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Provinces of Spain

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Provinces of Spain
Blank Spain Map (Provinces).svg
CategoryProvince
LocationSpain
Found inAutonomous community
Created byRoyal Decree (30/11/1833)
Created
  • 1833
Number50
Populations95,258–6,458,684
Areas1,980–21,766 km²
Government
Subdivisions

A province in Spain[note 1] is a territorial division defined as a collection of municipalities,[1][2][3] although their origin dates back to 1833 with a similar predecessor from 1822 (during the Trienio Liberal) and with roots in the Napoleonic division of Spain into 84 prefectures in 1810.[4] In addition to their political function, provinces are commonly used today as geographical references for example to disambiguate small towns whose names occur frequently throughout Spain. There are many other groupings of municipalities that comprise the local government of Spain.

The boundaries of provinces can only be altered by the Spanish Parliament,[1] giving rise to the common view that the 17 autonomous communities are subdivided into 50 provinces. In reality the system is not hierarchical but defined according to jurisdiction (Spanish: competences).[5]

The body charged with government and administration of a province is the Provincial council, but their existence is controversial (see Provincial council for a discussion). As the province is defined as a "local entity" in the Constitution, the Provincial council belongs to the sphere of local government.

Discover more about Provinces of Spain related topics

Municipalities of Spain

Municipalities of Spain

The municipality is the basic local administrative division in Spain together with the province.

1833 territorial division of Spain

1833 territorial division of Spain

The 1833 territorial division of Spain divided the country into provinces, in turn classified into "historic regions". This division was followed by the ensuing creation of provincial deputations, the government institutions for most of the provinces, remaining up to this date. Nearly all of the provinces retain roughly or precisely the 1833 borders. Conversely, many of the historic regions correspond to present-day autonomous communities.

1822 territorial division of Spain

1822 territorial division of Spain

The 1822 territorial division of Spain was a rearrangement of the territory of Spain into various provinces, enacted briefly during the Trienio Liberal of 1820–1823. It is remembered today largely as a precursor to the similar 1833 territorial division of Spain; the provinces established in the latter remain, by and large, the basis for the present-day division of Spain into provinces.

Trienio Liberal

Trienio Liberal

The Trienio Liberal or Three Liberal Years was a period of three years in the modern history of Spain between 1820 and 1823, when a liberal government ruled Spain after a military uprising in January 1820 by the lieutenant-colonel Rafael de Riego against the absolutist rule of Ferdinand VII.

Local government in Spain

Local government in Spain

Local government in Spain refers to the government and administration of what the Constitution calls "local entities", which are primarily municipalities, but also groups of municipalities including provinces, metropolitan areas, comarcas and mancomunidades and sub-municipal groups known as Minor local entities.

Autonomous communities of Spain

Autonomous communities of Spain

In Spain, an autonomous community is the first-level political and administrative division, created in accordance with the Spanish Constitution of 1978, with the aim of guaranteeing limited autonomy of the nationalities and regions that make up Spain.

Lists of Spanish provinces

Lists of Spanish provinces

List of Spanish provinces by:Area Coastal characteristics Name Population

Spanish language

Spanish language

Spanish is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from colloquial Latin spoken on the Iberian Peninsula. Today, it is a global language with about 486 million native speakers, mainly in the Americas and Spain. Spanish is the official language of 20 countries. It is the world's second-most spoken native language after Mandarin Chinese; the world's fourth-most spoken language overall after English, Mandarin Chinese, and Hindustani (Hindi-Urdu); and the world's most widely spoken Romance language. The largest population of native speakers is in Mexico.

Provincial deputation (Spain)

Provincial deputation (Spain)

A Provincial Council is the administrator and governing body of a province of Spain. It is one of the entities that make up local government in Spain. The Council is made up of a president, vice presidents, an executive committee and the plenary assembly of deputies.

Provincial organization

The layout of Spain's provinces closely follows the pattern of the territorial division of the country carried out in 1833. The only major change of provincial borders since that time has been the subdivision of the Canary Islands into two provinces rather than one.

Historically, the provinces served mainly as transmission belts for policies enacted in Madrid, as Spain was a highly centralised state for most of its modern history. The importance of the provinces has declined since the adoption of the system of autonomous communities in the period of the Spanish transition to democracy. They nevertheless remain electoral districts for national elections and as geographical references: for instance in postal addresses and telephone codes. National media will also frequently use the province to disambiguate small towns or communities whose names occur frequently throughout Spain.

A small town would normally be identified as being in, say, Valladolid province rather than the autonomous community of Castile and León. The provinces were the "building-blocks" from which the autonomous communities were created. Consequently, no province is divided between more than one of these communities.

Most of the provinces—with the exceptions of Álava, Asturias, Biscay, Cantabria, Gipuzkoa, the Balearic Islands, La Rioja, and Navarre—are named after their principal town. Only two capitals of autonomous communities—Mérida in Extremadura and Santiago de Compostela in Galicia—are not also the capitals of provinces.

Seven of the autonomous communities comprise no more than one province each: Asturias, the Balearic Islands, Cantabria, La Rioja, Madrid, Murcia, and Navarre. These are sometimes referred to as "uniprovincial" communities. Ceuta, Melilla, and the plazas de soberanía are not part of any provinces.

A map of Spain's provinces. Names are shown in Spanish.
A map of Spain's provinces. Names are shown in Spanish.

The table below lists the provinces of Spain. For each, the capital city is given, together with an indication of the autonomous community to which it belongs and a link to a list of municipalities in the province. The names of the provinces and their capitals are ordered alphabetically according to the form in which they appear in the main Wikipedia articles describing them. Unless otherwise indicated, their Spanish-language names are the same; locally valid names in Spain's other co-official languages (Basque, Catalan, which is officially called Valencian in the Valencian Community, Galician) are also indicated where they differ.

Discover more about Provincial organization related topics

1833 territorial division of Spain

1833 territorial division of Spain

The 1833 territorial division of Spain divided the country into provinces, in turn classified into "historic regions". This division was followed by the ensuing creation of provincial deputations, the government institutions for most of the provinces, remaining up to this date. Nearly all of the provinces retain roughly or precisely the 1833 borders. Conversely, many of the historic regions correspond to present-day autonomous communities.

Canary Islands

Canary Islands

The Canary Islands, also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in Macaronesia in the Atlantic Ocean. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are 100 kilometres west of Morocco. They are the southernmost of the autonomous communities of Spain. The islands have a population of 2.2 million people and are the most populous special territory of the European Union.

Mail

Mail

The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letters, and parcels. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid-19th century, national postal systems have generally been established as a government monopoly, with a fee on the article prepaid. Proof of payment is usually in the form of an adhesive postage stamp, but a postage meter is also used for bulk mailing.

Castile and León

Castile and León

Castile and León is an autonomous community in northwestern Spain.

Asturias

Asturias

Asturias, officially the Principality of Asturias, is an autonomous community in northwest Spain.

Cantabria

Cantabria

Cantabria is an autonomous community in northern Spain with Santander as its capital city. It is called a comunidad histórica, a historic community, in its current Statute of Autonomy. It is bordered on the east by the Basque autonomous community, on the south by Castile and León, on the west by the Principality of Asturias, and on the north by the Cantabrian Sea.

Gipuzkoa

Gipuzkoa

Gipuzkoa is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the autonomous community of the Basque Country. Its capital city is Donostia-San Sebastián. Gipuzkoa shares borders with the French department of Pyrénées-Atlantiques at the northeast, with the province and autonomous community of Navarre at east, Biscay at west, Álava at southwest and the Bay of Biscay to its north. It is located at the easternmost extreme of the Cantabric Sea, in the Bay of Biscay. It has 66 kilometres of coast land.

Balearic Islands

Balearic Islands

The Balearic Islands are an archipelago in the Balearic Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago is an autonomous community and a province of Spain; its capital is Palma. The 2007 Statute of Autonomy designates the Balearic Islands as one of the nationalities of Spain. The official languages of the Balearic Islands are Catalan and Spanish.

Navarre

Navarre

Navarre, officially the Chartered Community of Navarre, is a landlocked foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Autonomous Community, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and Nouvelle-Aquitaine in France. The capital city is Pamplona. The present-day province makes up the majority of the territory of the medieval Kingdom of Navarre, a long-standing Pyrenean kingdom that occupied lands on both sides of the western Pyrenees, with its northernmost part, Lower Navarre, located in the southwest corner of France.

Mérida, Spain

Mérida, Spain

Mérida is a city and municipality of Spain, part of the Province of Badajoz, and capital of the autonomous community of Extremadura. Located in the western-central part of the Iberian Peninsula at 217 metres above sea level, the city is crossed by the Guadiana and Albarregas rivers. The population was 60,119 in 2017.

Extremadura

Extremadura

Extremadura is a landlocked autonomous community of Spain. Its capital city is Mérida, and its largest city is Badajoz. Located in the central-western part of the Iberian Peninsula, it is crossed from east to west by the Tagus and Guadiana rivers. The autonomous community is formed by the two largest provinces of Spain: Cáceres and Badajoz. Extremadura is bordered by Portugal to the west and by the autonomous communities of Castile and León (north), Castilla–La Mancha (east) and Andalusia (south).

Galicia (Spain)

Galicia (Spain)

Galicia is an autonomous community of Spain and historic nationality under Spanish law. Located in the northwest Iberian Peninsula, it includes the provinces of A Coruña, Lugo, Ourense, and Pontevedra.

Provinces

Province name Capital Autonomous community Lists of municipalities
A Coruña A Coruña (Galician); La Coruña (Spanish) A Coruña (Galician); La Coruña (Spanish) Galicia Galicia Municipalities
Álava Álava (Spanish); Araba (Basque) Vitoria (Spanish); Gasteiz (Basque) Basque Country Basque Country Municipalities
Albacete Albacete Albacete Castilla-La Mancha Castilla-La Mancha Municipalities
Province of Alicante Alicante (Spanish); Alacant (Valencian) Alicante; Alacant (Valencian) Valencian Community Valencian Community Municipalities
Almería Almería Almería Andalusia Andalusia Municipalities
Asturias Asturias Oviedo Asturias Asturias Municipalities
Ávila Ávila Ávila Castilla y León Castile and León Municipalities
Badajoz Badajoz Badajoz Extremadura Extremadura Municipalities
Balearic Islands Balearic Islands (English); Illes Balears (Catalan); Islas Baleares (Spanish) Palma Balearic Islands Balearic Islands Municipalities
Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Catalonia Catalonia Municipalities
Biscay Biscay (English); Vizcaya (Spanish); Bizkaia (Basque) Bilbao Basque Country Basque Country Municipalities
Burgos Burgos Burgos Castilla y León Castile and León Municipalities
Cáceres Cáceres Cáceres Extremadura Extremadura Municipalities
Cádiz Cádiz Cádiz Andalusia Andalusia Municipalities
Cantabria Cantabria Santander Cantabria Cantabria Municipalities
Province of Castellón Castellón (Spanish); Castelló (Valencian) Castellón de la Plana; Castelló de la Plana (Valencian) Valencian Community Valencian Community Municipalities
Ciudad Real Ciudad Real Ciudad Real Castilla-La Mancha Castilla-La Mancha Municipalities
Córdoba Córdoba Córdoba Andalusia Andalusia Municipalities
Cuenca Cuenca Cuenca Castilla-La Mancha Castilla-La Mancha Municipalities
≥Guipúzcoa Guipúzcoa (Spanish); Gipuzkoa (Basque) San Sebastián (Spanish); Donostia (Basque) Basque Country Basque Country Municipalities
Girona Girona (Catalan); Gerona (Spanish) Girona (Catalan); Gerona (Spanish) Catalonia Catalonia Municipalities
Granada Granada Granada Andalusia Andalusia Municipalities
Guadalajara Guadalajara Guadalajara Castilla-La Mancha Castilla-La Mancha Municipalities
Huelva Huelva Huelva Andalusia Andalusia Municipalities
Huesca Huesca Huesca (Spanish language) Aragon Aragon Municipalities
Jaén Jaén Jaén Andalusia Andalusia Municipalities
La Rioja La Rioja Logroño La Rioja La Rioja Municipalities
Las Palmas Las Palmas Las Palmas Canary Islands Canary Islands Municipalities
León León León Castilla y León Castile and León Municipalities
Lleida Lleida (Catalan); Lérida (Spanish) Lleida (Catalan); Lérida (Spanish) Catalonia Catalonia Municipalities
Lugo Lugo Lugo Galicia Galicia Municipalities
Community of Madrid Madrid Madrid Community of Madrid Community of Madrid Municipalities
Málaga Málaga Málaga Andalusia Andalusia Municipalities
Region of Murcia Murcia Murcia Region of Murcia Region of Murcia Municipalities
Navarre Navarre; Navarra (Spanish); Nafarroa (Basque) Pamplona; Iruña (Basque) Navarre Navarre Municipalities
Ourense Ourense (Galician); Orense (Spanish) Ourense (Galician); Orense (Spanish) Galicia Galicia Municipalities
Palencia Palencia Palencia Castilla y León Castile and León Municipalities
Pontevedra Pontevedra Pontevedra Galicia Galicia Municipalities
Salamanca Salamanca Salamanca Castilla y León Castile and León Municipalities
Santa Cruz de Tenerife Santa Cruz de Tenerife Santa Cruz de Tenerife Canary Islands Canary Islands Municipalities
Segovia Segovia Segovia Castilla y León Castile and León Municipalities
Seville Seville; Sevilla (Spanish) Seville; Sevilla (Spanish) Andalusia Andalusia Municipalities
Soria Soria Soria Castilla y León Castile and León Municipalities
Tarragona Tarragona Tarragona Catalonia Catalonia Municipalities
Teruel Teruel Teruel Aragon Aragon Municipalities
Toledo Toledo Toledo Castilla-La Mancha Castilla-La Mancha Municipalities
Province of Valencia Valencia; València (Valencian) Valencia; València (Valencian) Valencia Community Valencian Community Municipalities
Valladolid Valladolid Valladolid Castilla y León Castile and León Municipalities
Province of Zamora Zamora Zamora Castilla y León Castile and León Municipalities
Zaragoza Zaragoza Zaragoza Aragon Aragon Municipalities

Discover more about Provinces related topics

Province of A Coruña

Province of A Coruña

The province of A Coruña is the northwesternmost province of Spain, and one of the four provinces which constitute the autonomous community of Galicia. This province is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and north, Pontevedra Province to the south and Lugo Province to the east.

Galician language

Galician language

Galician, also known as Galego and Gallego, is a Western Ibero-Romance language. Around 2.4 million people have at least some degree of competence in the language, mainly in Galicia, an autonomous community located in northwestern Spain, where it has official status along Spanish. The language is also spoken in some border zones of the neighbouring Spanish regions of Asturias and Castile and León, as well as by Galician migrant communities in the rest of Spain, in Latin America including Puerto Rico, the United States, Switzerland and elsewhere in Europe.

A Coruña

A Coruña

A Coruña is a city and municipality of Galicia, Spain. A Coruña is the most populated city in Galicia and the second most populated municipality in the autonomous community and seventeenth overall in the country. The city is the provincial capital of the province of the same name, having also served as political capital of the Kingdom of Galicia from the 16th to the 19th centuries, and as a regional administrative centre between 1833 and 1982, before being replaced by Santiago de Compostela.

Galicia (Spain)

Galicia (Spain)

Galicia is an autonomous community of Spain and historic nationality under Spanish law. Located in the northwest Iberian Peninsula, it includes the provinces of A Coruña, Lugo, Ourense, and Pontevedra.

List of municipalities in A Coruña

List of municipalities in A Coruña

This is a list of the municipalities in the province of A Coruña, in the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain.

Basque language

Basque language

Basque , also known as euskara , is a language spoken by Basques and others of the Basque Country, a region that straddles the westernmost Pyrenees in adjacent parts of northern Spain and south-western France. Linguistically, Basque is a language isolate. The Basques are indigenous to, and primarily inhabit, the Basque Country. The Basque language is spoken by 28.4% (751,500) of Basques in all territories. Of these, 93.2% (700,300) are in the Spanish area of the Basque Country and the remaining 6.8% (51,200) are in the French portion.

Basque Country (autonomous community)

Basque Country (autonomous community)

The Basque Country, also called Basque Autonomous Community, is an autonomous community of Spain. It includes the provinces of Álava, Biscay, and Gipuzkoa, located in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, bordering on the autonomous communities of Cantabria, Castile and León, La Rioja, and Navarre, and the French region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine.

List of municipalities in Álava

List of municipalities in Álava

Álava-Araba is a province in the autonomous community of the Basque Country, Spain. It is divided into 51 municipalities. According to the 2011 Spanish Census, the province is the 41st largest by population with 320,788 inhabitants but is the 48th largest by land area spanning 2,963 square kilometres (1,144 sq mi).

Albacete

Albacete

Albacete is a city and municipality in the Spanish autonomous community of Castilla–La Mancha, and capital of the province of Albacete.

List of municipalities in Albacete

List of municipalities in Albacete

Albacete is a province in the autonomous community of Castile–La Mancha, Spain. It is divided into 87 municipalities. According to the 2011 Spanish Census, the province is the 36th largest by population with 401,580 inhabitants but is the ninth largest by land area spanning 14,916.3 square kilometres (5,759.2 sq mi).

Alicante

Alicante

Alicante is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city was 337,482 as of 2020, the second-largest in the Valencian Community.

List of municipalities in Alicante

List of municipalities in Alicante

This is a list of the 141 municipalities in the province of Alicante, in the autonomous community of Valencia, Spain.

Source: "Provinces of Spain", Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, (2023, March 3rd), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Provinces_of_Spain.

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Notes
  1. ^
References
  1. ^ a b Spanish Constitution 1978, Article 141(1).
  2. ^ Zafra Víctor 2004, p. 102.
  3. ^ Local Government Act 1985, Article 31.
  4. ^ Canel 1994, pp. 51.
  5. ^ MPA, paragraph 1.
Bibliography
  • "The Spanish Constitution" (PDF). Agencia Estatal Boletín Oficial del Estado. 1978. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
  • "Local Government Act (Organic Law 7/1985)" (in Spanish). Agencia Estatal Boletín Oficial del Estado. 1985. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
  • Zafra Víctor, Manuel (2004). "Reflexiones sobre el gobierno local" [Reflections on local government] (PDF). Anuario del Gobierno Local (in Spanish). Barcelona: Institut de Dret Públic (1). ISBN 84-609-5895-7. ISSN 2013-4924. Archived from the original on 2016-08-09. Retrieved 9 June 2022.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  • "Local Government in Spain" (PDF). Ministry of Public Administration. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
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