Provinces of Spain

Provinces of Spain
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] The current provinces of Spain correspond by and large to the provinces created under the purview of the 1833 territorial re-organization of Spain, with a similar predecessor from 1822 (during the Trienio Liberal) and an earlier precedent in the 1810 Napoleonic division of Spain into 84 prefectures.[4] 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: competencias).[5]

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


Cite error: There are <ref group=note> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=note}} template (see the help page).

  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.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · View on Wikipedia

Developed by Nelliwinne