Malaga-El Sexmo	Tour and Hours	Plan
M-135	Malaga-Santa Amalia	Tour and Hours	Plan
M-136	Cártama-Alhaurín de la Torre-Plaza Mayor	Tour and Hours	Plan
M-137	Gibralgalia-Pizarra	Tour and Hours	Plan
M-140	Cartama-Alhaurín de la Torre-Torremolinos (summer only)	Tour and Hours	Plan
M-142	Cartama Estación-Plaza Mayor	Tour and Hours	Plan
M-143	Alhaurín de la Torre-Teatinos	Tour and Hours	Plan
M-144	Gibralgalia-El Sexmo	Tour and Hours	Plan
M-150	Málaga-Los Núñez	Tour and Hours	Plan
M-151	Malaga-Casabermeja-Arroyo Coche	Tour and Hours	Plan
M-160	Málaga-Rincón de la Victoria-Cotomar	Tour and Hours	Plan
M-161	Malaga-Totalán	Tour and Hours	Plan
M-162	Málaga-Olías	Tour and Hours	Plan
M-163	Málaga-Los Rubios	Tour and Hours	Plan
M-220	Fuengirola-Marbella	Tour and Hours	Plan
M-221	Fuengirola-Coin	Tour and Hours	Plan
M-230	Malaga-Coin (by Alhaurín de la Torre and Alhaurín el Grande)	Tour and Hours	Plan
M-231	Malaga-Pizarra-Alora	Tour and Hours	Plan
M-232	Coin-Málaga (by Alhaurin the Great and Cartama)	Tour and Hours	Plan
M-250	Málaga-Almogía-Pastelero	Tour and Hours	Plan
M-251	Malaga-Colmenar	Tour and Hours	Plan
M-260	Malaga-Vélez Malaga (by Torre Benagalbon)	Tour and Hours	Plan
M-261	Malaga-Benagalbon-Moclinejo	Tour and Hours	Plan
M-262	Malaga-Benagalbon-Almachar	Tour and Hours	Plan
M-320	Malaga-Marbella	Tour and Hours	Plan
M-330	Malaga-Zalea-El Burgo	Tour and Hours	Plan
M-331	Malaga-Zalea-Ronda	Tour and Hours	Plan
M-332	Málaga-Zalea- Algodonales	Tour and Hours	Plan
M-333	Malaga-Zalea-Alozaina	Tour and Hours	Plan
M-340	Alora-Bermejo-El Chorro	Tour and Hours	Plan
M-341	Alora-Vado of the Alamo	Tour and Hours	Plan
M-342	Alora-Alora Station	Tour and Hours	Plan
M-360	Málaga-Olías-Comares	Tour and Hours	Plan
M-361	Moclinejo-La Cala	Tour and Hours	Plan
M-362	Malaga-Nerja (by Torre Benagalbon)	Tour and Hours	Plan
M-363	Malaga-Torrox (by Benagalbon Tower)	Tour and Hours	Plan
M-364	Malaga-Periana (by Torre Benagalbon)	Tour and Hours	Plan
M-365	Malaga-Riogordo (by Benagalbon Tower)	Tour and Hours	Plan

City bus lines

Urban bus lines
Line	Traject.	Tour	Average frequency (Laborables)
1	Parque del Sur - Av. Europe (San Andrés)	Tour	8-9 minutes
2	Alameda Principal - Ciudad Jardin (San José)	Tour	10-11 minutes
3	Paseo del Parque - Puerta Blanca	Tour	8 minutes
4	Paseo del Parque - Cortijo Alto (City of Justice)	Tour	10-11 minutes
5	University - Engineering (Clinical Hospital - Extension of University City)	Tour	12 minutes (20 min. in non-lective time)
6	Alameda Principal - The Miraculous	Tour	50 minutes
7	The Permica - Miraflores de los Angeles	Tour	10-11 minutes
8	Alameda Principal - Clinical Hospital	Tour	11-12 minutes
9	Alameda Principal - Churriana (Directo)	Archived route on 28 September 2007 in Wayback Machine.	50 minutes
10	Alameda Principal - Churriana	Tour	25-30 minutes
11	Alameda Principal - El Palo	Tour	8 minutes
14	Paseo de la Farola - Teatinos	Tour	11 minutes
15	La Virreina - Santa Paula	Tour	11-12 minutes
17	Alameda Principal - La Palma	Tour	10 minutes
19	Av. M. A. Heredia - Airport	Tour	55-60 minutes
20	Alameda Principal - University	Tour	10 min. (16-18 min. in non-lective time)
21	Alameda Principal - Puerto de la Torre	Tour	12 minutes
22	Av. Molière - University	Tour	10 min. (18-20 min. in non-lective time)
23	Alameda Principal - Cemetery Park	Tour	25-30 minutes
24	Av. M. A. Heredia - The Prados	Tour	15 minutes
25	Paseo del Parque - Santa Rosalía (Campanillas)	Tour	14-17 minutes
26	Alameda Principal - Huerta Joy	Tour	15 minutes
27	M. A. Heredia Avenue - Polygon I. Guadalhorce	Tour	70-80 minutes
28*	Santa Águeda - Los Núñez	Tour	85 minutes
29	Jarazmin - El Palo	Tour	60 minutes
30	Alameda Principal - Green Mangas	Tour	45-50 minutes
31	Alameda Principal - Mainake	Tour	18-22 minutes
32	Alameda Principal - El Limonar	Tour	16-18 minutes
33	Alameda Principal - Calderon Closed	Tour	25-35 minutes
34	Alameda Principal - Pedregalejo (Bda. La Mosca)	Tour	30-35 minutes
35	Alameda Principal - Gibralfaro Castle	Tour	40-50 minutes
36	Alameda de Colón - Conde de Ureña (Historical Center)	Tour	60 minutes
37	Alameda Principal - Altamira/Monte Dorado	Tour	25-30 minutes
38	Alameda Principal - Granja Suárez	Tour	20-25 minutes

Media

The main national newspapers and television channels have offices in Malaga. The newspapers El Mundo, El País, ABC, Expansión and El Correo are present in the city de Andalucía and the networks 101TV, TVE, Antena 3, Telecinco and Canal Sur, as well as the communication agencies EFE, CRNC and Europa Press.

The strictly local newspapers published in Malaga are Sur (of the Vocento Group), La Opinión de Málaga (of Prensa Ibérica) and Málaga Hoy (of the Joly Group), which focus their information on news of local and provincial interest. Specialized magazines include El Observador and Litoral. The written press has a long tradition in the city, which began in the XIX century with the publication of La Unión Mercantil and continued through the 20th century with El Popular, Sol de España and other media that have already disappeared. The free press began to appear in the 1990s and since 2009 adn, 20 minutos and Qué! have been distributed

Notable people

• 

  Ibn Gabirol

• 

  Vicente Espinel

• 

  Bernardo de Gálvez

• 

  Marquis de Salamanca

• 

  Cánovas del Castillo

• 

  Manuel Agustín Heredia

• 

  Marquis de Larios

• 

  Pablo Picasso

• 

  The Piyayo

• 

  Victoria Kent

• 

  Antonio Ordoñez

• 

  Marisol

• 

  Antonio Banderas

• 

  Diana Navarro

• 

  Carolina Malchair