Madrid is one of Spain's seventeen autonomous
communities, located in the centre of the country. It is coterminous
with the province of Madrid, and contains the city of Madrid which is
the capital of the province, the community, and the country.
Madrid is bordered by the autonomous communities of Castile-Leon
(provinces of Ávila and Segovia) and Castile-La Mancha
(provinces of Guadalajara, Cuenca, and Toledo).
Over half of the population live in the capital. Other historically or
commercially important cities located in the community include
Alcalá de Henares, Torrejón de Ardoz, Coslada, Getafe,
San Lorenzo de El Escorial and Aranjuez. There are 179 municipalities
in Madrid. See List of municipalities in Madrid.
Madrid was formerly considered part of New Castile (see Castile-La
Mancha) but was made into its own community at the beginning of the
autonomía system because of great economic disparity between
Madrid and the Castilian-Manchego hinterland.
