Political system
Parliamentary system
Structure of parliament
Bicameral
IPU membership
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
Senado (Senate)
Structure & status of parliament
Upper chamber
Parliamentary term (years)
4

IPU membership

Affiliation periods
from 1889
IPU Geopolitical Group/s
Twelve Plus Group

Speaker

Official title
President of the Senate
Speaker
Pedro Rollán (Male)
Date of birth: 21 Mar 1969
Term
17 Aug 2023
Additional information

Elected on 17 Aug. 2023.

Speaker terms

Click for historical data

Secretary general

Official title
Secretary General
Secretary General
Sara Sieira Mucientes (Female)
Term
18 Jan 2024
Notes

Appointed on 18 Jan. 2024.

Members

Statutory number of members
265

Notes: Indirectly elected members: elected by the parliaments of the 17 Autonomous Communities.

Principal mode of designation of members
Directly elected
Directly elected members
208
Indirectly elected members
57
Current number of members
265
Men
153
Women
112
Percentage of women
42.3%
Statutory number of members per country
615
Population (in thousands)
47,911
Inhabitants per parliamentarian
77,904

Age

Data on the age of parliamentarians is collected at the start of the legislature, following the most recent elections. This data is not updated during the legislature, except when parliament notifies the IPU of a change in the youngest or oldest member.

Average age of all members
53.3
(2023-08)
Youngest member
Jan Pomés López (Male)
Youngest member (years)
27
Oldest member
Martín Sans Pairutó (Male)
Oldest member (years)
77
Number of members, by age (2023-08)
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
Male 0 5 11 11 21 49 46 5 0 0 148
Female 0 0 10 12 27 46 15 1 0 0 111
Totals per age interval 0 5 21 23 48 95 61 6 0 0 259
Total <= 45: 49 Total >= 46: 210
Percentage of members, by age
Age at the last election or renewal Overall Male Female
Percentage of MPs 30 years of age or younger
1.9% 1.9% 0.0%
Percentage of MPs 40 years of age or younger
10.0% 6% 3.9%
Percentage of MPs 45 years of age or younger
18.9% 10% 8.5%

Reserved seats and quotas

There are reserved seats in parliament for certain groups
No
Electoral quota for women
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.

Sources: Section 44 of Electoral Law (Ley Orgánica del Régimen Electoral General).

Youth quota
No

Links to additional information

Parliamentary website
List of members
Rules of procedure/Standing Orders
Constitution

Historical data for IPU membership

Historical data for IPU membership
Year IPU membership
2020-09
List of values for 2020-09
No
2019-04
List of values for 2019-04
No
2018-06
List of values for 2018-06
No