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Málaga (; ) is a municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 591,637 in 2024, it is the second-most populous city in Andalusia and the sixth most populous in the country. 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 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 770BC by the Phoenicians from Tyre as Malaka.
From the 6th centuryBC the city was under the hegemony of Ancient Carthage, and from 218BC, it was under Ancient Rome rule, economically prospering owing to garum production. 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.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). 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. 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.
After the Punic Wars, the Roman Republic took control of the town known to them as Malaca. By the 1st century BC, Strabo alluded to its Phoenician profile, in contrast to the hellenized characteristics of the neighbouring settlement of Mainake.
Transformed into a confederated city, it was under a special law, the Lex Flavia Malacitana. A Roman theatre was built at this time.Leucona, Emilio. «Jornadas de estudio por el 150 aniversario del hallazgo de la Lex Flavia Malacitana». Consulted on 7 April 2008. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, it was ruled first by the Visigoths. The city was taken by the Byzantine Empire; either Malaca or Carthago Nova possibly then becoming the capital of the province of Spania. The Byzantines restored and expanded the docks, thus consolidating the fishing and trading tradition the city already enjoyed. The city was retaken by the Visigoth King Sisebut in 615. The Islamic conquest of Málaga (rendered as مالقة— Mālaqah—in Arab sources) by Arab and Berber forces took place in 711 or perhaps 713.
The consolidation of the city's importance after 930 (under the Caliphate of Córdoba) ran parallel to the diminishing fortune of Archidona, the latter of which Málaga replaced as the capital of the corresponding kura of Rayya. The early 10th-century chronicle of Aḥmad al-Rāzī mentions the vineyards of Málaga, extolling the unparalleled quality of its . In the 11th century, following the unravelling of Umayyad authority across the caliphate, Málaga became a centre of power of the Hammudid dynasty, who established a petty kingdom (nominally also a caliphate) in the city, the taifa of Málaga, complemented by the also Hammudid sister dominion in Ceuta across the Strait of Gibraltar. The city was seized away from the Hammudids by the Zirid dynasty in 1056 or 1057, and also underwent an ephemeral spell under the Abbadid dynasty by 1066 before returning to the former. By the late 11th century, the Zirids lost the city to the North African Almoravids.
The traveller Ibn Battuta, who passed through around 1325, characterised it as "one of the largest and most beautiful towns of Andalusia uniting the conveniences of both sea and land, and... abundantly supplied with foodstuffs and fruits". He praised its grapes, figs, and almonds; "its ruby-coloured Murcian have no equal in the world." Another exported product was its "excellent gilded pottery". The town's mosque was large, with "exceptionally tall orange trees" in its courtyard. After the formation of the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada in the 13th century, Málaga became a part of it. The export-oriented harbour traded silk fabrics, dry nuts (raisins, almonds and the famous Rayya figs, reportedly exported to as far as China), vine, cutlery, leather and the famous regional lustreware.
In the 15th century, Málaga was the main Nasrid port (followed by Almería), featuring a notable presence of Genoese merchants. It played a role both as stopover of the Atlantic international trade (as part of the routes connecting the Central Mediterranean to the North Atlantic) and as regional trading cog of the Kingdom of Granada. By the last rales of Nasrid rule, the city had a population of about 15,000.
Málaga was seized by Christian forces on 18 August 1487, after a 3-month 11 days siege, in what was the most violent episode of the Granada War. The Muslim inhabitants resisted assaults and artillery bombardments before hunger forced them to surrender; practically the entire remaining population (around 11,000 people) became war captives and were sold into slavery in other Andalusian cities as well as Valencia and Barcelona.Blood and Faith: The Purging of Muslim Spain, Matthew Carr, page 7, 2009 Only a minority of around 50 people led by merchant Alí Dordux were allowed to remain in the city.
The city's Muslim population was converted to Catholic Christianity and the city was swiftly repopulated by Christian settlers coming from different locations of the Iberian Peninsula. Málaga became an exporting centre for Andalusia via the link of the city with Antequera and Córdoba, maintaining its trading character despite the nearly complete replacement of the population. The city did not escape a series of typhus fever outbreaks following its annexation to the Crown of Castile.
Following the death of regent Ferdinand the city rose in revolt in 1516 on the occasion of the installment of a new court controlled by the Admiral of Castile. It was only on 2 December 1530 when Málaga was freed from the influence of the Admiralty for good, confirming the privileges granted in the past by the Catholic Monarchs.
As of 1625, Málaga may have had a population of around 36,000.On 24 August 1704 the indecisive Battle of Málaga, the largest naval battle in the War of the Spanish Succession, took place in the sea south of Málaga.
The city's economy profited from an early industrialisation in the first third of the 19th century and the population steadily increased until the last years of the century, when the population decreased between 1887 and 1897 due to induced by the Phylloxera grapevine pest. The century saw the accumulation of capital in an enriched bourgeoisie class, that invested in the incipient industrial development.
The municipality of Málaga annexed the coastal town of Torremolinos in 1924.
After the coup of July 1936 the government of the Second Republic retained control of Málaga. Its harbour was a base of the Republican navy at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War. It suffered heavy bombing by Italian Italian navy which took part in breaking the Republican navy's blockade of Nationalist-held Spanish Morocco and took part in naval bombardment of Republican-held Málaga.Balfour, Sebastian; Preston, Paul (2009). Spain and the great powers in the twentieth century. London, UK; New York, US: Routledge. p. 172. . After the Battle of Málaga and the Francoist takeover in February 1937, over seven thousand people were killed,Antony Beevor, The Battle for Spain: The Spanish Civil War 1936–1939. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. 2006, as they were trying to flee the city through the road to Almería.
Torremolinos—originally a small coastal town—greatly developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s, becoming an international tourist centre. The first gay bar in Spain was opened in Torremolinos in 1962 (and the first lesbian club in 1968), and the place acquired a lively LGBT life, to the point of being described as "the most 'cosmopolitan' and gay-friendly place in all of Spain". Nearly a decade after, in 1971, a policial crackdown seeking to curb "offences against public morality and decency" largely put an end to the appeal of the place, only regaining its status as hub of LGBT leisure and tourism after the death of the dictator.
Torremolinos became independent from the municipality of Málaga in September 1988.
The Montes de Málaga mountain range (part of the Penibaetic System) is located in the northeast of the municipality. The highest point in the range (and in the municipality) is the Pico Reina, rising up to above sea level.
The city centre is located around the mouth of the Guadalmedina and close to the Guadalhorce's mouth (where the airport is located). The Totalán Creek constitutes the eastern boundary of Málaga with the municipality of Rincón de la Victoria.
The Gibralfaro is a high foothill from which the and the Alcazaba fortress overlook the city.
Málaga experiences the warmest winters of any European city with a population over 500,000. The average maximum temperature during the day in the period from December to February is . During the winter, the Málaga Mountains ( Montes de Málaga) block the passage of cold winds from the north. Its average annual temperature is during the day and at night. In the coldest month, January, the temperature ranges from during the day, at night and the average sea temperature is . In the warmest month, August, the temperature ranges from during the day, above at night and the average sea temperature is .
Large fluctuations in temperature are rare. The highest temperature ever recorded at the airport was on 18 July 1978, equalled on 19 July 2023. In August 1881, the average reported daytime maximum temperature was a record . The lowest temperature ever recorded was on 4 February 1954. The highest wind speed ever recorded was on 16 July 1980, measuring . Snowfall is virtually unknown; since the beginning of the 20th century, Málaga city has only recorded snow on one day, on 2 February 1954.
Annual average relative humidity is 65%, ranging from 58% in June to 72% in December. Yearly sunshine hours average between 2,800 and 3,000 per year, from 5–6 hours of sunshine per day in December to average 11 hours of sunshine per day in July. "Climatological Information for Málaga, Spain" – Hong Kong Observatory
At Málaga Airport weather station, annual wind speeds average from in December, January and February, to in September and October. Atmospheric pressure averages from 1015 mbar in July and August to 1023 mbar in January. Visibility averages either 11 or 12 km in all months. The strongest gust of wind recorded at this station was on 27 January 1948 at 02:30. On 12 December 2023, Málaga broke Spain's and Europe's all-time December temperature record, settling a new record of at the AEMET station of Málaga and at the airport of Málaga.
| 1 | Centro | 7 | Carretera de Cádiz | |
| 2 | Este | 8 | Churriana | |
| 3 | Ciudad Jardín | 9 | Campanillas | |
| 4 | Bailén-Miraflores | 10 | Puerto de la Torre | |
| 5 | Palma-Palmilla | 11 | Teatinos-Universidad | |
| 6 | Cruz de Humilladero|style="text-align:center;" |
The oldest architectural remains in the city are the walls of the Phoenician city, which are visible in the cellar of the Museo Picasso Málaga.
The Roman theatre of Málaga, which dates from the 1st century BC, was rediscovered in 1951.
The Moors left posterity the dominating presence of the Gibralfaro, which is connected to the Alcazaba, the lower fortress and royal residence. Both were built during the Taifa period (11th century) and extended during the Nasrid dynasty period (13th and 14th centuries). The Alcazaba stands on a hill within the city. Originally, it defended the city from the incursions of pirates. Later, in the 11th century, it was completely rebuilt by the Hammudid dynasty. Dialnet.es, Fanny de Carranza Sell, La alcazaba de Málaga. Historia a través de su imagen, 2011. ( In Spanish) Occupying the eastern hillside that rises from the sea and overlooks the city, the Alcazaba was surrounded by palms and pine trees.
Like many of the military fortifications that were constructed in Islamic Spain, the Alcazaba of Málaga featured a quadrangular plan. It was protected by an outer and inner wall, both supported by rectangular towers, between which a covered walkway led up the slope to the Gibralfaro (this was the only exchange between the two sites). Due to its rough and awkward hillside topography, corridors throughout the site provided a means of communications for administrative and defensive operations, also affording privacy to the palatial residential quarters.
The entrance of the complex featured a grand tower that led into a sophisticated double bent entrance. After passing through several gates, open yards with gardens of pine and eucalyptus trees, and the inner wall through the Puerta de Granada, one finds the 11th- and 14th-century Governor's palace. It was organised around a central rectangular courtyard with a triple-arched gateway and some of the rooms have been preserved to this day. An open 11th-century mirador (belvedere) to the south of this area affords views of the gardens and sea below. Measuring , this small structure highlighted scalloped, five-lobed arches. To the north of this area were a waterwheel and a Cyclopean well (penetrating below ground), a hammam, workshops and the monumental Puerta de la Torre del Homenaje, the northernmost point of the inner walls. Directly beyond was the passage to the Gibralfaro above.
The Church of Santiago (Saint James) is an example of Gothic vernacular Mudéjar, the hybrid style that evolved after the Reconquista incorporating elements from both Christian and Islamic tradition. Also from the period is the Iglesia del Sagrario, which was built on the site of the old mosque immediately after the city fell to Christian troops. It boasts a richly ornamented portal in the Isabeline-Gothic style, unique in the city.
The Cathedral and the Episcopal Palace were planned with Renaissance architectural ideals but there was a shortfall of building funds and they were finished in Baroque style.
The Basílica y Real Santuario de Santa María de la Victoria, built in the late 17th century, has a chapel in which the vertical volume is filled with elaborate Baroque plasterwork.
| +Foreign population by country of citizenship (2022) ! Nationality | Population |
| 9,568 | |
| 4,485 | |
| 3,497 | |
| 3,490 | |
| 3,253 | |
| 2,637 | |
| 2,255 | |
| 2,083 | |
| 1,866 | |
| 1,371 | |
| 1,200 | |
| 1,174 | |
| 1,057 | |
| 1,027 | |
| 729 |
The number of resident foreign nationals has risen significantly in Málaga since the 1970s. As of 2022, Málaga has a foreign population of 52,334.
Together about 1.3 million (max. 1.6 million) people live in the Málaga metropolitan area and the number grows every year as all the municipalities and cities of the area record an annual increase in population.
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. The Andalusia Technology Park (PTA) (In Spanish, " Parque Tecnológico de Andalucía"), located in Málaga, has enjoyed significant growth since its inauguration in 1992 by the King of Spain. In 2018, this high-tech, science and industrial park employs over 16,774 workers, according to its own numbers.
In line with the city's strategic plan, the campaign "Málaga: Open for Business" is directed towards the international promotion of the city on all levels but fundamentally on a business level. The campaign places a special emphasis on new technologies as well as innovation and research in order to promote the city as a reference and focal point for many global business initiatives and projects.
Málaga is a city of commerce and tourism has been a growing source of revenue, driven by the presence of a major airport, the improvement of communications, and new infrastructure such as the AVE and the maritime station, and new cultural facilities such as the Picasso Museum, the Contemporary Art Centre and Trade Fair and Congress, which have drawn more tourists. Málaga Horizonte 2012
The city hosts the International Association of Science and Technology Parks (IASP) ( Asociación Internacional de Parques Tecnológicos), and a group of IT company executives and business leaders has launched an information sector initiative, Málaga Valley e-27, which seeks to make Málaga the Silicon Valley of Europe. Málaga has had strong growth in new technology industries, mainly located in the Technological Park of Andalusia, and in the construction sector. The city is home to the largest bank in Andalusia, Unicaja, and such local companies as Mayoral, Charanga, Sando, Vera, Ubago, Isofoton, Tedial, Novasoft, Grupo Vértice and Almeida viajes, and other multinationals such as Fujitsu Spain, Pernod Ricard Spain, Accenture, Epcos, Oracle Corporation, Huawei and San Miguel. Empresas en el PTA – Parque Tecnológico de Andalucía In February 2021, Google decided to install a centre of excellence in cybersecurity in the city, slated for a 2023 opening. Also in 2021, Vodafone chose Málaga for the installment of a research, development and innovation centre.
| +Distribution by sector industrial enterprises: | Companies |
| 24 | |
| 231 | |
| 833 | |
| 1,485 | |
| 2,573 | |
| 771 | |
| 3,143 |
Holy Week has been observed for five centuries in Málaga. Processions start on Palm Sunday and continue until Easter Sunday. Images depicting scenes from the Passion are displayed on huge ornate tronos (floats or thrones), some weighing more than . Famous is the royal Confraternity of Our-Lady of Hope Nuestra Señora de la Esperanza. They have more than 5,000 members and 600 . These tronos highlight the processions that go through the streets led by penitents dressed in long robes, with capirote, followed by women in black carrying candles. Drums and trumpets play music and occasionally someone spontaneously sings a mournful saeta dedicated to the floats as they make their way slowly round the streets. Some Holy Week tronos are so huge that they must be housed in places outside the churches, as they are taller than the entrance doors. Famous is the military procession of "La Legion" (Royal congregation of Mena) playing marches and singing their anthem (El Novio de la Muerte) during procession.
During the celebration of the Feria de Málaga in August, the streets are transformed into traditional symbols of Spanish culture and history, with sweet wine, tapas, and live flamenco shows. The day events consist of dancing, live music (such as flamenco or verdiales, traditional music from Málaga) and bullfights at La Malagueta, while the night fair is moved to the Recinto Ferial, consisting of restaurants, clubs, and an entire fair ground with rides and games.
The Málaga Film Festival ( Festival de Málaga Cine Español; FMCE), dedicated exclusively to films produced in Spain, is one of the most important film festivals in the country. It is held annually during a week in March or April.
The Fiestas de Carnaval, in which people dress in all types of costumes, takes place prior to the holy 40 days of Lent every February. A contest is held in the Teatro Cervantes between groups of singers, quartets and choirs who compete in the singing of ironic songs about social and political issues. The Carnival takes to the streets of Málaga on the week before Ash Wednesday, ending on Malagueta beach with the burial of the anchovy ( entierro de la sardina).
Islam is represented by a growing number of immigrants and a mosque, while the Jewish community (primarily Sephardi) is represented by its synagogue and the Jewish Association.
The city has four large sports facilities:
In the city, people can engage in many sports, for example: surfing, windsurfing, kitesurfing, swimming, diving, skydiving, paragliding, running, cycling, rowing, tennis and golf.
The city hosted the 21st World Transplant Games from 25 June to 2 July 2017.
Málaga is the 2020 EU Sports Capital.
A popular walk leads up the hill to the Gibralfaro castle (a Paradores), offering panoramic views over the city. The castle is next to the Alcazaba, the old Muslim palace, which in turn is next to the inner city of Málaga. Other nearby attractions are the Roman Theatre, the old Jewish quarter (or judería), the cathedral, and the Church of Santiago in mudéjar style. A popular walk follows the Paseo del Parque (a promenade that runs alongside a grand park with many palm trees and statues) to the harbour, ending in Calle Larios, the main commercial street of the city. There is also a curious museum, the Museum of the Holy Week (Museo de Arte Cofrade), which includes an impressive display of Baroque ecclesiastical items.
The campus of the UMA is located in the Western neighbourhood of Teatinos.
The airport is connected to the city centre and surrounding areas through a transport hub, which includes the bus system and suburban trains and car parks.
The port has a ferry connection to the Port of Melilla, playing a role in the so-called Operación paso del estrecho ("Operation Pass of the Strait"), the planned seasonal transit of passengers during the summer months from Europe to North-Africa (and back to Europe).
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