Federation Maps and Fact Sheets for Spain
- A quasi-federal Constitution adopted in 1978
- Sí, Spain, Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs
| Label | Data |
|---|---|
| Official name | Kingdom of Spain |
| Population | 45,061,274 (2007 est.) |
| Capital | Madrid |
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).
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.