Extremadura ( ; ; ; ; Fala: ''Extremaúra'') is a landlocked

autonomous community The autonomous communities () are the first-level administrative divisions of Spain, created in accordance with the Spanish Constitution of 1978, with the aim of guaranteeing limited autonomy to the nationalities and regions that make up Sp ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. Its capital city is Mérida, and its largest city is

Badajoz Badajoz is the capital of the Province of Badajoz in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Extremadura, Spain. It is situated close to the Portugal, Portuguese Portugal–Spain border, border, on the left bank of the river ...

. Located in the central-western part of the

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, comprisin ...

, it is crossed from east to west by the

Tagus The Tagus ( ; ; ) is the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula. The river rises in the Montes Universales between Cuenca and Teruel, in mid-eastern Spain, flows , generally westward, and empties into the Atlantic Ocean in Lisbon. Name T ...

and

Guadiana The Guadiana River ( , , , ) is an international river defining a long stretch of the Portugal-Spain border, separating Extremadura and Andalusia (Spain) from Alentejo and Algarve (Portugal). The river's basin extends from la Mancha and the e ...

rivers. The autonomous community is formed by the two largest

provinces of Spain A province in Spain * , ; grammatical number, sing. ''provincia'') * Basque language, Basque (, grammatical number, sing. ''probintzia''. * Catalan language, Catalan (), grammatical number, sing. ''província''. * Galician language, Galician ...

: Cáceres and

. Extremadura is bordered by

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

to the west and by the autonomous communities of

Castile and León Castile and León is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in northwestern Spain. Castile and León is the largest autonomous community in Spain by area, covering 94,222 km2. It is, however, sparsely populated, with a pop ...

(north),

Castilla–La Mancha Castilla–La Mancha (, ; ) is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. Comprising the provinces of Province of Albacete, Albacete, Province of Ciudad Real, Ciudad Real, Province of Cuenca, Cuenca, Province of Guadalajar ...

(east), and

Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

(south). It is an important area for wildlife, particularly with the major reserve at

Monfragüe Monfragüe ( Spanish: ''Parque Nacional de Monfragüe'', or simply ''Monfragüe'' ) is a Spanish national park noted for its bird-life. It is situated in the center of a triangle formed by Plasencia, Trujillo and the city of Cáceres within ...

, which was designated a National Park in 2007, and the International Tagus River Natural Park (''Parque Natural Tajo Internacional''). The

regional government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...

is led by the president of the Regional Government of Extremadura, a post currently held by

María Guardiola María Guardiola Martín (born 5 December 1978) is a Spanish People's Party (PP) politician serving as the President of the Autonomous Government of Extremadura since 2023. After two decades as a civil servant within the Government of Extr ...

of the People's Party. The Day of Extremadura is celebrated on 8 September.Ley 4/1985, de 3 de junio, del Escudo, Himno y Día de Extremadura
(in Spanish) It coincides with the

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

festivity of

Our Lady of Guadalupe Our Lady of Guadalupe (), also known as the Virgin of Guadalupe (), is a Catholic title of the Blessed Virgin Mary associated with four Marian apparitions to Juan Diego and one to his uncle, Juan Bernardino reported in December 1531, when t ...

. The region, featuring an enormous energy surplus and hosting

lithium Lithium (from , , ) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Li and atomic number 3. It is a soft, silvery-white alkali metal. Under standard temperature and pressure, standard conditions, it is the least dense metal and the ...

deposits, is at the forefront of Spain's plans for

energy transition An energy transition (or energy system transformation) is a major structural change to energy supply and consumption in an energy system. Currently, a transition to sustainable energy is underway to limit climate change. Most of the sustainab ...

and

decarbonisation Climate change mitigation (or decarbonisation) is action to limit the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere that cause climate change. Climate change mitigation actions include conserving energy and replacing fossil fuels with clean energy sour ...

Geography

Physical environment

Extremadura is contained between and latitude, and and longitude. The

area Area is the measure of a region's size on a surface. The area of a plane region or ''plane area'' refers to the area of a shape or planar lamina, while '' surface area'' refers to the area of an open surface or the boundary of a three-di ...

of Extremadura is , making it the fifth largest of the Spanish autonomous communities. It is located in the Southern Plateau (a subdivision of the Spanish Central Plateau). The region is crossed from West to East by two large rivers, the

and the

, lining up three basic areas from North to South by combining mountain ranges and rivers: the territory spanning from the

Sistema Central The Central System, Spanish language, Spanish and , is one of the main systems of mountain ranges in the Iberian Peninsula. The 2,592 m high Pico Almanzor is its highest summit. The Central System is located just north of the 40th parallel north, ...

to the Tagus, the so-called ''Mesopotamia extremeña'' in between the Tagus and the Guadiana and the territory from the Guadiana to

Sierra Morena The Sierra Morena is one of the main systems of mountain ranges in Spain. It stretches for 450 kilometres from east to west across the south of the Iberian Peninsula, forming the southern border of the ''Meseta Central'' plateau and providi ...

. Besides the catchment basins of the Tagus and the Guadiana covering most of the territory by far, fringe areas of the region are drained by the

Douro The Douro (, , , ; ; ) is the largest river of the Iberian Peninsula by discharge. It rises near Duruelo de la Sierra in the Spanish Soria Province, province of Soria, meanders briefly south, then flows generally west through the northern par ...

(north) and the

Guadalquivir The Guadalquivir (, also , , ) is the fifth-longest river in the Iberian Peninsula and the second-longest river with its entire length in Spain. The Guadalquivir is the only major navigable river in Spain. Currently it is navigable from Seville ...

(south). Notable Tagus tributaries include the Tiétar and the Alagón (rightbank) and the Almonte, Ibor,

Salor Salor is a state constituency in Kelantan, Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States ...

and the Sever (leftbank). Regarding the Guadiana, important leftbank tributaries include

Guadarranque The Guadarranque () is a short coastal river of Spain in the Andalusian ''comarca'' of Campo de Gibraltar in the province of Cádiz Cádiz is a Provinces of Spain, province of southern Spain, in the southwestern part of the Autonomous com ...

and Ruecas and rightbank tributaries include the Zújar River and the Matachel. The highest point in Extremadura, the high Calvitero (or El Torreón), is located in the Sistema Central, in the northeastern end of the region, bordering with Castile and León. The main subranges of the Sistema Central in Extremadura are the

Sierra de Gata Sierra de Gata () is one of the main mountain ranges in the Sistema Central, Spain. The highest point is Peña Canchera (1,592 m). Geography The Sierra de Gata is located in the northwest of the province of Cáceres, which is in the autonomous ...

and Sierra de Béjar. The modest heights of

Sierra de las Villuercas Sierra de Villuercas or Sierra de las Villuercas, also known as Sierra de Guadalupe after nearby Guadalupe town, is a mountain range in the greater Montes de Toledo range, Spain. It is located in province of Cáceres, autonomous community of Ext ...

(topping at on the Pico de las Villuercas) rise in the ''Mesopotamia extremeña''. Other notable ranges include the

Sierra de Montánchez Sierra de Montánchez is a mountain range in the greater Montes de Toledo range, Spain. It is named after nearby Montánchez town, the capital of the Tierra de Montánchez comarca, located on its slopes. This range gives its name to the Mancomu ...

and the Sierra de San Pedro, part of the larger

Montes de Toledo The Montes de Toledo is one of the main systems of mountain ranges in the Iberian Peninsula. They divide the drainage basin of the Tagus from the basin of the Guadiana. The highest peak is La Villuerca, which is high. Description The Montes de ...

system. The

—the limit between Extremadura and

—and the Sierra de Tentudía (topping at on the

Pico Tentudía Pico may refer to: Places The Moon * Mons Pico, a lunar mountain in the northern part of the Mare Imbrium basin Portugal * Pico, a civil parish in the municipality of Vila Verde * Pico da Pedra, a civil parish in the municipality of Ribe ...

) rise in the south. There are four different hydrographic basins: * The basin of the

(), with two principal tributaries: on the right, the Tiétar and the Alagón; and on the left, the Almonte, Ibor,

and the Sever. The tributaries on the right edge carry a large quantity of water, which feed the gorges of the

where the rainfall is abundant and the winter brings a great quantity of snow. * The basin of the

, which has principal tributaries: * The basin of the

with only in Extremadura (2.45% of total). * The basin of the

() with only in Extremadura (0.04% of its basin).

Climate

The climate of Extremadura is predominantly

hot-summer Mediterranean A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typica ...

(''Csa'' in the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

), with some regions being cold semi-arid (''BSk'' in the

). Extremadura generally presents average annual temperatures somewhat warmer than most of the hinterland of the Iberian Peninsula, featuring nonetheless a north–south gradient. Annual thermal amplitude generally ranges from 16 to 19 °C. Average annual precipitation stands at around 600 mm. Parts of the Sistema Central presents more than 1,500 mm while it barely rains 400 mm in parts of the province of Badajoz. Summers are very hot and dry, with the rain concentrated in the cold months instead, leading to a high degree of

water stress Water is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance. It is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms ( ...

during the summer months.

History

During the time of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

, the area that is known today as Autonomous Community of Extremadura was part of

Lusitania Lusitania (; ) was an ancient Iberian Roman province encompassing most of modern-day Portugal (south of the Douro River) and a large portion of western Spain (the present Extremadura and Province of Salamanca). Romans named the region after th ...

, a Roman province that included most of current day Portugal (except for the northern area today known as Norte Region) and the central western portion of the current day Spain. Mérida (now capital of Extremadura) became the capital of the Roman province of Lusitania, and one of the most important cities in the

. Like the bulk of the Iberian Peninsula, the territory was conquered by the Umayyads in the early 8th century. As part of the

Emirate An emirate is a territory ruled by an emir, a title used by monarchs or high officeholders in the Muslim world. From a historical point of view, an emirate is a political-religious unit smaller than a caliphate. It can be considered equivalent ...

and later

Caliphate of Córdoba A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of ...

, it largely constituted a territorial subdivision ('' kūra'') of the former polities centered on Mérida. Following the collapse of the Caliphate in the early 11th century during the so-called

Fitna of al-Andalus The Fitna of al-Andalus () (1009–1031) was a civil war in the Caliphate of Córdoba. It began in the year 1009 with a coup d'état which led to the assassination of Abd al-Rahman Sanchuelo, the son of Almanzor, the deposition of the Caliph H ...

and its ensuing fragmentation into ephemeral statelets (

taifa The taifas (from ''ṭā'ifa'', plural ''ṭawā'if'', meaning "party, band, faction") were the independent Muslim principalities and kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula (modern Portugal and Spain), referred to by Muslims as al-Andalus, that em ...

s), the bulk of the territory of current day Extremadura became part of the (First)

Taifa of Badajoz The Taifa of Badajoz (from ) was a medieval Islamic Moorish kingdom located in what is now parts of Portugal and Spain. It was centred on the city of Badajoz which exists today as the first city of Extremadura, in Spain.Sapur, a

saqaliba Saqaliba (, singular ) is a term used in medieval Arabic sources to refer to Slavs, and other peoples of Central, Southern, and Eastern Europe. The term originates from the Middle Greek '' slavos/sklavenos'' (Slav), which in Hispano-Ara ...

previously freed by

Al-Hakam II Al-Hakam II, also known as Abū al-ʿĀṣ al-Mustanṣir bi-Llāh al-Hakam b. ʿAbd al-Raḥmān (; 13 January 915 – 1 October 976), was the Caliph of Córdoba. He was the second Umayyad Caliph of Córdoba in Al-Andalus, and son of Abd-al-R ...

Conversely, the kingdoms of León, Castile and

(most notably the first one) made advances in the 11th and 12th centuries across the territory (with for example the successive Leonese conquests of Coria in 1079 and 1142, the Portuguese attempts at expanding across the

basin in the second half of the 12th century, or the Castilian founding of

Plasencia Plasencia () is a municipality of Spain belonging to the province of Cáceres, Extremadura. , it has a population of 41,047. Plasencia is located in the Western-Central Iberian Peninsula, to the south of the Sistema Central. Housing primarily ...

in 1186) not free from setbacks either caused by the

Almoravid The Almoravid dynasty () was a Berber Muslim dynasty centered in the territory of present-day Morocco. It established an empire that stretched over the western Maghreb and Al-Andalus, starting in the 1050s and lasting until its fall to the Almo ...

and

Almohad The Almohad Caliphate (; or or from ) or Almohad Empire was a North African Berber Muslim empire founded in the 12th century. At its height, it controlled much of the Iberian Peninsula (Al-Andalus) and North Africa (the Maghreb). The Almohad ...

impetus, which also entailed the demise of the first and second taifa of Badajoz in 1094 and 1150, respectively. In the Almohad case, their 1174 offensive removed Leonese control from every fortress south of the

(including Cáceres). After the Almohad disaster at the 1212

Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa The Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, known in Islamic history as the Battle of Al-Uqab (), took place on 16 July 1212 and was an important turning point in the ''Reconquista'' and the Spain in the Middle Ages, medieval history of Spain. The Christian ...

, the remaining part of current-day Extremadura under Muslim control fell to the troops led by

Alfonso IX of León Alfonso IX (15 August 117123 or 24 September 1230) was King of León from the death of his father Ferdinand II in 1188 until his own death. He took steps towards modernizing and democratizing his dominion and founded the University of Salaman ...

—

Alcántara Alcántara () is a municipality in the province of Cáceres, Extremadura, Spain, on the Tagus, near Portugal. The toponym is from the Arabic word ''al-Qanṭarah'' (القنطرة) meaning "the bridge". History Archaeological findings have atte ...

(1214), Cáceres (1227–1229), Mérida (1230),

(1230)—and later to the military orders of

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

and

— Trujillo (1232),

Medellín Medellín ( ; or ), officially the Special District of Science, Technology and Innovation of Medellín (), is the List of cities in Colombia, second-largest city in Colombia after Bogotá, and the capital of the department of Antioquia Departme ...

(1234)—on behalf of

Ferdinand III of Castile Ferdinand III (; 1199/120130 May 1252), called the Saint (''el Santo''), was King of Castile from 1217 and King of León from 1230 as well as King of Galicia from 1231. He was the son of Alfonso IX of León and Berengaria of Castile. Through his ...

. The last fortresses in the Lower Extremadura were conquered by Christians by 1248. By the late Middle Ages, the territory of the current-day region consisted of mayorazgos of the military orders of

and

(about half the territory), nobiliary lordships (about a quarter of the territory) and royal demesne towns (the other quarter of the territory). In between the 15th and 16th centuries, the concept of the Leonese and Castilian ''extremaduras'' diluted and the name eventually came to refer to the territory of the current-day region. The territory lacked nonetheless shared government and administration institutions. In between 1570 and 1572, the Crown forcibly relocated about 11,000 ''

morisco ''Moriscos'' (, ; ; "Moorish") were former Muslims and their descendants whom the Catholic Church and Habsburg Spain commanded to forcibly convert to Christianity or face compulsory exile after Spain outlawed Islam. Spain had a sizeable Mus ...

s'' into the territory as part of the deportation of Granadans that followed the defeat of the Alpujarras revolt. The distribution was somewhat chaotic although some places with an already "threatening" population of old moriscos (such as

Hornachos Hornachos is a municipality located in the province of Badajoz, Extremadura, Spain. According to the 2005 census ( INE), the municipality has a population of 3,840 inhabitants. History The first human settlements in the mountain range of Hornac ...

, Magacela and Benquerencia) were avoided as resettlement locations for the Granadan moriscos. Two

generation A generation is all of the people born and living at about the same time, regarded collectively. It also is "the average period, generally considered to be about 20–⁠30 years, during which children are born and grow up, become adults, and b ...

s later, the expulsion of the moriscos from the region began in 1609, starting with the moriscos of Hornachos, the first expulsion in the Crown of Castile. By September 1610 about two thirds of the moriscos of Extremadura had been already expelled and by 1611 the number amounted to 12,776. Those who avoided the early orders of expulsion abided to reports of being 'good Christians' or claimed a status as 'old moriscos'. At the height of 1612, there were reports of remaining moriscos in Trujillo, Mérida and Plasencia. Badajoz 16xx

Located in the most able path from the

Meseta Central The ''Meseta Central'' (, sometimes referred to in English as Inner Plateau) is one of the basic geographical units of the Iberian Peninsula. It consists of a plateau covering a large part of the latter's interior. Developed during the 19th cent ...

to Portugal, the territory suffered greatly due to warfare from the 1640–1668

Portuguese Restoration War The Restoration War (), historically known as the Acclamation War (''Guerra da Aclamação''), was the war between Portugal and Spain that began with the Portuguese revolution of 1640 and ended with the Treaty of Lisbon in 1668, bringing a forma ...

, characterised not by the movement of large armies but for pillage, skirmishes, raids, and destruction of economic resources and settlements across both sides of the '' Raya''. The growing role of the fortified place of Badajoz (halfway between Lisbon and Madrid), in the wake of the installment of the Captaincy General of Extremadura consolidated the clout of the military in the region. By the late 18th century, the Extremaduran countryside languished, experiencing a deep crisis. There was a diminishing share of land dedicated to crops. The growing cattle sector induced the creation of yet more pastures, adding up to the structural problem stemmed from the extraordinary degree of

concentration of land ownership Concentration of land ownership refers to the ownership of land in a particular area by a small number of people or organizations. It is sometimes defined as additional concentration beyond that which produces optimally efficient land use. Distri ...

. By the end of the Ancien Régime, the clergy, municipal councils and the royal army mattered more than the lesser role of the entitled nobility. Railways were developed in the second half of the 19th century. In September 1863, a passenger train arrived to Badajoz from

Elvas Elvas (), officially the City of Elvas (), is a Portuguese municipality, former episcopal city and frontier fortress of easternmost central Portugal, located in the district of Portalegre in Alentejo. It is situated about east of Lisbon, and ab ...

, Portugal. It was the first train in the region and the first international service in the Iberian Peninsula. In 1866, the was completed, enabling the link with Madrid. The Madrid–Valencia de Alcántara line, a new connection passing through the province of Cáceres, was fully completed in 1881. During the 1936–1939

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

, the

Nationalist faction The Nationalist faction (), also Rebel faction () and Francoist faction () was a major faction in the Spanish Civil War of 1936 to 1939. It was composed of a variety of right-leaning political groups that supported the Spanish Coup of July 1936 ...

Columna Madrid advanced quickly across the province of Badajoz in August 1936 and left merciless repression and mass casualties behind. Badajoz was the Spanish province where the Francoist repression comparatively took the highest relative toll of victims during the war and the immediate Post-War period; there were around 12,000 executions in the province (out of the 14,000 in the whole region), compared to around 1,600 victims of the Republican repression. In the mid 20th century, the

Francoist dictatorship Francoist Spain (), also known as the Francoist dictatorship (), or Nationalist Spain () was the period of Spanish history between 1936 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death i ...

pursued a policy of colonization and agrarian reform in the region to foster the economy, transforming thousands of hectares of dryland crops into irrigated lands, also favouring the erection of 63 new settlements by the Instituto Nacional de Colonización (INC). The second half of the 20th century saw a massive

rural flight Rural flight (also known as rural-to-urban migration, rural depopulation, or rural exodus) is the Human migration, migratory pattern of people from rural areas into urban areas. It is urbanization seen from the rural perspective. In Industriali ...

out of the region, both to the industrialised areas of Spain (already started in 1955) as well as to richer European countries (such as Germany, France and Switzerland), both of which notably intensified after 1961, in the wake of the 1959 Stabilization Plan (and in the second case also after bilateral agreements reached with destination countries). The region henceforth was handed a demographic blow in the ensuing years, with the effective expulsion of nearly a 40% of the population, particularly young people. A pre-autonomous government entity in Extremadura (the "Junta Regional de Extremadura") with jurisdiction over the provinces of Badajoz and Cáceres was created by means of a 1978 law. The draft of the regional Statute of Autonomy began in 1980, the first step toward Extremadura becoming one of the Spanish

autonomous communities The autonomous communities () are the first-level administrative divisions of Spain, created in accordance with the Spanish Constitution of 1978, with the aim of guaranteeing limited autonomy to the nationalities and regions that make up Spa ...

. The text passed its final hurdle as it was enshrined as

Organic Law An organic law is a law, or system of laws, that form the foundation of a government, corporation or any other organization's body of rules. A constitution is a particular form of organic law. By country France Under Article 46 of the Constitutio ...

in 1982. The first election to the Assembly of Extremadura took place in May 1983.

Government and administration

Autonomous

The Statute of Autonomy of Extremadura (enacted in 1983) is the fundamental organic law regulating the autonomous government, and it establishes the institutions through which the autonomous community exerts its powers:: El Pleno de la Asamblea de Extremadura

Assembly of Extremadura Assembly may refer to: Organisations and meetings * Deliberative assembly, a gathering of members who use parliamentary procedure for making decisions * General assembly, an official meeting of the members of an organization or of their represent ...

. The following are some of the functions conferred to the legislature: exerting legislative power in the autonomous community, the promotion and control of the Junta of Extremadura, the passing of the regional budget, the designation of senators correspondent to the autonomous community or the control of the media dependent on the regional government. Its members (currently 65) are directly elected through the means of proportional representation and close party lists with an

electoral threshold The electoral threshold, or election threshold, is the minimum share of votes that a candidate or political party requires before they become entitled to representation or additional seats in a legislature. This limit can operate in various ...

of 5% (the most benign between the total voting percentage and the voting percentage in a particular electoral district) in two electoral districts:

and Cáceres, corresponding to the two provinces of the region. *

Junta of Extremadura The regional Government of Extremadura () is the group of institutions ruling the Spanish autonomous community of Extremadura. Structure It is headed by the President of the Regional Government of Extremadura, a position currently held by ...

. It is the collegiate body comprised by the regional president, the vice-president and the ministers (''consejeros'') exerting the executive and administrative functions of the regional government. * President of the Junta of Extremadura. The officeholder is charged with directing and coordinating the action of the Junta of Extremadura, being the highest representative of Extremadura while also holding the ordinary representation of the State in the region. The regional president is elected by the legislature from among its members, needing to command an absolute majority of votes in the first round of investiture or a simple majority of positive votes in successive rounds. The president personally selects the ministers of the Junta.

Provincial

The government body for each of the provinces is the deputation (''diputación''): the Provincial Deputation of Badajoz and the Provincial Deputation of Cáceres. The members of the plenary of the deputation are indirectly elected from among the municipal councillors based on the results of the municipal elections. In turn, the plenary elects the president of the deputation from among its members.

Economy

The

gross domestic product Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the total market value of all the final goods and services produced and rendered in a specific time period by a country or countries. GDP is often used to measure the economic performanc ...

(GDP) of Extremadura was 20 billion euros in 2018, accounting for 1.7% of Spanish economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was 20,100 euros or 67% of the EU27 average in the same year. Extremadura was the community with the second lowest GDP per capita in Spain before

Melilla Melilla (, ; ) is an autonomous city of Spain on the North African coast. It lies on the eastern side of the Cape Three Forks, bordering Morocco and facing the Mediterranean Sea. It has an area of . It was part of the Province of Málaga un ...

. Export goods (mostly consisting of food and semimanufactures) are primarily sent to the European market, but there has been a growing share of non-EU export destinations throughout the 2010s.

Balance of trade Balance of trade is the difference between the monetary value of a nation's exports and imports of goods over a certain time period. Sometimes, trade in Service (economics), services is also included in the balance of trade but the official IMF d ...

is generally positive. The unemployment rate stood at 17.3% in 2022, significantly lower than in the previous decade.

Agriculture

Wild

Black Iberian pig The Iberian pig, also known in Portugal as the Alentejo Pig, is a traditional breed of the domestic pig (''Sus scrofa domesticus'') that is native to the Iberian Peninsula. The Iberian pig, whose origins can probably be traced back to the Neoli ...

s roam in the area and consume

acorn The acorn is the nut (fruit), nut of the oaks and their close relatives (genera ''Quercus'', ''Notholithocarpus'' and ''Lithocarpus'', in the family Fagaceae). It usually contains a seedling surrounded by two cotyledons (seedling leaves), en ...

s from

oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

groves. These pigs are caught and used for the cured ham dish ''

jamón ibérico Jamón ibérico (; Spanish for "Iberian Ham"), known in Portuguese as presunto ibérico (), is a variety of ''jamón'' or ''presunto'', a type of Curing (food preservation), cured leg of pork (primarily Black Iberian pigs) produced in Spain and P ...

''. The higher the percentage of acorns eaten by the pigs, the more valuable the ham. For example, ''jamón ibérico'' from pigs whose diet consists of 90% acorns or more can be sold for more than twice as much as ham whose pigs ate on average less than 70% acorns. In the US, ''jamón ibérico'' directly from Extremadura, with bone, was illegal until around 2005. At that time, enough US restaurants were in demand for the delicacy that Spain decided to export it as boneless, which the

US Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is an executive department of the United States federal government that aims to meet the needs of commercial farming and livestock food production, promotes agricultural trade and producti ...

's health codes would approve (and continue to do). 85 Extremaduran municipalities constitute the jurisdiction of the "Dehesa de Extremadura"

Protected Designation of Origin The protected designation of origin (PDO) is a type of geographical indication of the European Union aimed at preserving the designations of origin of food-related products. The designation was created in 1992 and its main purpose is to designat ...

(PDO), which protects ''jamones'' and ''paletas'' (hind and front pig legs) originated from Iberian pigs and mixed Iberian/ Duroc-Jersey pigs. As of 2021, Extremadura produces about 98% of the

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

produced in Spain, also being the leading European producing region. Tobacco production concentrates in

La Vera La Vera is a comarca (county, but with no administrative role) in Extremadura, western Spain. The largest town is Jaraíz de la Vera Jaraíz de la Vera () is a municipality located in the province of Cáceres, Extremadura, Spain. According to t ...

and Campo Arañuelo.

Tomato The tomato (, ), ''Solanum lycopersicum'', is a plant whose fruit is an edible Berry (botany), berry that is eaten as a vegetable. The tomato is a member of the nightshade family that includes tobacco, potato, and chili peppers. It originate ...

production (2,122,000 tonnes in 2017) primarily concentrates in the riverbanks of the Guadiana and the Alagón-Árrago. A large part of the region falls within the scope of the Ribera del Guadiana PDO, which is further divided in the Ribera Alta,

Tierra de Barros Tierra de Barros is a comarca in the province of Badajoz, Extremadura, Spain. Its capital and administrative center is Almendralejo. The comarca contains 15 municipalities and 74,872 inhabitants ( INE 2008). Municipalities * Aceuchal * Almendra ...

, Matanegra, Ribera Baja, Montánchez, and Cañamero wine subregions. The PDO protects the

wines Wine is an alcoholic drink made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...

made of several varieties of black and white grapes. As of 2021, Extremadura is the second largest

rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...

producing region in Spain, after Andalusia. Due to drought and high water demands from rice fields, non-irrigated rice fields have been favoured since the late 2010s. Together with Murcia, Extremadura is a major producer of

paprika Paprika is a spice made from dried and ground red peppers, traditionally ''capsicum annuum''. It can have varying levels of Pungency, heat, but the peppers used for hot paprika tend to be milder and have thinner flesh than those used to produce ...

, primarily destined to the Spanish market. Peppers are grown in the , consisting of the ''comarcas'' of La Vera, Campo Arañuelo, Valle del Ambroz and

Valle del Alagón Valle may refer to: * Valle (surname) Geography *"Valle", the cultural and climatic zone of the dry subtropical Interandean Valles of the Andes of Peru, Bolivia, and northwest Argentina *University of Valle, a public university in Cali, Colombia ...

. The PDO produced 3,860 tonnes in 2020.

Energy

About half the value of the regional industrial production belongs to the

energy sector The energy industry refers to all of the industries involved in the production and sale of energy, including fuel extraction, manufacturing, refining and distribution. Modern society consumes large amounts of fuel, and the energy industry is a cr ...

. Extremadura presents a huge energy surplus, producing about four times the energy it consumes. This situation has led to the characterization of Extremadura as a potential "colony" of the private electricity companies, which are not taxed in the region and employ a relatively low share of the industrial workforce. The Tagus is dammed in the reservoirs of

, Torrejón and Valdecañas whereas the Guadiana is dammed in the reservoirs of Cíjara, Puerto Peña, Orellana and Zújar. Due to the orographic conditions, the Tagus is better suited for

hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

use than the Guadiana. As of 2021, the region has around 2,193.84 MW of installed hydroelectric power, primarily controlled by

Endesa Endesa, S.A. (, originally an initialism for ''Empresa Nacional de Electricidad, S.A''.) is a Spanish multinational electric utility company, the largest in the country. The firm, a majority-owned subsidiary of the Italian utility company Enel, ...

and

Iberdrola Iberdrola, S.A. () is a Spanish multinational electric utility company based in Bilbao, Spain. It has around 40,000 employees and serves around 30 million customers. Subsidiary, Subsidiaries include ScottishPower (United Kingdom), Ava ...

, with a lesser role of Grupo Pitarch. The two reactors of the

Almaraz Nuclear Power Plant Almaraz Nuclear Power Plant is a nuclear power station at Almaraz in Spain which uses the Tagus River, that runs into Portugal, for cooling. It consists of two pressurized water reactors (PWRs) of 1011 and 1006 MWe. Arrocampo reservoir Cooling ...

(which were put in operation in 1981 and 1983, respectively) are jointly operated by Endesa, Iberdrola and

Naturgy Naturgy Energy Group S.A''.'', formerly ''Gas Natural Fenosa'' (), is a Spanish multinational natural gas and electrical energy utilities company, which operates primarily in Spain. The company's administrative headquarters are in Barcelona, whil ...

. They generate a power of 1,048.43 MW and 1,044.45 MW. The region is at the forefront of Spain's plans for

and a

, thanks to the installation of large solar power plants and the granting of

mining licenses. Such prospects sparked criticism and concern regarding how to avoid a "third energy colonisation" after those of the construction of reservoirs for

use and the building of

nuclear power plant A nuclear power plant (NPP), also known as a nuclear power station (NPS), nuclear generating station (NGS) or atomic power station (APS) is a thermal power station in which the heat source is a nuclear reactor. As is typical of thermal power st ...

s. Two of the largest

photovoltaic power plant A photovoltaic power station, also known as a solar park, solar farm, or solar power plant, is a large-scale grid-connected photovoltaic power system (PV system) designed for the supply of merchant power. They are different from most building ...

s in Europe are located in the region: Francisco Pizarro (590 MW) in Torrecillas de la Tiesa and Núñez de Balboa (500 MW) in Usagre; both are operated by Iberdrola, which is developing another 6 photovoltaic plants collectively amounting to 1,300 MW. The first solar thermal power plant in the region,

Alvarado I Alvarado I (former La Risca project) is a large solar thermal power station in Alvarado, province of Badajoz, in Extremadura, Spain. Construction on the plant commenced in December 2007 and was completed in July 2009, when commercial operations ...

, (50 MW) opened in 2009. A project to build a lithium-ion battery factory participated by

Envision Envision may refer to: Organizations * Envision EMI, a management company based in Virginia, USA * Envision Energy, a wind turbine manufacturer and energy technology company based in Shanghai, China * Envision Financial, a financial institution ...

Navalmoral de la Mata Navalmoral de la Mata () is a municipality of Spain located in the province of Cáceres, autonomous community of Extremadura. Attached to the traditional ''comarca'' of Campo Arañuelo, the municipality lies on central-western Iberia, in between ...

was announced in June 2022.

Population

As of January 1, 2012, the population of Extremadura is 1,109,367 inhabitants, representing 2.36% of the Spanish population (46,745,807). The population density is very low——compared to Spain as a whole. The urban network is dominated by three municipalities between 50,000 and 200,000 inhabitants (

, Cáceres and Mérida), followed by

, the

Don Benito Don Benito () is a Spanish town and municipality in the province of Badajoz, Extremadura, near the left bank of the river Guadiana. According to the 2014 census, the municipality has a population of 37,011. History Don Benito dates from the 15t ...

Villanueva de la Serena Villanueva de la Serena () is a city in the Province of Badajoz, Extremadura, Spain. It has a population of 26,111 (2010) and forms part of a larger urban area with the neighbouring town of Don Benito. History Founded in the thirteenth century ...

conurbation and

Almendralejo Almendralejo () is a town in the Province of Badajoz, Extremadura, Spain. It is situated 45 km south-east of Badajoz, on the main road and rail route between Mérida and Seville. , it has a population of 33,975. It was the site of a battle a ...

. Other municipalities with a population above 10,000 inhabitants include

Zafra Zafra (; ) is a town in the Province of Badajoz (Extremadura, Spain), and the capital of the comarca of Zafra - Río Bodión. It has a population of 16,677, according to the 2011 census. Zafra is the hometown of Fray Ruy Lopez, author of one of ...

, Montijo, Villafranca de los Barros,

and Coria. The most populous province is that of

, with a population of 691,715 and a population density of . With an area of , it is the largest province in Spain. 413,766 people live in the

province of Cáceres The province of Cáceres (; ; ; ) is a province of western Spain, and makes up the northern half of the autonomous community of Extremadura. Its capital is the city of Cáceres. Other cities in the province include Plasencia, Coria, Navalm ...

at a density of , having an area of , making it the largest province in Spain after Badajoz.

Foreign

As of 2022, the largest foreign community is that of Romanian nationals with 7,690 people, followed by Moroccans with 7,336. Portuguese account for 2,996, Colombians for 1,774 and Chinese make up 1,648. The region had a foreign population of 35,138.

Historical

The Extremaduran population, according to the 1591 census of the provinces of the

Kingdom of Castile The Kingdom of Castile (; : ) was a polity in the Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Ages. It traces its origins to the 9th-century County of Castile (, ), as an eastern frontier lordship of the Kingdom of León. During the 10th century, the Ca ...

, was around 540,000 people, making up 8% of the total population of Spain. No other census was performed until 1717, when 326,358 people were counted as living in Extremadura. From this period, the population grew steadily until the 1960s (1,379,072 people in 1960). After 1960, emigration to more prosperous regions of Spain and Europe drained the population.

Administrative divisions

Extremadura is divided into 383 municipalities. 164 are part of the

Province of Badajoz The province of Badajoz ( ; ) is a province of western Spain located in the autonomous community of Extremadura. It was formed in 1833. It is bordered by the provinces of Cáceres in the north, Toledo, Ciudad Real in the east, Córdoba in ...

and the other 219 are part of the

Province of Cáceres The province of Cáceres (; ; ; ) is a province of western Spain, and makes up the northern half of the autonomous community of Extremadura. Its capital is the city of Cáceres. Other cities in the province include Plasencia, Coria, Navalm ...

. *

List of municipalities in Badajoz This is a list of the municipalities in the province of Badajoz, in the autonomous community of Extremadura, Spain. List See also *Geography of Spain * List of Spanish cities {{Municipalities of Spain Badajoz Badajoz is the capital of the ...

List of municipalities in Cáceres This is a list of the municipalities in the provinces of Spain, province of Caceres (province), Cáceres in the autonomous community of Extremadura, Spain. There are 223 municipalities. List See also *Geography of Spain *List of Spanish citie ...

There are also traditional

comarcas A ''comarca'' (, , , ) is a traditional region or local administrative division found in Portugal, Spain, and some of their former colonies, like Brazil, Nicaragua, and Panama. The term is derived from the term ''marca'', meaning a "march, mark ...

in Extremadura, like

Las Villuercas Las Villuercas is a ''comarca'' located in the province of Cáceres, western Spain. It belongs to the Autonomous Community of Extremadura. Despite the traditional strong identity of its inhabitants, this historical region has not been able to ach ...

and

Las Hurdes Las Hurdes (; Extremaduran: ''Las Jurdis'') is a ''comarca'' in the Sistema Central, at the northern end of the province of Cáceres in the Autonomous Community of Extremadura, Spain. A well-known historical region, Las Hurdes is currently a Site ...

, but these do not have much official recognition.

Languages

The only official language is Spanish (whose local dialects are collectively called

Castúo Castúo is the generic name for the dialects of Spanish spoken in the autonomous community of Extremadura, in Spain. It is not to be confused with Extremaduran, a language between Asturleonese and Castilian, or with Fala, another language spok ...

), but other languages and dialects are also spoken. The Fala, a Galician-Portuguese language, is a specially protected language and is spoken in the valley of

Jálama The Jálama is a mountain in western Spain. Etymology In the local language of the northwestern Province of Cáceres, the mountain is known as ''Xálima''. Both names probably come from Paleohispanic languages, Paleohispanic languages. The J� ...

. The

Extremaduran language Extremaduran ( , ) is a group of vernacular Romance dialects, related to the Asturleonese language, spoken in Extremadura and adjoining areas in the province of Salamanca. It is difficult to establish the exact boundary between Extremaduran ...

, the collective name for a group of vernacular dialects related to Leonese is endangered. Local variants of Portuguese are native to

Cedillo Cedillo () is a town and municipality in Spain, located in the province of Cáceres, community of Extremadura. According to the 2008 census ( INE), the municipality has a population of 518 inhabitants. Languages The town is close to the borde ...

and

Herrera de Alcántara Herrera de Alcántara is a municipality located in the province of Cáceres, Extremadura, Spain. According to the 2006 census ( INE), the municipality has a population of 293 inhabitants. See also * List of municipalities in Cáceres This is a ...

. Portuguese has also been accounted to be spoken as well by some people (mainly those born before the 1940sManuel J. Sánchez Fernández:
Apuntes para la descripción del español hablado en Olivenza
, Revista de Extremadura, 23, 1997, page 110) in

Olivenza Olivenza () or Olivença () is a town in southwestern Spain, close to the Portugal–Spain border. It is a municipality belonging to the province of Badajoz, and to the wider autonomous community of Extremadura. The town of Olivença was und ...

. Reported phonological distinctive features of the Spanish dialectal variants spoken in the region include instances of (in some areas of the province of Badajoz), loss of

intervocalic In phonetics and phonology, an intervocalic consonant is a consonant that occurs between two vowels. Intervocalic consonants are often associated with lenition, a phonetic process that causes consonants to weaken and eventually disappear entirely. ...

/d/, j and word-initial h aspiration, r → l substitution, and .

Sports

* In football: **

Extremadura UD Extremadura Unión Deportiva was a Spanish football team based in Almendralejo, in the autonomous community of Extremadura. Founded in 2007, it last played in Primera División RFEF – Group 1, holding home games at '' Estadio Francisco de la ...

Extremadura Femenino CF Extremadura Unión Deportiva Femenino, formerly known as CF Puebla Extremadura and later as Extremadura Femenino CF, was a Spanish women football club from Almendralejo. History Extremadura Femenino was founded in Puebla de la Calzada, Badajoz ...

, also known as CF Puebla Extremadura, the women's team **

CF Extremadura Club de Fútbol Extremadura was a Spanish football team based in Almendralejo, in the autonomous community of Extremadura. Founded in 1924, it played two seasons in La Liga, and held home games at '' Estadio Francisco de la Hera'', with a cap ...

, founded in 1924 but folded in 2010 ** AD Mérida **

CD Badajoz Club Deportivo Badajoz is a Spanish football team based in Badajoz, in the autonomous community of Extremadura. Founded in 1905, it currently plays in , and holds home games at '' Estadio Nuevo Vivero'', with a 15,198-seat capacity. History Fo ...

CD Don Benito Club Deportivo Don Benito is a Spanish football team based in Don Benito, in the autonomous community of Extremadura. Founded in 1928 it plays in , holding home matches at ''Estadio Vicente Sanz'', with a capacity of 5,000 seats. History The c ...

References

;Citations ;Bibliography * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

External links

Extremadura, Spain - Google Maps
*

{{Authority control NUTS 2 statistical regions of the European Union States and territories established in 1983 Autonomous communities of Spain 1983 establishments in Spain