The Azores Archipelago is located in the middle of the North Atlantic some 2,000 km from Europe’s west coast and 3,900 km from the North American continent, covering a total area of 2,333 km2 with a resident population of about 246,000 people living on nine islands.
Considered to be Europe’s westernmost border, it takes up an important area in the North Atlantic between meridians 25 and 31 west longitude and parallels 36 and 39 north latitude.
The Azores Islands are divided into three different groups, with the eastern group comprising the islands of Santa Maria and São Miguel, the central group the islands of Terceira, Graciosa, São Jorge, Pico and Faial, and the western group the islands of Flores and Corvo. The shortest distance between islands is approximately 6 km in the Faial-Pico channel and the largest is 600 km between the islands of Santa Maria and Corvo.
The Azores Archipelago, officially known as the Autonomous Region of the Azores, is an autonomous territory of the Portuguese Republic with political and administrative autonomy, according to the Political and Administrative Statute of the Autonomous Region of the Azores, and is part of the European Union with the status of outermost region.
