The Government of Spain
Overview
- Capital: Madrid
- Administrative regions: 17 autonomous communities plus 2 autonomous cities (Ceuta and Melilla)
- Government & legal system: Parliamentary constitutional monarchy, under the 1978 Constitution that followed the transition to democracy after the Franco era. Civil law system, with some autonomous communities (notably the Basque Country and Catalonia) retaining distinct regional civil-law traditions (derecho foral) in certain matters. (government site)
- Head of state / government: King Felipe VI, King (head of state, since 2014); Pedro Sánchez, President of the Government / Prime Minister (head of government, since 2018) (official page)
- Official language(s): Spanish/Castilian (official nationwide); Catalan, Basque (Euskera), Galician, and Aranese are co-official in their respective autonomous communities
- National Day: October 12 (Fiesta Nacional de España / Hispanic Day, commemorating Columbus’s 1492 arrival in the Americas)
- Independence: Not a colonial-independence case; Spain’s current constitutional order dates to the 1978 Constitution, following the transition to democracy after Francisco Franco’s dictatorship
- Other official holidays: Constitution Day (Dec 6), Epiphany (Jan 6), Labour Day (May 1), Assumption of Mary (Aug 15)
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation (official site)
- Regional / international memberships: United Nations/ UN, European Union, North Atlantic Treaty Organization/ NATO, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development/ OECD, Council of Europe
- Visa / entry requirements: Schengen visa rules apply for non-EU/EEA visitors; Spain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs handles visa information and applications through its embassies and consulates. (visa info)
- Currency: Euro (EUR, shared EU currency) — Spain’s euro coins depict King Felipe VI (earlier coins depicted his father, King Juan Carlos I) or the Cervantes monument in Madrid; banknotes use the common EU designs rather than country-specific imagery.
- Flag symbolism: Horizontal red-yellow-red bands, with the yellow band double the width of each red band, bearing the national coat of arms offset toward the hoist — known as the ‘Rojigualda.’ The colors were chosen by King Charles III in 1785 for visibility at sea. The coat of arms incorporates the Pillars of Hercules and symbols of the historic kingdoms of Castile, León, Aragon, Navarre, and Granada.
