Federation Maps and Fact Sheets

Spain
A quasi-federal Constitution adopted in 1978
Sí, Spain, Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Constituent units

• 17 Autonomous Communities: Andalucía; Aragón; Canarias; Cantabria; Castilla la Mancha; Castilla y León; Cataluña; Comunidad de Madrid; Comunidad Foral de Navarra; Comunidad Valencia; Estramadura; Galicia; Islas Baleares; La Rioja; Principado de Asturias; País Vasco; Region de Murcia.
  2 Cities of Ceuta and Melilla (on the North African Coast).
  • Map of the Communities and the cities of Ceuta and Melilla (see Autonomías)
  • Fact sheet on the Autonomous Communities
  • Information on the Autonomous Communities and cities of Ceuta and Melilla

Constitutional distribution of powers

• The Constitution of Spain, in particular:
  • Competencies of the National Government (articles 149.1 and 149.2)
  • Competencies which the Autonomous Communities may assume (articles 148 and 149.3)

Legislative institutions

• National: Bicameral National Assembly (Cortes Generales) which consists of the Senate and the Congress of Deputies. The Senate is the House of territorial representation. It is composed of 259 members elected by a dual procedure: 208 are directly elected in constituencies (provinces) and 51 are chosen by the legislative assembly of each of the 17 Autonomous Communities.
  • Official Website of the Senate (Spanish)
  • Official Website of the Congress of Deputies (Spanish)

• Autonomous Communities and Cities: Unicameral assemblies

Official languages

The Constitution stipulates that Castillian (Spanish) is the official language of Spain. It also recognizes the right of the Autonomous Communities to use their own language (Euskera, Catalan, Gallego, and Valenciano), in addition to Castillian.

• Article 3 of the Constitution of Spain

Other links of interest

• Country Insights
• History
• Language and culture