Government

conventional short form: Spain

local long form: Reino de Espana

local short form: Espana

etymology: derivation of the name "Espana" is uncertain, but may come from the Phoenician term "span," related to the word "spy," meaning "to forge metals," so, "i-spn-ya" would mean "place where metals are forged"; the ancient Phoenicians long exploited the Iberian Peninsula for its mineral wealth
Government type

parliamentary constitutional monarchy
Capital

name: Madrid

geographic coordinates: 40 24 N, 3 41 W

time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October

time zone note: Spain has two time zones, including the Canary Islands (UTC 0)

etymology: the Romans named the original settlement "Matrice" after the river that ran through it; under Arab rule it became "Majerit," meaning "source of water"; in medieval Romance dialects (Mozarabic) it became "Matrit," which over time changed to "Madrid"
Administrative divisions

17 autonomous communities (comunidades autonomas, singular - comunidad autonoma) and 2 autonomous cities* (ciudades autonomas, singular - ciudad autonoma); Andalucia; Aragon; Asturias; Canarias (Canary Islands); Cantabria; Castilla-La Mancha; Castilla-Leon; Cataluna (Castilian), Catalunya (Catalan), Catalonha (Aranese) [Catalonia]; Ceuta*; Comunidad Valenciana (Castilian), Comunitat Valenciana (Valencian) [Valencian Community]; Extremadura; Galicia; Illes Baleares (Balearic Islands); La Rioja; Madrid; Melilla*; Murcia; Navarra (Castilian), Nafarroa (Basque) [Navarre]; Pais Vasco (Castilian), Euskadi (Basque) [Basque Country]

note: the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla plus three small islands of Islas Chafarinas, Penon de Alhucemas, and Penon de Velez de la Gomera, administered directly by the Spanish central government, are all along the coast of Morocco and are collectively referred to as Places of Sovereignty (Plazas de Soberania)
Independence

1492; the Iberian peninsula was characterized by a variety of independent kingdoms prior to the Muslim occupation that began in the early 8th century A.D. and lasted nearly seven centuries; the small Christian redoubts of the north began the reconquest almost immediately, culminating in the seizure of Granada in 1492; this event completed the unification of several kingdoms and is traditionally considered the forging of present-day Spain
National holiday

National Day (Hispanic Day), 12 October (1492); note - commemorates the arrival of COLUMBUS in the Americas
Constitution

history: previous 1812; latest approved by the General Courts 31 October 1978, passed by referendum 6 December 1978, signed by the king 27 December 1978, effective 29 December 1978

amendments: proposed by the government, by the General Courts (the Congress or the Senate), or by the self-governing communities submitted through the government; passage requires three-fifths majority vote by both houses and passage by referendum if requested by one tenth of the members of either house; proposals disapproved by both houses are submitted to a joint committee, which submits an agreed upon text for another vote; passage requires two-thirds majority vote in Congress and simple majority vote in the Senate; amended 1992, 2011
Legal system

civil law system with regional variations
International law organization participation

accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction
Citizenship

citizenship by birth: no

citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Spain

dual citizenship recognized: only with select Latin American countries

residency requirement for naturalization: 10 years for persons with no ties to Spain
Suffrage

18 years of age; universal
Executive branch

chief of state: King FELIPE VI (since 19 June 2014); Heir Apparent Princess LEONOR, Princess of Asturias (daughter of the monarch, born 31 October 2005)

head of government: President of the Government (Prime Minister-equivalent) Pedro SANCHEZ PEREZ-CASTEJON (since 2 June 2018); Vice President Nadia Maria CALVINO Santamaria (since 12 July 2021)

cabinet: Council of Ministers designated by the president

elections/appointments: the monarchy is hereditary; following legislative elections, the monarch usually proposes as president the leader of the party or coalition with the largest number of seats, who is then indirectly elected by the Congress of Deputies; election last held on 10 November 2019 (next to be held December 2023); vice president and Council of Ministers appointed by the president

election results: percent of National Assembly vote - NA

note: there is also a Council of State that is the supreme consultative organ of the government, but its recommendations are non-binding
Legislative branch

description: bicameral General Courts or Las Cortes Generales consists of:
Senate or Senado (265 seats; 208 members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by simple majority vote and 57 members indirectly elected by the legislatures of the autonomous communities; members serve 4-year terms)
Congress of Deputies or Congreso de los Diputados (350 seats; 348 members directly elected in 50 multi-seat constituencies by closed-list proportional representation vote, with a 3% threshold needed to gain a seat, and 2 directly elected from the North African Ceuta and Melilla enclaves by simple majority vote; members serve 4-year terms or until the government is dissolved)

elections:
Senate - last held on 10 November 2019 (next to be held no later than 30 November 2023)
Congress of Deputies - last held on 10 November 2019 (next to be held no later than 30 November 2023)

election results:
Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PSOE 113, PP 101, ERC 14, PNV 10, Junts 5, Cs 3, Vox 3, other 16; composition (as of mid-2022) - men 161, women 104; percent of women 39.3%
Congress of Deputies - percent of vote by party - PSOE 34.3%, PP 25.1%, Vox 14.9%, UP 9.4%, ERC 3.7%, Cs 2.9%, PNV 1.7%, EH-Bildu 1.4%, other 4.3%; seats by party - PSOE 120, PP 88, Vox 52, UP 33, ERC 13, Cs 9, PNV 6, EH-Bildu 5, other 15; men 196, women 154, percent of women 44%; note - overall General Courts percent of women 42%
Judicial branch

highest court(s): Supreme Court or Tribunal Supremo (consists of the court president and organized into the Civil Room, with a president and 9 judges; the Penal Room, with a president and 14 judges; the Administrative Room, with a president and 32 judges; the Social Room, with a president and 12 judges; and the Military Room, with a president and 7 judges); Constitutional Court or Tribunal Constitucional de Espana (consists of 12 judges)

judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court judges appointed by the monarch from candidates proposed by the General Council of the Judiciary Power, a 20-member governing board chaired by the monarch that includes presidential appointees, lawyers, and jurists confirmed by the National Assembly; judges can serve until age 70; Constitutional Court judges nominated by the National Assembly, executive branch, and the General Council of the Judiciary, and appointed by the monarch for 9-year terms

subordinate courts: National High Court; High Courts of Justice (in each of the autonomous communities); provincial courts; courts of first instance
Political parties and leaders

Asturias Forum or FAC [Carmen MORIYON]
Basque Country Unite (Euskal Herria Bildu) or EH Bildu [Arnaldo OTEGI] (coalition of 4 Basque pro-independence parties)
Basque Nationalist Party or PNV or EAJ [Andoni ORTUZAR]
Canarian Coalition or CC [Fernando Clavijo BATLLE] (coalition of 5 parties)
Ciudadanos Party (Citizens Party) or Cs [Adrian Vazquez LAZARA]
Compromis - Compromise Coalition [Enric MORERA i Català]
Together for Catalonia or JuntsxCat [Laura BORRAS]
People's Party or PP [Albert Nunez FEIJOO]
Republican Left of Catalonia or ERC [Oriol JUNQUERAS]
Spanish Socialist Workers Party or PSOE [Pedro SANCHEZ]
Teruel Existe or TE [Tomas GUITARTE]
Unidas Podemos (United We Can) or UP [Ione BELARRA] (formerly Podemos IU; electoral coalition formed for May 2016 election)
Union of People of Navarra or UPN [Javier ESPARZA]
Vox or VOX [Santiago ABASCAL]