The Málaga metropolitan area includes additional municipalities located mostly in the mountains area north of the coast and also some on the coast: Cártama, Pizarra, Coín, Monda, Ojén, Alhaurín el Grande and Estepona on west; Casabermeja on north; Totalán, Algarrobo, Torrox and Vélez-Málaga eastward from Málaga.
=== Velemestno območje ===Málaga skupaj s sosednjimi mesti in občinami Rincón de la Victoria, Torremolinos, Benalmádena, Fuengirola, Alhaurín de la Torre, Mijas, Marbella in San Pedro Alcántara tvori urbano območje, na katerem je leta 2012 na 827,33 kvadratnih kilometrov živelo 1.066.532 prebivalcev (1289 prebivalcev/km²).