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 2021, there are thirty-three comarques (including the city of Valencia).

List of comarques

Comarca Population (2023) Area (km²) Density(i./km²) Capital Linguistic domain Alacantí 509,049 673.59 755.72 Alicante / Alacant Valencian Alcalatén 14,050 391.4 35.89 L'Alcora Valencian Alcoià 112,028 539.66 207.58 Alcoi Valencian Alt Maestrat 6,392 846.05 7.55 Albocàsser Valencian Alto Mijares 4,232 667.06 6.34 Cirat Spanish Alto Palancia 25,269 965.15 26.18 Segorbe Spanish Alto Vinalopó / Alt Vinalopó 52,905 644.76 82.05 Villena Spanish (mainly) / Valencian Baix Maestrat 86,349 1,221.32 70.70 Vinaròs Valencian Baix Vinalopó 306,300 488.78 626.66 Elche / Elx Valencian Camp de Morvedre 97,826 271.1 360.84 Sagunt Valencian Camp de Túria 177,195 823.37 215.20 Llíria Valencian (mainly) / Spanish Canal de Navarrés 15,754 709.29 22.21 Enguera Spanish Comtat 28,119 376.4 74.70 Cocentaina Valencian Costera 72,297 528.1 136.9 Xàtiva Valencian Horta Nord 311,632 184.44 1,689.61 Puçol Valencian Horta Sud 482,569 309.73 1,558.03 Torrent Valencian Hoya de Buñol 46,039 817.37 52.08 Buñol Spanish Marina Alta 191,265 759.3 251.89 Dénia Valencian Marina Baixa 198,888 605.3 328.57 La Vila Joiosa Valencian Ports 6,674 998.54 6.68 Morella Valencian Plana Alta 264,381 942.2 280.59 Castelló de la Plana Valencian Plana Baixa 196,605 605.2 324.85 Borriana Valencian Requena-Utiel 37,926 1,721.03 22.03 Requena Spanish Ribera Alta 228,406 1,011.5 225.80 Alzira Valencian Ribera Baixa 82,663 276.81 298.62 Sueca Valencian Rincón de Ademuz 2,221 370.22 5.99 Ademuz Spanish Serranos 17,115 1,405.28 12.17 Chelva Spanish Safor 179,185 429.80 416.90 Gandia Valencian València 807,693 134.63 5,999.35 València Valencian Vall d'Albaida 88,114 722.22 122 Ontinyent Valencian Valle de Ayora-Cofrentes 9,656 1,141.15 8.46 Cofrentes Spanish Vega Baja / Baix Segura 379,975 957.28 396.93 Orihuela Spanish Vinalopó Mitjà / Vinalopó Medio 171,828 798.6 215.16 Elda Valencian (mainly) / Spanish Total 5,210,600 23,254.49 224.06

Subcomarques 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 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.

Before 2021, Horta Oest was a formerly a comarca, when it was mostly annexed by Horta Sud with the municipality of Paterna joining Horta Nord.

References

Bibliography Proposta de demarcacions territorials homologades, Direcció General d'Administració Local, València, D.L. 1988. Conselleria d'Administració Pública. ISBN 84-7579-587-0