page_title: Community of Madrid
section_title: Autonomous community
hierarchical_section_title: Community of Madrid / History / Autonomous community
caption_attribution_description: Español: Anochecer en Las Tablas, Madrid, España.
context_page_description: The Community of Madrid is one of the seventeen autonomous communities of Spain. It is located in the centre of the Iberian Peninsula, and of the Central Plateau. Its capital is the city of Madrid, which is also the capital of the country. The Community of Madrid is bounded to the south and east by Castilla–La Mancha and to the north and west by Castile and León. It was formally created in 1983, based on the limits of the province of Madrid, which was until then conventionally included in the historical region of New Castile.
  The Community of Madrid is the third most populous in Spain with 6,549,979 inhabitants mostly concentrated in the metropolitan area of Madrid. It is also the most densely populated autonomous community. In absolute terms, Madrid's economy is, since 2018, slightly bigger in size to that of Catalonia. Madrid has the highest GDP per capita in the country.
  The region contains three World Heritage Sites: the Monastery and Royal Site of El Escorial, the University and historic centre of Alcalá de Henares, and the cultural landscape of Aranjuez.
context_section_description: The creation of the contemporary Community of Madrid was preceded by an intense political debate. Autonomous communities were to be created by one or more provinces with a distinct regional identity. Since the 1833 provincial organization, Madrid was part of the historical region of New Castile along with the provinces of Guadalajara, Toledo, Cuenca and Ciudad Real. Thus, it was first planned that the province of Madrid would be part of the future community of Castile–La Mancha (which was roughly similar to New Castile, with the addition of Albacete) but with some special considerations as the home of the national capital. The other provinces that were to become part of the autonomous community of Castile–La Mancha expressed fears of inequality if Madrid were associated with them. These provinces opposed such a special status, and after considering other options for Madrid—like its inclusion in the community of Castile and León or its constitution as an entity similar to a federal district.—it was decided that the province of Madrid would become a single-province autonomous community by virtue of Article 144 of the Constitution, which empowers the Cortes to create an autonomous community in the "nation's interest" even if it did not satisfy the requirement of having a distinct historical identity. Thus, in 1983, the Community of Madrid was constituted and a Statute of Autonomy was approved taking over all the competences of the old "Diputación Provincial" and the new ones the Statute considered.
  During the first 25 years of the "autonomic" period, the region accounted for the biggest economic growth in Spain, becoming a platform for the internationalisation of the Spanish economy, featuring a marked preponderance of the service sector. By the turn of the 21st century, a strong boost to the construction sub-sector also took place. During this period the region stood out due to its role as centre for welcoming immigration, due to its condition as transport node vis-à-vis the Spanish geography, and due to its condition as scientific and cultural centre of the country.
caption: Sunset in Las Tablas in 2015
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