Loures is a city and a municipality to the north of Lisbon. Created on 26 July 1886 by a royal decree, the municipality currently occupies an area of 169 km² and has about 200,000 inhabitants (2001). The city itself has a population of 15,967. It borders the municipalities of Odivelas, Sintra, Mafra, Arruda dos Vinhos, Vila Franca de Xira and Lisbon.