Editing Autonomous communities of Spain (section)

===Current state of affairs===

With the implementation of the Autonomous Communities, Spain went from being one of the most centralized countries in the [[OECD]] to being one of the most decentralized; in particular, it has been the country where the incomes and outcomes of the decentralized bodies (the Autonomous Communities) has grown the most, leading this rank in Europe by 2015 and being fifth among OECD countries in tax devolution (after Canada, Switzerland, the United States and Austria).<ref>{{cite news|url=http://elpais.com/elpais/2017/03/15/opinion/1489609169_575022.html|title=Cataluña: Por una descentralización creíble|author=Ramon Marimon|newspaper=El País|date=23 March 2017|access-date=24 March 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=http://www.oecd.org/publications/fiscal-federalism-2016-9789264254053-en.htm|title=Fiscal Federalism 2016: Making Decentralization Work|publisher=OCDE}}</ref> By means of the State of Autonomies implemented after the Spanish Constitution of 1978, Spain has been quoted to be "remarkable for the extent of the powers peacefully devolved over the past 30 years" and "an extraordinarily decentralized country", with the central government accounting for just 18% of public spending,<ref name="Mallet">{{cite news|url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/de6c00f0-8c25-11de-b14f-00144feabdc0.html |title=Flimsier footings |last=Mallet |first=Victor |date=18 August 2010 |newspaper=Financial Times |access-date=25 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090822075253/http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/de6c00f0-8c25-11de-b14f-00144feabdc0.html |archive-date=22 August 2009 |url-status=live }}{{Registration required}}</ref> 38% by the regional governments, 13% by the local councils, and the remaining 31% by the [[social insurance|social security system]].<ref name="economist.com">{{cite news|url=http://www.economist.com/specialreports/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12501023|title=A survey of Spain: How much is enough?|newspaper=[[The Economist]]|access-date=25 August 2010|date=6 November 2008| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090910071548/http://www.economist.com/specialreports/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12501023| archive-date=10 September 2009| url-status= live}}{{Subscription required}}</ref>

In terms of personnel, by 2010 almost 1,350,000 people or 50.3% of the total [[civil servants]] in Spain were employed by the autonomous communities;<ref>[http://www.mpt.gob.es/servicios/empleo_publico/boletin/boletin/document_es/documento.pdf] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110904064839/http://www.mpt.gob.es/servicios/empleo_publico/boletin/boletin/document_es/documento.pdf|date=4 September 2011}}</ref> city and provincial councils accounted for 23.6% and those employees working for the central administration (police and military included) represented 22.2% of the total.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.elpais.com/articulo/sociedad/funcionario/le/cunda/elpepisoc/20110730elpepisoc_1/Tes |title=Que al funcionario le cunda más &#124; Edición impresa &#124; EL PAÍS |publisher=Elpais.com |date=2011-07-30 |access-date=2012-04-30|newspaper=El País  }}</ref>