Catalonia, referring to the autonomous community in Spain, is territorially divided into numerous types and levels of subdivisions with varying administrative, organisational and cultural functions.

The official first-level regional distribution in Catalonia, configured through theStatute of Autonomy of 2006, is thevegueria (Catalan pronunciation:[bəɣəˈɾi.ə]), owing its name to the feudal jurisdiction of the formerPrincipality of Catalonia.^[1][2]

Regulated by the Vegueries Law, approved on 27 July 2010 inParliament, they aim to form vegueria councils and become a full administrative division,^[3] although the law has been ruled unconstitutional by theSpanish Constitutional Court, as it replaces functions performed by Spanish provinces(seebelow).^[4][5] Thus, in practice, despite being official, vegueries are not allowed to carry the administrative powers of the provinces and currently remain only usable for similar territorial deployments to those carried out by the areas, e.g. government services, weather reports, commercial distribution, media coverage,curfew during the COVID-19 pandemic,television frequencies, etc.^[4]

There are eight vegueries since 2017. TheAran Valley is not part of any vegueria, as it has been an autonomous region since 2015.^[6][7] There are a number of proposals to create a ninth vegueria around theAlt Ter region.^[8]

Predating the vegueries and for statistical purposes, Catalonia is also divided in "functional territorial areas" (Catalan:àmbits funcionals territorials;Aranese Occitan:encastres foncionaus territoriaus).^[9] These were stablished in 1995 by theCatalan General Territorial Plan [ca]. They are largely the same as the vegueries, with mostly identical names, with the main exception being that the Aran Valley is included withinAlt Pirineu in theAlt Pirineu i Aran area.^[6]

Catalonia'scounties^[9] (Catalan:comarques,Catalan pronunciation:[kuˈmarkə]) form the second-level division and are a subdivision of the vegueries.

There are 42 administrative counties since 2023.^[9]Aran was a county until 2015, when it formally became an autonomous region, but it is still often included in county lists and maps as one.^[7] Each comarca has a representativecounty council (Catalan:consell comarcal), except forBarcelonès, which abolished it in 2019, andLluçanès, which, having only been established in 2023, will not have one until the 2027 local elections.^[10]

Counties often include cultural subdivisions known as sub-counties (Catalan:subcomarques), with no administrative value. Some of these were proposed as new administrative counties in the 2001Roca report [ca]:

• Alta Segarra [ca], with its capital inCalaf.
• Baix Llobregat Nord [ca], with its capital inMartorell.
• Moianès, with its capital inMoià.
• Segre Mitjà [ca], with its capital inPonts.
• Selva Marítima [ca], with its capital inBlanes.
• Vall de Camprodon [ca], with its capital inCamprodon.

In 2015, Moianès achieved full administrative county status,^[11] followed by Lluçanès in 2023.^[12]

The autonomous community of Catalonia is formed from the union of the four Spanish provinces (Catalan andAranese Occitan:províncies) ofBarcelona,Girona,Lleida andTarragona. These were codified during the1833 territorial division of Spain. Although the vegueries were created to replace the provinces,^[5] all government, constituency and administration tasks remain constitutionally attributed to theprovincial councils (Catalan:diputacions;Aranese Occitan:deputacions).^[13]

Unlike vegueries, provinces only follow municipal boundaries and not county ones. This creates some rupture points, notably the county ofBaixa Cerdanya, which is broken in half, with the western section administratively belonging to the province of Lleida and the eastern one to the province of Girona. Situations like this have led some isolated municipalities to request a change of provincial boundaries from the Spanish government in order to solve problems in accessing services. One such case isGósol (Berguedà), the sole municipality in the county that belongs to the province of Lleida, while the rest fall within the province of Barcelona.^[14]

Catalans often refer to the provinces in everyday language or in the media as 'demarcations' (Catalan andAranese Occitan:demarcacions),^[15][16][17] attributed by some to their lack of identification or cultural significance.^[18]

Themunicipalities (Catalan andAranese Occitan:municipis) constitute the third-level division. In 2024, there were 947 municipalities.^[19] Municipalities are run by a council (Catalan andAranese Occitan:ajuntament) elected through Spain-widelocal elections, which then elects a mayor (Catalan:batlle (batle inTerres de l'Ebre);Aranese Occitan:baile).

Unlike other Catalan-speaking territories in Spain, all municipalities in the autonomous community of Catalonia have their names officially in the Catalan language (or in Aranese Occitan, in Aran), but some still use non-standard Castilianised names, such as Cabassers, officially spelled 'Cabacés'.^[20]

Municipalities are sometimes further subdivided into:

• Decentralised municipal entities [ca] (Catalan:entitats municipals descentralitzades;Aranese Occitan:entitats municipaus descentralizades; EMD), consisting of one or more settlements without their own town council that are jointly governed by aneighbourhood council.
• Rural areas, orpartides rurals, present in some municipalities as a subdivision of the area of the municipal term that does not belong to the seat town or to any decentralised municipal entities. One such case is thepartides of Lleida [ca], which make up theHorta de Lleida [ca].

TheAran Valley, being a self-governing region within Catalonia (officially a 'unique territorial entity';Aranese Occitan:entitat territoriau singulara;Catalan:entitat territorial singular) instead of a regular county, as well as a part of theOccitan cultural realm, represents a unique position in the Catalan regional configuration.^[7]

Its autonomous government, theGeneral Council of Aran (Aranese Occitan:Conselh Generau d'Aran) was formed in 1991. Originally, it was a mere additional county until the new Aranese law of 2015, which promoted this status, as well as notably recognising its symbols and anthem, giving priority to the Occitan language in administrative matters, and granting the valley the right to self-determination.^[7][21][22] Furthermore, by extension, it ensured that Aran would not fall within theAlt Pirineu region.^[6]

Terçons are an administrative and electoral subdivision exclusive to Aran. The valley is divided in six terçons.^[23]

Like the rest of Catalonia, the valley is also divided into municipalities. Aran is composed of nine municipalities, two of which (Vielha e Mijaran andNaut Aran) cover several terçons.^[24]

Subdivisions of the autonomous community of Catalonia

First-level division						Second-level division						Functional area	Spanish province
Designation	Location	Name	Capital	Population (2023)[9]	Main admin. language	County	County seat	Flag	Coat of arms	Population(2023)[9]	Code[25]
vegueria		Alt Pirineu	La Seu d'Urgell (de facto)[a]	65,998	Catalan	Alt Urgell	La Seu d'Urgell	-		21,128	AU / 04	Alt Pirineu i Aran	Lleida
						Alta Ribagorça	El Pont de Suert	-	-	4,040	AG / 05	Alt Pirineu i Aran	Lleida
						Baixa Cerdanya	Puigcerdà	-		20,115	CD / 15	Alt Pirineu i Aran	Lleida (west) Girona (east)
						Pallars Jussà	Tremp	-		13,383	PJ / 25	Alt Pirineu i Aran	Lleida
						Pallars Sobirà	Sort			7,332	PS / 26	Alt Pirineu i Aran	Lleida
		Barcelona	Barcelona	5,066,684	Catalan	Baix Llobregat	Sant Feliu de Llobregat	-	-	848,827	BT / 11	Metropolità	Barcelona
						Barcelonès	Barcelona	-	-	2,354,301	BR / 13	Metropolità	Barcelona
						Maresme	Mataró	-		472,572	MM / 21	Metropolità	Barcelona
						Vallès Occidental	Sabadell,Terrassa[b]	-	-	960,033	VC / 40	Metropolità	Barcelona
						Vallès Oriental	Granollers	-	-	426,653	VR / 41	Metropolità	Barcelona
		Camp de Tarragona	Tarragona	555,957	Catalan	Alt Camp	Valls	-		46,388	AC / 01	Camp de Tarragona	Tarragona
						Baix Camp	Reus			204,458	BC / 08	Camp de Tarragona	Tarragona
						Conca de Barberà	Montblanc			20,569	CB / 16	Camp de Tarragona	Tarragona
						Priorat	Falset	-		9,420	PR / 29	Camp de Tarragona	Tarragona
						Tarragonès	Tarragona	-	-	275,122	TR / 36	Camp de Tarragona	Tarragona
		Central Catalonia	Manresa (de facto)[a]	427,296	Catalan	Bages	Manresa	-	-	185,352	BG / 07	Comarques Centrals	Barcelona
						Berguedà	Berga			41,058	BD / 14	Comarques Centrals	Barcelona Lleida (Gósol)
						Lluçanès	Prats de Lluçanès	-	-	5,718	N/A[c] / 43	Comarques Centrals	Barcelona
						Moianès	Moià	-	-	14,758	MO / 42	Comarques Centrals	Barcelona
						Osona	Vic			164,006	OS / 24	Comarques Centrals	Barcelona Girona (Espinelves,Vidrà,Viladrau)
						Solsonès	Solsona	-	-	15,323	SL / 35	Comarques Centrals	Lleida
		Girona	Girona	804,851	Catalan	Alt Empordà	Figueres			148,732	AE / 02	Comarques Gironines	Girona
						Baix Empordà	La Bisbal d'Empordà	-	-	143,443	BM / 10	Comarques Gironines	Girona
						Garrotxa	Olot	-	-	62,449	GX / 19	Comarques Gironines	Girona
						Gironès	Girona	-	-	205,573	GN / 20	Comarques Gironines	Girona
						Pla de l'Estany	Banyoles	-	-	33,564	PE / 28	Comarques Gironines	Girona
						Ripollès	Ripoll	-	-	25,826	RI / 31	Comarques Gironines	Girona
						Selva	Santa Coloma de Farners	-	-	185,264	SV / 34	Comarques Gironines	Girona Barcelona (Fogars de la Selva)
		Penedès	Vilanova i la Geltrú (de facto)[a]	517,499	Catalan	Alt Penedès	Vilafranca del Penedès	-	-	114,189	AP / 03	Penedès	Barcelona
						Anoia[d]	Igualada			128,432	AI / 06	Penedès[d]	Barcelona
						Baix Penedès	El Vendrell	-	-	118,350	BP / 12	Penedès	Barcelona
						Garraf	Vilanova i la Geltrú	-	-	161,907	GA / 17	Penedès	Barcelona
		Ponent	Lleida	375,964	Catalan	Garrigues	Les Borges Blanques			19,075	GG / 18	Ponent	Lleida
						Noguera	Balaguer			39,727	NG / 23	Ponent	Lleida
						Pla d'Urgell	Mollerussa			38,111	PU / 27	Ponent	Lleida
						Segarra	Cervera	-		22,667	SR / 32	Ponent	Lleida
						Segrià	Lleida			217,853	SI / 33	Ponent	Lleida
						Urgell	Tàrrega			38,531	UR / 38	Ponent	Lleida
		Terres de l'Ebre	Tortosa	187,437	Catalan	Baix Ebre	Tortosa			82,399	BB / 09	Terres de l'Ebre	Tarragona
						Montsià	Amposta	-		71,460	MT / 22	Terres de l'Ebre	Tarragona
						Ribera d'Ebre	Móra d'Ebre	-		22,132	RE / 30	Terres de l'Ebre	Tarragona
						Terra Alta	Gandesa	-		11,446	TT / 37	Terres de l'Ebre	Tarragona
unique territorial entity		Aran Valley	Vielha e Mijaran	10,545	Occitan	-				10,545	VN / 38	Alt Pirineu i Aran	Lleida

Many Catalan cities are divided intoneighbourhoods (Catalan andAranese Occitan:barris). In the case ofBarcelona, the city has a higher level of administrative division than the neighbourhoods, which are thedistricts (Catalan:districtes). Each district has autonomy and capacity for decision-making and economic management. They are governed by a district municipal council that coordinates the district's services and resources.^[26]

Thecensus areas (Catalan:seccions censals;Aranese Occitan:seccions censaus) are a subdivision of municipalities and districts, used for census purposes, organisation of electoral processes or collection of statistical data.^[27] These areas may comprise a maximum of 2,000 electors and a minimum of 500.^[28]

The health areas (Catalan andAranese Occitan:regions sanitàries) are an arrangement of theCatSalut [ca] service to optimise medical care for all municipalities. They are largely similar to the functional territorial areas, with the Barcelona region being further divided into North, South and City.^[29][30]

Catalonia's police force, theMossos d'Esquadra, manage operations and services through ninepolice regions (Catalan:regions policials;Aranese Occitan:regions policères).^[31]

These regions are also similar to functional territorial areas, with the Barcelona region being divided into North, South and City, while northern Penedès is incorporated into the Central region and southern Penedès into the South Barcelona region. Each of these areas is further subdivided into 'basic police areas' (Catalan:àrees bàsiques policials;Aranese Occitan:airaus basics policèrs; ABP).^[31]

Similar to the rest of the Spanish state, Catalonia is divided into 49judicial districts (Catalan:partits judicials;Aranese Occitan:partits judiciaus) for the purpose of justice administration. These adhere to the province boundaries.^[32]

Following thefall of al-Andalus in Catalonia, the supremacy of thecounty of Barcelona was consolidated, whose count became sovereign. Theveguers exercised the delegation of royal power within their vegueries. The earliest known division of 1304 lists eighteen of them, while the last one of 1720 contains fifteen with eight veguers.^[33]

Following theNueva Planta decrees, the Principality of Catalonia became a province divided into twelve Castiliancorregimientos (Barcelona, Cervera, Girona, Lleida, Manresa, Mataró, Puigcerdà, Talarn, Tarragona, Tortosa, Vic and Vilafranca del Penedès) and one district (Aran). The new division was based on the former vegueries, removing those of Agramunt, Balaguer, Tàrrega, Camprodon and Montblanc.^[34]

Following the brief annexation of both the Spanish territory of Catalonia andAndorra byNapoleonic France, it was divided in four departments, along withNorthern Catalonia, which remained inPyrénées-Orientales:^[35]

• Bouches-de-l'Èbre (Catalan:Boques de l'Ebre), capitalLleida.
• Montserrat (Catalan:Montserrat), capitalBarcelona.
• Sègre (Catalan:Segre), capitalPuigcerdà.
• Ter (Catalan:Ter), capitalGirona.

Aran was incorporated into theHaute-Garonne department.

The Study Report for the Territorial Division of Catalonia (Catalan:Ponència d'Estudi de la Divisió Territorial de Catalunya) was created by a decree in October 1931. In November 1931, a questionnaire was addressed to all municipal councils consolidating the first instance of the division of Catalonia into counties and vegueries. The division was approved in 1936, with some minor changes and labelling the regions with numerals. The division was operational until the removal of all Catalan autonomy by the Francoist regime after the end of theSpanish Civil War.^[36]

• Vegueries of Catalonia
• Counties of Catalonia
• Local government in Spain

• Administrative divisions in Europe
• Subdivisions of Catalonia

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