Editing Autonomous communities of Spain (section)

==Constitutional and statutory framework==
The State of Autonomies, as established in Article 2 of the constitution, has been argued to be based on four principles: willingness to accede to autonomy, [[unity in diversity]], autonomy but not sovereignty of the communities, and solidarity among them all.<ref name=carreras/> The structure of the autonomous communities is determined both by the devolution allowed by the constitution and the powers assumed in their respective Statutes of Autonomy. While the autonomic agreements and other laws have allowed for an "equalization" of all communities, differences still remain.

===The Statute of Autonomy===
{{Main|Statute of Autonomy}}

The Statute of Autonomy is the basic institutional law of the autonomous community or city, recognized by the Spanish constitution in article 147. It is approved by a parliamentary assembly representing the community, and then approved by the {{Lang|es|[[Cortes Generales]]|italic=no}}, the Spanish Parliament, through an "Organic Law", requiring the favourable vote of the absolute majority of the [[Congress of Deputies (Spain)|Congress of Deputies]].

For communities that acceded to autonomy through the "fast route", a [[referendum]] is required before it can be sanctioned by the Parliament. The Statutes of Autonomy must contain, at least, the name of the community, its territorial limits, the names, organization and seat of the institutions of government, the powers they assume and the principles for their bilingual policy, if applicable.

The Constitution establishes that all powers not explicitly assumed by the State (the central government) in the constitution, can be assumed by the autonomous community in their Statutes of Autonomy; but also, all powers not explicitly assumed by the autonomous community in their Statutes of Autonomy are automatically assumed by the State.{{sfn|Spanish Constitution|1978|loc=Article 143}} In case of conflict, the constitution prevails.{{sfn|Spanish Constitution|1978|loc=Article 143}} In case of disagreement, any administration can bring the case before the [[Constitutional Court of Spain]].

===Institutional organization===
All autonomous communities have a parliamentary system based on a division of powers comprising:
* A Legislative Assembly, whose members are elected by universal suffrage according to a system of [[proportional representation]], in which all areas that integrate the territory are fairly represented
* A Council of Government, with executive and administrative powers, headed by a prime minister, whose official title is "president",{{efn|name=lehendakari|In the Basque Country, the head of government is officially known as ''[[lehendakari]]'' in Basque, or by the Spanish rendering of the title, ''lendakari''.}}{{efn-lr|"Autonomic president", "regional president", or simply "president" (in Spanish: ''presidente autonómico'', ''presidente regional'', or simply ''presidente''; in Catalan/Valencian: ''president autonòmic'', ''president regional'', or simply ''president''; in Galician: ''presidente autonómico'', ''presidente rexional'', or simply ''presidente''). In the Basque language ''lehendakari'' is not translated.}} elected by the Legislative Assembly—usually the leader of the party or coalition with a majority in the Assembly—and nominated by the [[King of Spain]]
* A High Court of Justice, hierarchically under the [[Supreme Court of Spain]]

[[File:Oviedo03.jpg|thumb|Regional Palace, seat of the [[General Junta]], the Parliament of the [[Asturias|Principality of Asturias]]]]
The majority of the communities have approved regional electoral laws within the limits set up by the laws for the entire country. Despite minor differences, all communities use [[proportional representation]] following the [[D'Hondt method]]; all members of regional parliaments are elected for four-year terms, but the president of the community has the faculty to dissolve the legislature and call for early elections. Nonetheless, in all communities except for the Basque Country, Catalonia, Galicia, and Andalusia, elections are held the last Sunday of May every four years, concurrent with municipal elections in all of Spain.<ref name=carreras>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zkclm60b_yoC|first=Francesc|last=de Carreras Serra|chapter=El Estado de las Autonomías en España|title=Descentralización en Perspectiva Comparada: España, Colombia y Brasil|publisher=Plural Editores|year=2005|access-date=12 October 2012|isbn=978-9990563573}}</ref>

The names of the Council of Government and the Legislative Assembly vary between communities. In some autonomous communities, these institutions are restored historical bodies of government or representation of the previous kingdoms or regional entities within the Spanish Crown—like the Generalitat of Catalonia—while others are entirely new creations.

In some, both the executive and the legislature, though constituting two separate institutions, are collectively identified with a single specific name. A specific denomination may not refer to the same branch of government in all communities; for example, ''junta'' may refer to the executive office in some communities, to the legislature in others, or to the collective name of all branches of government in others.

Given the ambiguity in the constitution that did not specify which territories were nationalities and which were regions, other territories, besides the implicit three "historical nationalities", have also chosen to identify themselves as nationalities, in accordance with their historical regional identity, such as Andalusia, Aragon, the [[Balearic Islands]], the [[Canary Islands]], and the [[Valencian Community]].

{{Anchor|Autonomous cities}}The two autonomous cities have more limited powers than autonomous communities, but less limited than other municipalities. The executive is exercised by a president, who is also the mayor of the city. In the same way, limited legislative power is vested in a local assembly in which the deputies are also the city councillors.

===Legal powers===
The autonomic agreements of 1982 and 1992 tried to equalize powers ({{langx|es|competencias}}) devolved to the 17 autonomous communities, within the limits of the constitution and the differences guaranteed by it. This has led to an "asymmetrical homogeneity".<ref name=perez/> In the words of the [[Constitutional Court of Spain]] in its ruling of 5 August 1983, the autonomous communities are characterized by their "homogeneity and diversity...equal in their subordination to the constitutional order, in the principles of their representation in the Senate, in their legitimation before the Constitutional Court, and in that the differences between the distinct Statutes [of Autonomy] cannot imply economic or social privileges; however, they can be unequal with respect to the process to accede to autonomy and the concrete determination of the autonomic content of their Statute, and therefore, in their scope of powers. The autonomic regime is characterized by an equilibrium between homogeneity and diversity ... Without the former there will be no unity or integration in the state's ensemble; without the latter, there would not be [a] true plurality and the capacity of self-government".<ref name=sinopsis137>{{cite web|url=http://www.congreso.es/consti/constitucion/indice/sinopsis/sinopsis.jsp?art=137&tipo=2|title=Sinópsis artículo 137|first=Julio|last=Castelao|work=Constitución española (con sinópsis)| publisher=[[Congress of Deputies (Spain)|Congress of the Deputies]]|date=June 2005|access-date=14 October 2012}}</ref>

[[File:Ertzaintza Volkswagen Bilbao.jpg|thumb|An {{Lang|eu|[[Ertzaintza]]}} police car in the Basque Country]]
The asymmetrical devolution is a unique characteristic of the territorial structure of Spain, in that the autonomous communities have a different range of devolved powers. These were based on what has been called in Spanish as ''hechos diferenciales'', "differential facts" or "differential traits".{{efn-lr|"Differential facts", or, "traits" (in Spanish: ''hechos diferenciales'', in Basque: ''eragin diferentziala'', in Catalan/Valencian: ''fets diferencials'', in Galician: ''feitos diferenciais'').}}<ref name=aja>{{cite web|url=http://congreso.us.es/cidc/Ponencias/federalismo/eliseo%20AJA.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091222073845/http://congreso.us.es/cidc/Ponencias/federalismo/eliseo%20AJA.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=22 December 2009|title=El Estado Autonómico de España a los 25 años de su constitución|last=Aja|first=Eliseo|publisher=Congreso Ibeoramericano de Derecho Constitucional|year=2003|access-date=22 October 2012}}</ref>

This expression refers to the idea that some communities have particular traits, with respect to Spain as a whole. In practice these traits are a native "language proper to their own territories" separate from Spanish, a particular financial regime or special civil rights expressed in a code, which generate a distinct political personality.<ref name=aja/> These ''hechos diferenciales'' of their distinct political and historical personality are constitutionally and statutorily (i. e., in their Statutes of Autonomy) recognized in the exceptions granted to some of them and the additional powers they assume.<ref name=aja/>

However a doctrine that came to be called [[café para todos]] (coffee for everyone), sought to harmonise the autonomy model across Spain while simultaneously reinforcing the primacy of the central government and dilute claims of ethno-territorial distinctiveness from the historic nationalities. In particular, the organic law on the Harmonisation of the Autonomy Process (LOAPA) in 1982 not only extended powers to the other communities to achieve similar powers as the historic nationalities, but showed an intention to reverse already devolved powers.{{sfn|Anderson|2020|p=4}}

The powers to be exercised can be divided into three groups: exclusive to the State or central government, shared powers, and devolved powers exclusive to the communities. Powers can also be "executive", meaning the autonomous community may have exclusive responsibility for the administration of a policy area but may only have executive (i. e., carries out) powers as far as the policy itself is concerned, meaning it must enforce policy and laws decided at the national level.

The Constitution states which powers are exclusive to the central government: international relations, defense, administration of justice, commercial, criminal, civil, and labour legislation, customs, general finances and state debt, public health, basic legislation, and general coordination.{{sfn|Spanish Constitution|1978|loc=Article 149}}{{sfn|Ruíz-Huerta Carbonell|Herrero Alcalde|2008|p=4,5}} As the Constitution had not set clearly defined methods for power sharing, particularly over shared powers, there had been major conflict because the real power of an autonomous community depended upon how far the State wanted to legislate.{{sfn|Arzoz|2012|p=182}} There is now a large body of case-law produced by the Constitutional Court to clarify ambiguities.{{sfn|Moreno|2016|page=183}}{{sfn|Anderson|2020|p=8}}

All autonomous communities have the power to manage their own finances in the way they see fit, and are responsible for the administration of education—school and universities—health and social services and cultural and urban development.<ref name=howmuch>{{cite news|url=http://www.economist.com/node/12501023|url-access=subscription|title=How much is enough? Devolution has been good for Spain, but it may have gone too far|newspaper=The Economist|date=6 November 2008|access-date=1 April 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120428050210/http://www.economist.com/node/12501023|archive-date=28 April 2012}}</ref> Yet there are differences as stipulated in their Statutes and the constitution:<ref name=carreras/>
* Aragon, the Balearic Islands, the Basque Country, [[Civil Code of Catalonia|Catalonia]], Galicia and the Valencian Community have a regional civil code
* Basque Country, Catalonia, and Navarre have their own police corps—the {{Lang|eu|[[Ertzaintza]]}}, the [[Mossos d'Esquadra]] and the [[Policía Foral|Nafarroako Foruzaingoa]], respectively; other communities have them too, but not fully developed (adscribed to the Spanish National Police) {{dubious|date=October 2020}}
* The Canary Islands have a special financial regime in virtue of its location as an overseas territories, while the Basque Country and Navarre have a distinct financial regime called "chartered regime"
* The Balearic Islands, the Basque Country, Catalonia, Galicia, Navarre, and the Valencian Community have a co-official language and therefore a distinct linguistic regime<ref name=carreras/>

The powers of the autonomous communities are not homogeneous.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.seap.minhap.es/es/areas/politica_autonomica/Estatutos_Autonomia/estatutos_materias.html |title=Estatutos de Autonomía comparados por materias |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006093822/http://www.seap.minhap.es/es/areas/politica_autonomica/Estatutos_Autonomia/estatutos_materias.html |archive-date=6 October 2014 |work=Secretaría de Estado de Administraciones Públicas |publisher=Ministerio de Hacienda y Administraciones Públicas |language=es |agency=[[Gobierno de España]]}}</ref> 

{|class="wikitable" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
! Power
! Basque Country
! Galicia
! Catalonia
! Others
|-
| '''Law, Order & Justice'''
|
|
|
|
|-
| Police||Partial||Partial||Partial||Partial
|-
| Public Safety (Civil protection, Firearms, gambling)||Shared||Shared||Shared||Shared
|-
| Civil & Administrative Law (Justice, Registries, Judicial Appointments)||Exclusive||Exclusive||Exclusive||Exclusive
|-
| Child & Family Protection ||Exclusive||Exclusive||Exclusive||Exclusive
|-
| Consumer Protection||Exclusive||Exclusive||Exclusive||Exclusive
|-
| Data protection||Shared||Shared||Shared||
|-
| Civil registry & Statistics||Exclusive||Exclusive||Exclusive||Exclusive
|-
| '''Health, Welfare & Social Policy'''
|
|
|
|
|-
| Social Welfare ||Exclusive||Exclusive||Exclusive||Exclusive
|-
| Equality||Exclusive||Exclusive||Exclusive||[[Andalusia|AN]] (Exclusive)
|-
| Social Security||Shared||Shared||Shared||Shared
|-
| Employment||Shared||Shared||Shared||Shared
|-
| Health Care||Shared||Shared||Shared||Shared
|-
| Benevolent/Mutual Societies||Administrative||Administrative||Shared||[[Andalusia|AN]], [[Navarre|NA]], [[Valencian Community|VC]] (Shared)
|-
| '''Economy, Transport & Environment'''
|
|
|
|
|-
| Public Infrastructure (Road, Highways)||Exclusive||Shared||Shared||
|-
| Public Infrastructure (Rail, Airports)||Shared||Shared||Shared||Shared
|-
| Environment (Nature, Contamination, Rivers, Weather)||Exclusive||Exclusive||Shared||Shared
|-
| Economic Planning & Development||Exclusive||Exclusive||Shared||
|-
| Advertising, Regional Markets and regional controlled origin designations||Exclusive||Exclusive||Exclusive||Exclusive
|-
| Professional associations||Exclusive||Exclusive||Exclusive||Exclusive
|-
| Workplace & Industrial safety||Partial||Partial||Partial||Partial
|-
| Financial (Regional Cooperative Banks, & Financial Markets)||Exclusive||Exclusive||Shared||Exclusive
|-
| Press & Media||Shared||Shared||Shared||Shared
|-
| Water (Local drainage Basin)||Exclusive||Exclusive||Exclusive||Exclusive
|-
| Regional Development (Coast, Housing Rural Services)||Exclusive||Exclusive||Exclusive||Exclusive
|-
| Public Sector & Cooperative Banks||Shared||Shared||Shared||Shared
|-
| Energy & Mining||Exclusive||Exclusive||Shared||Shared
|-
| Competition ||Partial||Partial||Partial||Partial
|-
| Agriculture and Animal welfare||Exclusive||Exclusive||Exclusive||Exclusive
|-
| Fisheries||Shared||Shared||Shared||Shared
|-
| Hunting & Fishing||Exclusive||Exclusive||Exclusive||
|-
| Local Transport & Communications (Road Transport, Maritime Rescue)||Exclusive||Exclusive||Exclusive||Exclusive
|-
| Tourism||Exclusive||Exclusive||Exclusive||Exclusive
|-
| '''Culture & Education'''
|
|
|
|
|-
| Culture (libraries, museums, Film industry, Arts & crafts)||Shared||Shared||Shared||Shared
|-
| Culture (Language Promotion, R & D Projects)||Shared||Shared||Exclusive||Shared
|-
| Culture (Sports, Leisure, Events)||Exclusive||Exclusive||Exclusive||Exclusive
|-
| Education (Primary, secondary, University, Professional & Language)||Exclusive||Exclusive||Exclusive||Exclusive
|-
| Religious Organizations||||Shared||Exclusive||
|-
| Cultural, Welfare, & Education Associations Regulation||Exclusive||Exclusive||Exclusive||Exclusive
|-
| International Relations (Culture & language, Cross border relations)||Partial||Partial||Partial||
|-
| '''Resources & Spending'''
|
|
|
|
|-
| Own Tax resources||Yes||Yes||Yes||Yes
|-
| Allocation by Central Government||No||Convergence Funds||Convergence Funds||Convergence Funds (except [[Navarre|NA]])
|-
| Other resources||Co-payments (Health & Education)||Co-payments (Health & Education)||Co-payments (Health & Education)||Co-payments (Health & Education)
|-
| Resources||100%||60%||60%||60%
|-
|Devolved Spending as % of total public spending
|colspan="4"|36% (Average for all autonomous communities)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.seap.minhap.gob.es/dms/es/areas/politica_autonomica/info_basica/1finccaa/modelo_financia/finan_tot_ccaa/LIQUIDACION-MODELO-FINANCIACION-2009 |work=Ministerio de Política Territorial y Administración Pública |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150318171929/http://www.seap.minhap.gob.es/dms/es/areas/politica_autonomica/info_basica/1finccaa/modelo_financia/finan_tot_ccaa/LIQUIDACION-MODELO-FINANCIACION-2009 |archive-date=18 March 2015 |title=EL MODELO DE FINANCIACIÓN DE LAS COMUNIDADES AUTÓNOMAS DE RÉGIMEN COMÚN. Liquidación definitiva 2009 |date=November 2011 |language=es |access-date=2 December 2018 |pages=13 |format=PDF}}</ref>
|}

===Degree of financial autonomy===
{{Main|Communities of chartered regime}}

How the communities are financed has been one of the most contentious aspects in their relationship with the central government.<ref name=smith/> The constitution gave all communities significant control over spending, but the central government retained effective control of their revenue supply.<ref name=smith/> That is, the central government is still charge of levying and collecting most taxes, which it then redistributes to the autonomous communities with the aim of producing "[[fiscal equalization]]". This applies to all communities, with the exception of the Basque Country and Navarre who level all taxes and pay an annual quote for the public services provided by the State.{{sfn|Ruíz-Huerta Carbonell|Herrero Alcalde|2008|p=7}}

This financial scheme is known as the "common regime" and applies to the other 15 autonomous communities.{{sfn|Ruíz-Huerta Carbonell|Herrero Alcalde|2008|p=7}} In essence, fiscal equalization implies that richer communities become net contributors to the system, while poorer communities become net recipients. The two largest net contributors to the system are the Balearic Islands and the Community of Madrid, in percentage terms, or the Community of Madrid and Catalonia in absolute terms.<ref name=cinco>{{cite web|url=http://www.cincodias.com/articulo/economia/madrid-aporta-estado-doble-cataluna/20071129cdscdieco_1/|title=Madrid aporta al Estado más del doble que Cataluña|publisher=Cinco Días|date=29 November 2007|access-date=1 April 2012}}</ref>

Central government funding is the main source of revenue for the communities of "common regime". Redistribution, or [[transfer payments]], are given to the communities of common regime to manage the responsibilities they have assumed. The amount they receive is based upon several calculations which include a consideration for population, land area, administrative units, dispersal of population, relative poverty, fiscal pressure and insularity.<ref name=tanja/> The central government is committed to returning a specific percentage of taxes to all communities with common regime, within the differences allowed for fiscal equalization. The communities of common regime have the ability to add a surcharge to the so-called "ceded taxes"—taxes set at the central level, but collected locally—and they can lower or raise personal income taxes up to a limit.<ref name=smith/>

The Basque Country and Navarre were granted an exception in the fiscal and financial system through the first additional disposition of the constitution that recognizes their historical "charters"{{efn-lr|"Charters" (in Spanish: ''fueros'', in Basque: ''foruak'').}}&nbsp;—hence they are known as "[[communities of chartered regime]]" or "foral regime".<ref name=smith/> Through their "chartered regime", these communities are allowed to levy and collect all so-called "contracted taxes", including income tax and corporate tax, and they have much more flexibility to lower or raise them.<ref name=smith/> This "chartered" or "foral" contract entails true financial autonomy.<ref name=smith/>

Since they collect almost all taxes, they send to the central government a pre-arranged amount known as ''cupo'', "quota" or ''aportación'', "contribution", and the treaty whereby this system is recognized is known as ''concierto'', "treaty", or ''convenio'', "pact".<ref name=hacienda>{{cite web|url=http://www.minhap.gob.es/es-ES/Areas%20Tematicas/Financiacion%20Autonomica/Paginas/Regimen%20foral.aspx|title=Régimen foral|author=Ministerio de Hacienda y Administraciones Públicas (Ministry of the Treasury and Public Administrations)|access-date=1 April 2012}}</ref> Hence they are also said to have ''[[concierto económico]]'', an "economic treaty". Since they collect all taxes themselves and only send a prearranged amount to the central government for the powers exclusive to the State, they do not participate in "fiscal equalization", in that they do not receive any money back.

===Spending===
As more responsibilities have been assumed by the autonomous communities in areas such as social welfare, health, and education, public expenditure patterns have seen a shift from the central government towards the communities since the 1980s.<ref name=smith/> In 2005, autonomous communities accounted for 35% of all public expenditure in Spain, a percentage that is even higher than that of states within a federation.{{sfn|Ruíz-Huerta Carbonell|Herrero Alcalde|2008|p=6}} With no legal constraints to balance budgets, and since the central government retains control over fiscal revenue in the communities of common regime, these are in a way encouraged to build up debt.<ref name=smith/>

The [[Council on Fiscal and Financial Policy]], which includes representatives of the central government and of the autonomous communities, has become one of the most efficient institutions of coordination in matters of public expenditures and revenue.<ref name=toboso>{{cite web|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-870986501.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130518201932/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-870986501.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=18 May 2013|title=Un Primer Análisis Cuantitativo de la Organización Territorial de las Tareas de Gobierno en España, Alemania y Suiza|last=Toboso|first=Fernando|publisher=El Trimestre Económico|date=1 April 2001|access-date=21 October 2012}}</ref> Through the Council several agreements of financing have been agreed, as well as limits to the communities' public debt. The Organic Law of the Financing of Autonomous Communities of 1988 requires that the communities obtain the authorization of the central Ministry of Finance to issue public debt.<ref name=toboso/>

===Linguistic regimes===
[[File:BilingualSign Spain.svg|thumb|Bilingual signs, showing the names of the city known as [[Pamplona]] in both Spanish and Iruña in Basque]]
The preamble to the constitution explicitly stated that it is the nation's will to protect "all Spaniards and the peoples of Spain in the exercise of human rights, their cultures and traditions, languages and institutions".<ref name=preamble>Preamble to the Constitution. {{cite web|url=https://www.lamoncloa.gob.es/lang/en/espana/leyfundamental/paginas/index.aspx |title=Spanish Constitution |author=[[Cortes Generales]] |date=27 December 1978 |publisher=President of the Government of Spain and the Council of Ministers |access-date=6 August 2022}}</ref> This is a significant recognition not only in that it differed drastically from the restrictive linguistic policies during the Franco era, but also because part of the distinctiveness of the "historical nationalities" lies on their own regional languages.<ref name="villar"/><ref name="shabad"/> The nation is thus openly multilingual,{{sfn|Conversi|2002|loc=}} in which [[Names given to the Spanish language|Castilian]]—that is, Spanish—is the official language in all territories, but the "other Spanish languages" can also be official in their respective communities, in accordance with their Statutes of Autonomy.

Article 3 of the constitution ends up declaring that the "richness of the distinct linguistic modalities of Spain represents a patrimony which will be the object of special respect and protection".{{sfn|Spanish Constitution|1978|loc=Article 3}} Spanish remains the only official language of the State; other languages are only co-official with Spanish in the communities that have so regulated. In addition, knowledge of the Spanish language was declared a right and an obligation of all Spaniards.

Spanish legislation, most notably in the Statutes of Autonomy of the bilingual communities, use the term "own language", or "language proper to a community",{{efn-lr| "Own language (of a community)" or "language proper [to a community]" (in Spanish: ''lengua propia'', in Basque: ''berezko hizkuntza'', in Catalan/Valencian: ''llengua pròpia'', in Galician: ''lingua propia'').}} to refer to a language other than Spanish that originated or had historical roots in that particular territory. The Statutes of Autonomy of the respective autonomous communities have declared [[Basque language|Basque]] the language proper to the Basque Country and Navarre, [[Catalan language|Catalan]] the language proper to Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and the Valencian Community—where it is historically, traditionally and officially known as [[Valencian language|Valencian]]—and [[Galician language|Galician]] to be the language proper to Galicia. There are other protected regional languages in other autonomous communities. As a percentage of total population in Spain, [[Basque language|Basque]] is spoken by 2%, [[Catalan language|Catalan/Valencian]] by 17%, and [[Galician language|Galician]] by 7% of all Spaniards.<ref name=cia>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/spain/|title=Spain|work=The CIA World Factbook|publisher=[[Central Intelligence Agency]]|access-date=22 October 2012}}</ref> A 2016 Basque Government census revealed 700,000 fluent speakers in Spain (51,000 in Basque counties in France) and 1,185,000 total when passive speakers are included.<ref>VI Enquete Euskal Herria 2016, in French</ref>

{|class="wikitable" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
|+ Co-official or protected languages of Spain
|-
! Language
! Status
! Speakers in Spain{{efn|All figures as reported on ''[[Ethnologue]]'' for the number of speakers in Spain only.}}
|-
| [[Aragonese language|Aragonese]]
| Not official but recognised in [[Aragon]]
| 11,000<ref name=aragonese>{{cite web|url=http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=arg|title=Aragonese|work=Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Sixteenth Edition|editor=Lewis, M. Paul|year=2009|location=Dallas, TX|publisher=[[SIL International]]|access-date=25 November 2012}}</ref>
|-
| [[Astur-Leonese languages|Asturleonese]]
| Not official but recognised in [[Asturias]] and in [[Castile and León]]{{efn|In the Statute of Autonomy of Castile and León, the Astur-Leonese dialect spoken therein is referred to as [[Leonese language|Leonese]].}}
| 100,000<ref name=asturian>{{cite web|url=http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=ast|title=Asturian|work=Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Sixteenth Edition|editor=Lewis, M. Paul|year=2009|location=Dallas, TX|publisher=[[SIL International]]|access-date=25 November 2012}}</ref>
|-
| [[Basque language|Basque]]
| Official in the [[Basque Country (autonomous community)|Basque Country]] and [[Navarre]]
| 580,000<ref name=basque>{{cite web|url=http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=eus|title=Basque|work=Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Sixteenth Edition|editor=Lewis, M. Paul|year=2009|location=Dallas, TX|publisher=[[SIL International]]|access-date=25 November 2012}}</ref>
|-
| [[Catalan language|Catalan/Valencian]]
| as ''Catalan'', official in [[Catalonia]] and [[Balearic Islands]], and as ''Valencian'', in the [[Valencian Community]];{{efn|The Catalan dialect spoken in the Valencian Community is historically, traditionally and officially referred to as [[Valencian language|Valencian]].}} Not official but recognised in [[Aragon]]
| around 10 million,<ref name=catalan>{{cite web|url=http://www.llull.cat/catala/cultura/llengua_catala.cfm |title=Catalan|work=Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Sixteenth Edition|editor=Lewis, M. Paul|year=2009|location=Dallas, TX|publisher=[[SIL International]]|access-date=25 November 2012}}</ref> including 2nd language speakers
|-
| [[Galician language|Galician]]
| Official in [[Galicia (Spain)|Galicia]] and recognised in some municipalities in Castile and León that border [[Galicia (Spain)|Galicia]]
| 2.34 million<ref name=galician>{{cite web|url=http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=glg|title=Galician|work=Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Sixteenth Edition|editor=Lewis, M. Paul|year=2009|location=Dallas, TX|publisher=[[SIL International]]|access-date=25 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080328094338/http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=glg|archive-date=28 March 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|-
| [[Occitan language|Occitan]]
| Official in [[Catalonia]]
| 4,700
|-
| [[Fala language|Fala]]
| Not official but recognised as a "[[Bien de Interés Cultural]]" in [[Extremadura]]<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.boe.es/diario_boe/txt.php?id=BOE-A-2001-7994 | title=BOE.es – Documento BOE-A-2001-7994}}</ref>
| 11,000
|}

===Subdivisions===
{{Main|Political divisions of Spain}}
{{See also|Local government in Spain|Comarcas of Spain|Provinces of Spain|Municipalities of Spain}}

{|class="wikitable" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
|+ Provinces of each autonomous community
|-
! Autonomous community
! Provinces{{efn|name=lurraldeak}}
|-
| {{flag|Andalusia}}
| [[Province of Almería|Almería]], [[Province of Cádiz|Cádiz]], [[Province of Córdoba (Spain)|Córdoba]],{{efn|name=CO|Also spelled "Cordova" in English.}} [[Province of Granada|Granada]], [[Province of Huelva|Huelva]], [[Province of Jaén (Spain)|Jaén]], [[Province of Málaga|Málaga]] and [[Province of Seville|Seville]]
|-
| {{flag|Aragon}}
| [[Province of Huesca|Huesca]], [[Province of Teruel|Teruel]] and [[Province of Zaragoza|Zaragoza]]{{efn|name=Z|Also spelled "Saragossa" in English.}}
|-
| {{flag|Asturias}}
| (Asturias){{efn|Previously known as Oviedo.}}
|-
| {{flag|Balearic Islands}}
| (Balearic Islands)
|-
| {{flag|Basque Country}}
| [[Álava]], [[Biscay]], and [[Gipuzkoa]]{{efn|name=lurraldeak|The Basque provinces and Navarre are officially known as "historical territories" or "chartered territories".{{efn-lr|name=lurraldeak}}}}
|-
| {{flag|Canary Islands}}
| [[Province of Las Palmas|Las Palmas]] and [[Province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife|Santa Cruz de Tenerife]]
|-
| {{flag|Cantabria}}
| (Cantabria){{efn|Previously known as Santander.}}
|-
| {{flag|Castilla-La Mancha}}
| [[Province of Albacete|Albacete]], [[Province of Ciudad Real|Ciudad Real]], [[Province of Cuenca (Spain)|Cuenca]], [[Province of Guadalajara|Guadalajara]] and [[Province of Toledo|Toledo]]
|-
| {{flag|Castile and León}}
| [[Province of Ávila|Ávila]], [[Province of Burgos|Burgos]], [[Province of León|León]], [[Province of Palencia|Palencia]], [[Province of Salamanca|Salamanca]], [[Province of Segovia|Segovia]], [[province of Soria|Soria]], [[province of Valladolid|Valladolid]] and [[province of Zamora|Zamora]]
|-
| {{flag|Catalonia}}
| [[Province of Barcelona|Barcelona]], [[Province of Girona|Girona]], [[Province of Lleida|Lleida]] and [[Province of Tarragona|Tarragona]]
|-
| {{flag|Extremadura}}
| [[Province of Badajoz|Badajoz]] and [[province of Cáceres|Cáceres]]
|-
| {{flag|Galicia}}
| [[Province of A Coruña|A Coruña]], [[Province of Lugo|Lugo]], [[Province of Ourense|Ourense]] and [[Province of Pontevedra|Pontevedra]]
|-
| {{flag|La Rioja (Spain)|name=La Rioja}}
| (La Rioja){{efn|Previously known as Logroño.}}
|-
| {{flag|Madrid}}
| (Madrid)
|-
| {{flag|Murcia}}
| (Murcia)
|-
| {{flag|Navarre}}
| (Navarre){{efn|Previously known as Pamplona.}}
|-
| {{flag|Valencia|name=Valencian Community}}
| [[Province of Alicante|Alicante]], [[province of Castellón|Castellón]] and [[province of Valencia|Valencia]]
|}