New Parline: the IPU’s Open Data Platform (beta)
Your one-stop-shop for information about national parliaments

Spain

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Congress of Deputies

This is a bicameral parliament. Switch to theSenate
Political system Political systems: Presidential, Parliamentary, Presidential-Parliamentary, Monarchy, Communist, Transitional.
Parliamentary system
Structure of parliament Structure of parliament: Unicameral, bicameral
Bicameral
IPU membership Current membership status
Yes

About parliament

Basic information such as the official name of parliament and details of its structure and leadership. Also includes the current breakdown of MPs by sex and age, and provisions for quotas and reserved seats.

Parliament name
Las Cortes Generales (The Cortes)
Chamber name
Congreso de los Diputados (Congress of Deputies)
Structure & Status of parliament This field is to indicate lower/upper in the back end.
Lower chamber
Parliamentary term (years)
4

IPU membership

Affiliation periods
from 1889-01
IPU Geopolitical Group/s IPU Geopolitical Groups: African Group, Arab Group, Asia-Pacific Group, Eurasia Group, Group of Latin America and the Caribbean (GRULAC), Twelve Plus Group.
Twelve Plus Group

Speaker

Official title The Speaker may for example be known as the Presiding Officer, President, Chairman/Chairperson, etc.
President of the Congress of Deputies
Speaker
Ana Pastor (Female)
Year of birth
1957
Term
19.07.2016

Secretary General

Official title This post is most commonly called Secretary General or Clerk. It may also be called Secretary, Head/Chief of the Secretariat, Director General, etc.
Secretary General
Secretary general
Carlos Gutiérrez Vicén (Male)
Notes Additional information about the Secretary General, in particular regarding their term.
Appointed on 4 March 2014.

Members

Statutory number of members Statutory number of members, as defined in the constitution or other fundamental law.
350
Directly elected members Directly elected by citizens.
350
Current number of members Number of members who currently hold seats in parliament. May be lower or higher than the statutory number of members.
350
Men The number of male parliamentarians who currently hold seats in parliament.
206
Women The number of female parliamentarians who currently hold seats in parliament.
144
Percentage of women Calculated by dividing the current number of women by the current number of members.
41.14% See historical data for this field.
Statutory number of members per country As defined in the constitution or other fundamental laws. Combines the number of parliamentarians in both chambers in bicameral parliaments.
616
Population (in thousands) Source: United Nations, World Population Prospects.
46,398
Inhabitants per parliamentarian Calculated by dividing the population by the statutory number of parliamentarians.
75,321 See historical data for this field.

Age

Number of members, by age
Breakdown of members by age and gender
18 - 20 21 - 30 31 - 40 41 - 45 46 - 50 51 - 60 61 - 70 71 - 80 81 - 90 91 and over Totals per gender
Totals per age interval 0 3 46 42 52 136 66 4 0 0
Total <= 45: 91 Total >= 46: 258
Male 0 2 23 15 30 91 45 3 0 0 209
Female 0 1 23 27 22 45 21 1 0 0 140
Percentage of members, by age
Age as last election or renewalOverallMaleFemale
Percentage of MPs 30 years of age or younger0.86%0.57%0.29%
Percentage of MPs 40 years of age or younger14.04%7.16%6.88%
Percentage of MPs 45 years of age or younger26.07%11.46%14.61%
Members for whom data is available
349

Reserved seats and quotas

There are reserved seats in parliament for certain groups Reserved seats are a means to ensure the parliamentary representation of certain groups in society.
No
Electoral quota for women Quotas to promote the representation of women in parliament.
Yes
Notes
Legislated candidate quotas. Candidate lists must have a balanced proportion of women and men, so that candidates of either sex make up at least 40% of total membership. Where the number of seats to be covered is less than five, the balance between women and men shall be as even as possible.
Legal source Legal text that stipulates the quota, such as the Constitution or electoral law.
Section 44 of Electoral Law (Ley Orgánica del Régimen Electoral General).
Electoral quota for youth Quotas to promote the representation of youth in parliament.
No

Links to additional information