Ciudad Real Province, Spain

With 494,407 people on January 1, 2025, Ciudad Real province ranks 31st by population and 3rd by area among Spain’s 50 provinces. Since 2015 it has lost 19,306 people (3.8%). Density is 25 people/km², against a Spanish average of 97 people/km².

The capital, Ciudad Real, has 76,217 residents, 15% of the province. Next come Puertollano (45,565), Tomelloso (37,060), and Alcázar de San Juan (31,914).

Of its 102 municipalities (the 33rd most of any province), 48 have fewer than 1,000 people. The smallest by population is Villar del Pozo, with 45, and the largest by area is Almodóvar del Campo, at 1,208 km².

The capital, Ciudad Real, sits 625 m (2,051 ft) above sea level, the 16th highest of Spain’s 52 provincial capitals and autonomous cities.

According to the IGN’s summit table, the highest point in Ciudad Real province is El Telégrafo (an area the IGN lists as a paraje, not a peak), at 1,373 m (4,505 ft), in the Sierra del Castañar. It’s 68 km from the capital in a straight line and 748 m higher.

4 towns of 20,000 to 50,000 people also have a page: Valdepeñas (704 m), Puertollano (699 m), Tomelloso (662 m), and Alcázar de San Juan (640 m).

Ciudad Real is one of the 5 provinces of Castilla–La Mancha, along with Albacete, Cuenca, Guadalajara, and Toledo. See Castilla–La Mancha: its provinces, population and peaks.