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.
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.
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.
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.
"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). [Reflections on local government] (PDF). Anuario del Gobierno Local (in Spanish). Barcelona: Institut de Dret Públic (1). ISBN84-609-5895-7. 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.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Provinces of Spain.
List of municipalities of Spain listed by province from the Spanish INE (National Statistics Institute) (in Spanish)
January 13, 2023
provinces, spain, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, 2012, lea. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Provinces of Spain news newspapers books scholar JSTOR May 2012 Learn how and when to remove this template message 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 Provinces of SpainCategoryProvinceLocationSpainFound inAutonomous communityCreated byRoyal Decree 30 11 1833 Created1833Number50Populations95 258 6 458 684Areas1 980 21 766 km GovernmentProvincial councilSubdivisionsMunicipalityThe 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 Contents 1 Provincial organization 2 Provinces 3 Notes 4 References 5 Bibliography 6 See also 7 External linksProvincial organization EditThis section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed January 2016 Learn how and when to remove this template message 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 Leon 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 Alava Asturias Biscay Cantabria Gipuzkoa the Balearic Islands La Rioja and Navarre are named after their principal town Only two capitals of autonomous communities Merida 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 soberania are not part of any provinces 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 Provinces EditProvince name Capital Autonomous community Lists of municipalities A Coruna Galician La Coruna Spanish A Coruna Galician La Coruna Spanish Galicia Municipalities Alava Spanish Araba Basque Vitoria Spanish Gasteiz Basque Basque Country Municipalities Albacete Albacete Castilla La Mancha Municipalities Alicante Spanish Alacant Valencian Alicante Alacant Valencian Valencian Community Municipalities Almeria Almeria Andalusia Municipalities Asturias Oviedo Asturias Municipalities Avila Avila Castile and Leon Municipalities Badajoz Badajoz Extremadura Municipalities Balearic Islands English Illes Balears Catalan Islas Baleares Spanish Palma Balearic Islands Municipalities Barcelona Barcelona Catalonia Municipalities Biscay English Vizcaya Spanish Bizkaia Basque Bilbao Basque Country Municipalities Burgos Burgos Castile and Leon Municipalities Caceres Caceres Extremadura Municipalities Cadiz Cadiz Andalusia Municipalities Cantabria Santander Cantabria Municipalities Castellon Spanish Castello Valencian Castellon de la Plana Castello de la Plana Valencian Valencian Community Municipalities Ciudad Real Ciudad Real Castilla La Mancha Municipalities Cordoba Cordoba Andalusia Municipalities Cuenca Cuenca Castilla La Mancha Municipalities Guipuzcoa Spanish Gipuzkoa Basque San Sebastian Spanish Donostia Basque Basque Country Municipalities Girona Catalan Gerona Spanish Girona Catalan Gerona Spanish Catalonia Municipalities Granada Granada Andalusia Municipalities Guadalajara Guadalajara Castilla La Mancha Municipalities Huelva Huelva Andalusia Municipalities Huesca Huesca Spanish language Aragon Municipalities Jaen Jaen Andalusia Municipalities La Rioja Logrono La Rioja Municipalities Las Palmas Las Palmas Canary Islands Municipalities Leon Leon Castile and Leon Municipalities Lleida Catalan Lerida Spanish Lleida Catalan Lerida Spanish Catalonia Municipalities Lugo Lugo Galicia Municipalities Madrid Madrid Community of Madrid Municipalities Malaga Malaga Andalusia Municipalities Murcia Murcia Region of Murcia Municipalities Navarre Navarra Spanish Nafarroa Basque Pamplona Iruna Basque Navarre Municipalities Ourense Galician Orense Spanish Ourense Galician Orense Spanish Galicia Municipalities Palencia Palencia Castile and Leon Municipalities Pontevedra Pontevedra Galicia Municipalities Salamanca Salamanca Castile and Leon Municipalities Santa Cruz de Tenerife Santa Cruz de Tenerife Canary Islands Municipalities Segovia Segovia Castile and Leon Municipalities Seville Sevilla Spanish Seville Sevilla Spanish Andalusia Municipalities Soria Soria Castile and Leon Municipalities Tarragona Tarragona Catalonia Municipalities Teruel Teruel Aragon Municipalities Toledo Toledo Castilla La Mancha Municipalities Valencia Valencia Valencian Valencia Valencia Valencian Valencian Community Municipalities Valladolid Valladolid Castile and Leon Municipalities Zamora Zamora Castile and Leon Municipalities Zaragoza Zaragoza Aragon MunicipalitiesNotes Edit Spanish provincias IPA pɾoˈbin8jas sing provincia Basque probintziak IPA pɾobints iak sing probintzia Catalan provincies IPA pɾuˈbinsies sing provincia Galician provincias IPA pɾoˈbin8jɐs sing provincia References Edit a b Spanish Constitution 1978 Article 141 1 Zafra Victor 2004 p 102 Local Government Act 1985 Article 31 Canel 1994 pp 51 sfn error no target CITEREFCanel1994 help MPA paragraph 1 Bibliography Edit The Spanish Constitution PDF Agencia Estatal Boletin Oficial del Estado 1978 Retrieved 12 June 2019 Local Government Act Organic Law 7 1985 in Spanish Agencia Estatal Boletin Oficial del Estado 1985 Retrieved 12 June 2019 Zafra Victor Manuel 2004 Reflexiones sobre el gobierno local Reflections on local government PDF Anuario del Gobierno Local in Spanish Barcelona Institut de Dret Public 1 ISBN 84 609 5895 7 ISSN 2013 4924 Archived from the original on 2016 08 09 Retrieved 9 June 2022 a href Template Cite journal html title Template Cite journal cite journal a CS1 maint bot original URL status unknown link Local Government in Spain PDF Ministry of Public Administration Retrieved 11 June 2022 See also EditPolitical divisions of Spain Local government in Spain Autonomous communities of Spain Comarcas of Spain ISO 3166 2 ES List of provincial flags of Spain List of Spanish provinces by area List of Spanish provinces by population Spanish Federation of Municipalities and ProvincesExternal links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Provinces of Spain Maps of the provinces of Spain List of municipalities of Spain listed by province from the Spanish INE National Statistics Institute in Spanish Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Provinces of Spain amp oldid 1128784434, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
