It is situated at the confluence of the Flamicell and Noguera Pallaresa rivers in the north of the comarca, above the Sant Antoni reservoir.

It is an important local service centre, which has allowed it to escape the depopulation which has affected many municipalities in northwestern Catalonia.

Famous people from La Pobla de Segur include FC Barcelona player Carles Puyol and current High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell.

It was incorporated into the county of Pallars after Count Guillaume I of Toulouse conquered the region from the Moors in the ninth century.

The town was transferred to its current location in the middle of the thirteenth century, and came under the control of Pere VII el Donzell, Viscount of Vilamur, in 1355.