Spain is divided into fifty provinces (provincia / provincial) that constitute the primary sub‑national administrative tier beneath the seventeen autonomous communities (comunidades autónomas). The provinces serve as electoral districts, statistical units, and jurisdictions for certain state services (e.g., courts, police). Each province has a capital city (often called the “provincial capital”) and is identified by a unique two‑letter vehicle registration code and a numeric code used by the National Statistics Institute (Instituto Nacional de Estadística, INE).
Provincial organization by autonomous community
| Autonomous Community | Provinces (Capital) |
|---|---|
| Andalusia | Almería (Almería), Cádiz (Cádiz), Córdoba (Córdoba), Granada (Granada), Huelva (Huelva), Jaén (Jaén), Málaga (Málaga), Sevilla (Sevilla) |
| Aragon | Huesca (Huesca), Teruel (Teruel), Zaragoza (Zaragoza) |
| Asturias (Principality of) | Asturias (Oviedo) |
| Balearic Islands | Illes Balears (Palma) |
| Basque Country | Álava (Vitoria‑Gasteiz), Gipuzkoa (Donostia‑San Sebastián), Bizkaia (Bilbao) |
| Canary Islands | Santa Cruz de Tenerife (Santa Cruz de Tenerife), Las Palmas (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria) |
| Cantabria | Cantabria (Santander) |
| Castile and León | Ávila (Ávila), Burgos (Burgos), León (León), Palencia (Palencia), Salamanca (Salamanca), Segovia (Segovia), Soria (Soria), Valladolid (Valladolid), Zamora (Zamora) |
| Castilla‑La Mancha | Albacete (Albacete), Ciudad Real (Ciudad Real), Cuenca (Cuenca), Guadalajara (Guadalajara), Toledo (Toledo) |
| Catalonia | Barcelona (Barcelona), Girona (Girona), Lleida (Lleida), Tarragona (Tarragona) |
| Extremadura | Badajoz (Badajoz), Cáceres (Cáceres) |
| Galicia | A Coruña (A Coruña), Lugo (Lugo), Ourense (Ourense), Pontevedra (Pontevedra) |
| La Rioja | La Rioja (Logroño) |
| Community of Madrid | Madrid (Madrid) |
| Region of Murcia | Murcia (Murcia) |
| Navarre | Navarre (Pamplona) |
| Valencian Community | Alicante (Alicante), Castellón (Castellón de la Plana), Valencia (Valencia) |
| Ceuta (autonomous city) | Ceuta (Ceuta) |
| Melilla (autonomous city) | Melilla (Melilla) |
Key points
- The fifty provinces include the two autonomous cities (Ceuta and Melilla), which are treated as provinces for statistical and electoral purposes.
- Provincial boundaries have been largely stable since the 1978 Spanish Constitution, which confirmed the existing provincial structure while granting greater powers to autonomous communities.
- The INE assigns each province a numeric code (01–50) used in census and demographic data. For example, Madrid is 28, Barcelona is 08, and Sevilla is 41.
- Provinces also serve as the basis for the organization of the National Court of Spain (Audiencia Nacional) and the National Police (Policía Nacional) territorial divisions.
References
- Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE). “División Territorial del Estado”. Official statistical publications, Spain.
- Constitución Española de 1978, Artículo 137‑138 (establishment of provinces and autonomous communities).
- Ministerio de Territorial Policy and Civil Service. “Las provincias y su organización”. Government of Spain.
