Political Divisions of Spain - Provinces

Provinces

The provinces (provincias in Spanish and Galician, províncies in Catalan, probintziak in Basque) are the second-level territorial and administrative divisions of Spain. The current provincial scheme was created in 1833 by Javier de Burgos and based on the limits of the old Hispanic kingdoms, though dividing them, if necessary, due to geographic and/or demographic reasons (i.e. to ensure a relative homogeneity in extension and population). This scheme has undergone only minor adjustments since then, most notably the division of the Canary Islands into two provinces in 1927. Currently, there are fifty provinces in Spain.

The province is a local entity with juridic personality constituted by the aggregations of municipalities. The governance of provinces is carried out by Provincial Deputations or Councils, with the following exceptions:

• those autonomous communities consisting of a single province, in which case, the institutions of government of the autonomous community replace those of the province;
• the Basque Country, in which the provinces are constituted as "historical territories" (territorios históricos in Spanish, foru lurralde or lurralde historik in Basque), in which "Chartered Deputations" (Diputaciones Forales in Spanish, Foru aldundi in Basque) are in charge of both the political and fiscal administration of the territories; and
• the insular communities, that is, the Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands, in which each island or group of islands is governed by "Insular Deputations" (Diputación insular in Spanish) or "Insular Councils" (Consejo insular in Spanish, Consell Insular in Catalan).

The competences of the provinces vary amongst the autonomous communities they belong to, and in practical purposes, since the creation of the autonomous communities, their scope of action is minimal, with the exception of the historical territories of the Basque Country. However, in all cases, they are guaranteed a juridical status and autonomy to conduct its internal administration by the constitution.

The official names of the provinces can be in Spanish, the co-official language of the community they belong to, or both.