The autonomous regions of Spain

Last updated on September 13th, 2019 at 09:11 am.

It can be difficult for the newly arrived in Spain to get to grips with the number of different laws and what can seem to be a never-ending battle with bureaucracy here. The arrangements for many aspects of life are perhaps complicated by the fact that it’s not only Spain that makes decisions about what you should and shouldn’t do, the part of it where you live does as well. Perhaps a little like by-laws in England but with more power to the elbow.

Spain has a high degree of regional autonomy. To begin with, there are 17 autonomous communities in Spain and 2 autonomous cities. The autonomous communities are led by regional governments who are responsible for education, health, social services, culture, urban and rural development and in some cases, policing. Andalucia has the largest population but Castilla y León has the largest area of land. Asturias is famous for its seafood whilst Catalonia is home to Barcelona, Spain’s second largest city.

So what does this mean for you? Spain is, in fact, a very de-centralised country. This can be confusing and means that you cannot generalise across regions. What might be acceptable in one region might not be in another. It can feel as though you are living within a multitude of layers that includes municipalities, provinces and regions and finding your place within the structure is not always easy.

However, it also means that there is a high degree of local control. Laws are made and influenced locally and highlight the very unique character that many of these regions have. Finding out more about the different communities can help you get to grips with Spain’s unusual patchwork whilst also embracing the country as a whole.

A tale of communities and provinces

The autonomous communities are usually made up of two or more provinces which are then further divided into municipalities. For example:

Autonomous community = Valencia

Province = Alicante

Municipality = Torrevieja

Language = Valenciano as well as Castellano

Each community has its own flag and coat of arms.

Autonomous Community	Provinces	Main cities and languaje(in addition to Castellano
Andalucía	Is the second largest of the communities in terms of area of land. It is divided into eight provinces which include Almería, Córdoba, Cádiz, Granada, Huelva, Jaén, Málaga and Sevilla.	Sevilla is the capital
Aragón	Has three provinces – Huesca, Teruel and Zaragoza	Zaragoza is the capital
Asturias	Has just one province	Oviedo is the regional capital There is an Asturian language but it has no co-official status
Baleares	Consists of Menorca, Mallorca, Ibiza, Formentera and Cabrera	The capital is Palma Catalan is also an official language here
Basque country (also known as Euskadi and País Vasco)	Has three provinces – Álava, Viscaya, Gipuzkoa	Basque language The capital is Vitoria-Gasteiz
Cantabria	Mainly a mountainous region with just one province	Santander is the capital
Cataluña	Has four provinces of which Barcelona is the biggest in terms of population. The others include Girona, Lleida and Tarragona.	Barcelona City is the capital Catalan and Aranese are also recognised as official languages
Castilla – La Mancha	This is the third largest community and has five provinces Albacete, Ciudad Real, Cuenca, Guadalajara and Toledo This is the third largest community and has five provinces Albacete, Ciudad Real, Cuenca, Guadalajara and Toledo.	Toledo is the capital
Castilla y León	This is the largest of the 17 autonomous communities and includes 9 provinces	Valladolid is the capital
Melilla	This is an autonomous city rather than community and is actually a tiny peninsula in the far northwest of the African continent
Extremadura	Has two provinces – Cáceres and Badajoz	The regional capital is Mérida
Galicia	Has four provinces La Coruña, Pontevedra, Ourense and Lugo.	The capital is Santiago de Compostela. Galician is also an official language here.
La Rioja	One of the smallest communities, it only has one province	Logroño City is the capital
Las Islas Canarias	There are two provinces – Las Palmas and Santa Cruz de Tenerife. The islands include Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura, Lanzarote, La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierro	Capital status is shared between Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
Madrid	It is made up of one province, which is, of course, Madrid	Madrid is the capital of the autonomous community, the country and the province
Ceuta	This is an autonomous city rather than community and is also in the North of Africa	Situated on the shores of the Strait of Gibraltar
Murcia	Has only one province	Murcia is the capital
Navarra	Navarra was an independent kingdom originally and consists of only one province	Pamplona is the capital Basque language
Valencia	There are three provinces: Castellón Valencia Alicante	The capital is Valencia city The Valencian language has co-official status.

Caroline Clinton