Comarca

Comarca (female, Spanish and Catalan) is a traditional name for a regional or local administrative unit that is used in parts of Spain, in parts of southern France, Portugal, Panama and Brazil and has been used. The Comarca is comparable in size with the German district.

Legal situation in Spain

After the transition to democracy the Comarcas were established in some Autonomous Communities of Spain as authorities. They are there so that their own level of local self-government. In the rest of Spain, the Comarcas are legally non-existent and thus serve only as a traditional area designation (thus also their boundaries are clearly not everywhere).

Comarcas consist in the following Autonomous Communities as authorities:

• Catalonia ( coverage; 41 Comarcas; 1988-1991 set )
• Aragon ( coverage by the Greater Zaragoza, set from 2001 to 2004; 32 Comarcas )
• Basque province of Alava ( referred to there as Cuadrillas; coverage, with the city of Vitoria -Gasteiz forms its own Cuadrilla; 7 Cuadrillas; 1992-1994 set )
• Castile and León ( there exists only the comarca of El Bierzo, established in 1991 )

A similar function ( administrative level above the village and below the provincial level) take on the Balearic and Canary Islands, the island councils carry:

• Balearic Islands: four Consells Insular (Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera, the latter island consists of only one municipality and Consell Insular and municipal administration are the same)
• Canaries: Seven Insular Cabildo (Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, La Palma, La Gomera, El Hierro )

Andalusia is comprehensively divided since March 28, 2003 in 62 Comarcas, but only perform the function of planning regions for tourism and the development of sports facilities.