Madrid is one of Spain's seventeen autonomous communities, located in the centre of the country. It is coterminous with the province of Madrid, and contains the city of Madrid which is the capital of the province, the community, and the country.
Madrid is bordered by the autonomous communities of Castile-Leon (provinces of Ávila and Segovia) and Castile-La Mancha (provinces of Guadalajara, Cuenca, and Toledo).
Over half of the population live in the capital. Other cities located in the community include Alcalá de Henares, San Lorenzo de El Escorial and Aranjuez. There are 179 municipalities in Madrid. See List of municipalities in Madrid.
Madrid was formerly considered part of New Castile (see Castile-La Mancha) but was made into its own community at the beginning of the autonomía system because of great economic disparity between Madrid and the Castilian-Manchego hinterland.
Last updated: 02-06-2005 19:58:36
