Government and power in Spain

Who leads Spain, how the World Bank's governance indicators score it, how many women sit in parliament and government, what the state spends and taxes, and the official bodies that hold power to account. System of government: Unitary parliamentary monarchy with highly decentralised autonomous communities.

Who leads Spain?

• Head of state: Don Felipe VI (Rey de España, or Sus Majestades el Rey y la Reina de España)
• Head of government: Pedro Sánchez Pérez-Castejón (Presidente del Gobierno de España)
• Foreign minister: José Manuel Albares Bueno (Ministro de Asuntos Exteriores, Unión Europea y Cooperación de España)

Source: Heads of State, Heads of Government, Ministers for Foreign Affairs: Public List (United Nations Protocol and Liaison Service), list dated 15 October 2026. All world leaders.

Governance scores

The World Bank's Worldwide Governance Indicators combine surveys of households and firms with assessments by public, private and non-governmental bodies. Each score runs from 0 to 100; higher means the sources rate governance better. They measure perceptions, and each has a margin of error.

Voice and accountability

Measures how far citizens can choose their government, and freedom of expression, association and the media.

Political stability and absence of violence

Measures the likelihood of political instability or politically motivated violence, including terrorism.

Government effectiveness

Measures the quality of public services and the civil service, and how independent they are from political pressure.

Regulatory quality

Measures the government's ability to make and carry out policies that let the private sector develop.

Rule of law

Measures confidence in and respect for the rules of society, including contract enforcement, property rights, the police and the courts.

Control of corruption

Measures how far public power is used for private gain, including petty and grand corruption and "capture" of the state by elites.

Official bodies that hold power in Spain

Government

• La Moncloa (Presidency of the Government)
  Council of Ministers references, government statements and press releases.

Parliament

• Congress of Deputies
  Bills, the official journal of sessions, votes and deputy information.
• Senate
  Bills, session records and senator information.

Elections

• Central Electoral Board
  Electoral board decisions, instructions and official results proclamations.

Courts

• Supreme Court (General Council of the Judiciary portal)
  Supreme Court rulings, case law (CENDOJ) and judicial statistics.
• Constitutional Court
  Judgments on constitutionality and amparo appeals.

Public audit

• Court of Audit
  Audit reports on the public sector, political party accounts and accounting liability rulings.

Ombudsman

• Ombudsman (Defensor del Pueblo)
  Annual reports to parliament and recommendations on complaints.

Access to information

• Council of Transparency and Good Governance
  Decisions on access-to-information complaints and compliance reports.

Public contracts

• Public Sector Procurement Platform
  Tender notices, awards and contract documents of public bodies.

Laws and the official gazette

• Official State Gazette
  The official state gazette with Spanish laws, royal decrees and consolidated legislation.

Government below the national level

• Autonomous communities (17) and autonomous cities (2): Elected parliament; president elected by parliament
• Provinces (50): Provincial council (diputación) chosen indirectly by municipal councillors; in the Basque Country, directly elected Juntas Generales; island councils (cabildos, consells insulars) directly elected
• Government delegations and sub-delegations: Delegate appointed by the national government
• Municipalities (municipios, about 8,130): Council elected from closed party lists every four years (last May 2023); the council elects the mayor (alcalde)
• Minor local entities (entidades locales menores) and parishes: Local head and council elected

How local power works in Spain

Places in Spain

• All 19 autonomous communities
• The 49 largest cities
• Official statistics for Spain

Sources

• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Voice and accountability (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 70f2804fd1e2…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Political stability and absence of violence (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 1317de0c85e1…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Government effectiveness (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a775e808dc65…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Regulatory quality (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 83b57e36ff8c…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Rule of law (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 0bccc3c054e8…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Control of corruption (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 3b15a5340cdd…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Seats held by women in national parliament (SG.GEN.PARL.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 1ae1dc13981a…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Women in ministerial positions (SG.GEN.MNST.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a4e448a5b8bd…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Central government spending (GC.XPN.TOTL.GD.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 808094019f50…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Tax revenue (GC.TAX.TOTL.GD.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 08c94b750f31…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Military spending (MS.MIL.XPND.GD.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a7f6913a783b…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Armed forces personnel (MS.MIL.TOTL.P1), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 fa4663c743ba…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Statistical Performance Indicator (overall score) (IQ.SPI.OVRL), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 08ac7cde9129…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Births registered (SP.REG.BRTH.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 f8d443034ba7…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: People using the internet (IT.NET.USER.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 0d78dc658329…)

Each saved copy is the file exactly as downloaded, kept so the figures can be checked even if the source changes. Report an error.