The municipality (, , , , , )In other

languages of Spain The majority of languages of Spain belong to the Romance languages, Romance language family, of which Spanish language, Spanish is the only one with Official languages of Spain, official status in the whole country. Others, including Catalan l ...

: * Catalan/Valencian (), sing. . * Galician () or (), sing. /. *

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

(), sing. . * Asturian (), sing. . is one of the two fundamental territorial divisions in

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, the other being the

provinces A province is an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outside Italy. The term ''provi ...

Organisation

Although

are groupings of

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

, there is no implied hierarchy or primacy of one over the other. Instead the two entities are defined according to the authority or jurisdiction of each (). Some autonomous communities also group municipalities into entities known as '' comarcas'' (districts) or '' mancomunidades'' (commonwealths). The governing body in most municipalities is called '' ayuntamiento'' (

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough cou ...

corporation A corporation or body corporate is an individual or a group of people, such as an association or company, that has been authorized by the State (polity), state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law as ...

), a term often also used to refer to the municipal headquarters (city/town hall). The ''ayuntamiento'' is composed of the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

(Spanish: ''alcalde''), the deputy mayors (Spanish: ''tenientes de alcalde'') and the deliberative assembly (''pleno'') of councillors (''concejales''). Another form of local government used in small municipalities is the '' concejo abierto'' (open council), in which the deliberative assembly is formed by all the electors in the municipality. The operation of the municipalities is broadly outlined by the 1985 Local Government Act. The Statutes of Autonomy of the various autonomous communities also contain provisions and many sectorial laws from national and autonomous community government determine the functions and powers of ayuntamientos. In general, municipalities enjoy a large degree of autonomy in their local affairs: many of the functions of the ''comarcas'' and provinces are municipal powers pooled together. All citizens of Spain are required to register in the municipality they live in, and after doing so, they are juridically considered "neighbors" (residents) of the municipality, a designation that grants them various rights and privileges, and which entail certain obligations as well, including the right to vote or be elected for public office in said municipality. The right to vote in municipal elections is extended to Spanish citizens living abroad. A Spaniard abroad, upon registering in a

consulate A consulate is the office of a consul. A type of mission, it is usually subordinate to the state's main representation in the capital of that foreign country (host state), usually an embassy (or, only between two Commonwealth countries, a ...

, has the right to vote in the local elections of the last municipality they resided in. A Spanish citizen born abroad must choose between the last municipality his or her mother or father last lived in.

In numbers

As of 2022, there were a total of 8,131 municipalities in Spain, including the autonomous cities of

Ceuta Ceuta (, , ; ) is an Autonomous communities of Spain#Autonomous cities, autonomous city of Spain on the North African coast. Bordered by Morocco, it lies along the boundary between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Ceuta is one of th ...

and

Melilla Melilla (, ; ) is an autonomous city of Spain on the North African coast. It lies on the eastern side of the Cape Three Forks, bordering Morocco and facing the Mediterranean Sea. It has an area of . It was part of the Province of Málaga un ...

. In the Principality of Asturias, municipalities are officially named ''concejos'' (councils). The average population of a municipality is about 5,300, but this figure masks a huge range: the most populous Spanish municipality is the city of

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

, with a population of 3,305,408 (2022), while several rural municipalities have fewer than ten inhabitants ( Illán de Vacas, had a population of three in 2022). Almost 40% of the Spanish population resides in just 62 municipalities with more than 100,000 inhabitants. 84% (6,817) of municipalities have less than 5,000 inhabitants. Castile and León alone account for 28% of municipalities but they constitute less than 6% of the population of Spain. A European report said that one of the most important problems facing local governments in Spain is the very high number of little towns with a low number of inhabitants. The area of the municipal territory (Spanish: ''término municipal'') usually ranges 2–40 km², but some municipalities span across a much larger area, up to the 1,750.33 km² of Cáceres', the largest municipality in the country. The average land area of a Spanish municipality is about , while the average population is about 5,988 people.

History

Municipalities were first created by decree on 23 May 1812 as part of the liberal reforms associated with the new

Spanish Constitution of 1812 The Political Constitution of the Spanish Monarchy (), also known as the Constitution of Cádiz () and nicknamed ''La Pepa'', was the first Constitution of Spain and one of the earliest codified constitutions in world history. The Constitution ...

and based on similar actions in revolutionary France. The idea was to rationalise and homogenise territorial organisation, do away with the prior feudal system and provide equality before the law of all citizens. Between 1812 and 1931, the legislation regarding municipal organisation was changed more than 20 times, and there were 20 addition and unsuccessful proposals for change.

Organisation

In numbers

History

Terminology

See also

Notes

References

Bibliography