General Information

Bathed by a sea and an ocean
The autonomous region of Galicia lies in the north western part of Spain basking in the Cantabrian sea and the Atlantic Ocean. It borders with the Cantabrian sea in the north, with Asturias and Castile and Leon in the east, with Portugal in the south, and with the Atlantic Ocean in the west.

The Galician coastline is characterized by high cliffs and deep inlets (estuaries). Two sections are usually differentiated: the Rías Altas (Cedeira, Ortiguiera, O Barqueiro, Viveiro, Foz and Ribadeo amongst others), and the Rías Baixas or Bajas (Muros and Noia, Arousa, Vigo and Pontevedra). Between the two areas there are the Estuaries of "A Costa da Morte" (Corcubión, Camariñas and Corme and Laxe) as well as the Estuaries of the Ártabro Golf (Ferrol, Ares and Betanzos and A Coruña). The region can be divided into two areas: inland Galicia and coastal Galicia, that are separated by a mountain range known as Galicia's backbone. The mountains tend to be small and undulating, separated by two valleys, lying in the following three areas: The first area borders Asturias and Leon, and has the highest mountains including, Pena Trevinca (2,095 m), Penarrubia (1,826 m) and Cabeza de Manzaneda (1,778 m). The second lies in the middle of the region surrounded by lower mountains, and the third on the coast, with the estuaries as the renowned highlight. Galician rivers have large volumes of water flowing through them and naturally head towards either the Atlantic or the Cantabrian sea. The rivers that flow into the Atlantic are larger and more abundant, including the Miño river (the most important) and its tributary the river Sil. Other notable rivers include the Ulla, the Tambre or the Eume.

Transportation

Well connected
The autonomous region of Galicia has an excellent infrastructure. Both road and rail networks, and land and air transport, ensure that this area is kept well-connected with Spain and the rest of the world.

Galicia has five of the most important industrial ports in Spain (Vigo, Ferrol, Marin, Vilagarcia de Arousa and A Coruña), as well as fishing ports, marinas and private ports that are managed by Portos de Galicia (Galician Ports). Galicia also has a major network of roads connecting it with the rest of Spain, Portugal and Europe, and a rail network that interconnects the various provinces within region. The region links up with the rest of Spain via the Madrid-Valladolid-Hendaya axis of railways, that travels from the south east to the north east of the mainland. Galicia also has three international airports (La Coruña, Santiago and Vigo) that are increasing in passenger numbers and trade. The mountainous terrain of the region has made building an infrastructure extremely difficult, however, at present it boasts one of the most modern and complete infrastructures in the whole of Spain. In the last few years Galicia has completed construction of various dual carriageways that criss-cross the whole region. There is a good direct connection by road and motorway from Madrid to Vigo and A Coruña, which in turn links up with Santiago de Compostela by motorway. All the province capitals as well as Santiago are connected by fast roads and dual carriageways. The AP-9 motorway links Ferrol and A Coruña with Tui, at the Portuguese border. Whereas, the Rias Baixas motorway connects Pontevedra to Ourense and to Benavente, in the province of Zamora.

Administration

This is comprised of four provinces that include: Ourense, Lugo, A Coruña and Pontevedra.

The highest institutional body of the Autonomous Region which governs the life of the people of Galicia is the Xunta de Galicia (Galicia Regional Assembly). Article 1 of the Autonomy Statute (6th of April 1981) states that Galicia is an “historic nationality” that has been “created into an autonomous region so that it can enjoy the benefits of self government in accordance with its rights as established in the Spanish Constitution”. The political power of the autonomous region as established by the Statute, lies in the Xunta (Regional Assembly), the Parliament and its President. The Parliament has 75 seats, with elections every four years. The head of Galicia's executive body is also elected every four years by the members of the parliament.

Population

The population of this autonomous region according to figures from the Spanish National Statistics Institute (INE) as of the 1st of January 2004, after having reviewed the Inhabitants register is 2,750,985.

The breakdown by province is as follows: La Coruña: 1,121,344 inhabitants, Lugo: 358,452 inhabitants, Ourense: 340,528 inhabitants and Pontevedra: 930,931 inhabitants. The population in Galicia has barely increased in the twentieth century. The amount of inhabitants in 1900 was 1,980,514, and reached 2,583,674 in the seventies. Most of the inhabitants are located around the coast. Population outside the main cities is low, and tends to be based around small towns.

Back to Information page