The configuration of the Spanish State into Autonomous Communities is one of the salient aspects of the Spanish Constitution of 1978. The Spanish autonomous communities were created in order to maintain the unity of the Spanish Kingdom, which was in serious danger in the days following Franco’s reign. The Constitution assured the diverse peoples of Spain the right to sovereignty within the Kingdom of Spain. The Spanish autonomous communities share authority with the state as regulated by the Constitution. The Spanish autonomous communities have been allotted rights for public spending of 38%, while the central government has a share of only 18%.

The main factor considered for creating the Spanish autonomous communities was the history of each region, its cultural and economical distinctiveness, and geographic characteristics. The Spanish autonomous communities were designed to avoid any accumulation of power in a single region, which could amount to instability in the state. The process of developing the Spanish autonomous communities was started in 1979 and the majority of them were created within the next four years. It was only in 1996 that Ceuta and Melilla were awarded autonomous status, which marked the end of the configuring process of the Spanish autonomous communities.

The Spanish autonomous communities have their own government bodies, which are responsible for providing public facilities and infrastructures that include but are not limited to schools, colleges, universities, roads, parks, public health care centers, amphitheatres for cultural activities, and, in some cases, managing public security through the police department. Each Spanish autonomous community has its own Supreme Court which is governed by the Supreme Court of Spain in Madrid. Every Spanish autonomous community has its own legislative assembly whose members are elected by a public vote. The communities also have their own government council which is headed by a President. The President of the Spanish autonomous community’s government council is elected by the legislative assembly after being nominated by the King of Spain.

Each of the Spanish autonomous communities is further divided into provinces and the provinces are subdivided into municipalities. The provinces demarcate the territory while the municipalities carry out public affairs within a specified territory. The Spanish autonomous communities today include: Andalusia, Aragon, Asturias, Balearic Islands, Basque Country, Canary Islands, Cantabria, Castile-La Mancha, Castile and Leon, Catalonia, Extremadura, Galicia, La Rioja, Madrid, Murcia, Navarre and Valencia. The newly created autonomous cities of Spain are Ceuta and Melilla.