| Albacete | |
| Type: | Province |
| Coordinates: | 38.8333°N -2°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | Spain |
| Subdivision Type1: | Autonomous community |
| Subdivision Name1: | Castile–La Mancha |
| Seat Type: | Capital |
| Seat: | Albacete |
| Leader Party: | PSOE |
| Leader Title: | President |
| Leader Name: | Santiago Cabañero Masip |
| Area Total Km2: | 14858 |
| Area Rank: | Ranked 9th |
| Blank Name Sec1: | Official language(s) |
| Blank Info Sec1: | Spanish |
| Population Total: | 402837 |
| Population As Of: | 2012 |
| Population Rank: | Ranked 35th |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Population Demonym: | es|Albaceteño/-a / Albacetense |
| Blank Name Sec2: | Parliament |
| Blank Info Sec2: | Cortes Generales |
| Blank1 Name Sec2: | Congress seats |
| Blank2 Name Sec2: | Senate seats |
| Website: | dipualba.es |
Albacete (pronounced as /es/) is a province of central Spain, in the southern part of the autonomous community of Castile–La Mancha. As of 2012, Albacete had a population of 402,837 people. Its capital city, also called Albacete, is by road southeast of Madrid.
The territory occupied by the province of Albacete has been inhabited since ancient times, as evidenced by cave paintings in the Cueva del Niño and Cueva de la Vieja.[1] In Roman times, the territory of the present province of Albacete was part of Carpetania and Celtiberia, Contestania, Bastetania and Oretania. In Roman times, the Romans built a significant settlement at Libisosa,[2] and during the age of the Visigoths, Tolmo de Minateda grew in prominence.
During the Muslim era, territories of the province were under different zones of influence, and numerous farmhouses, castles and watchtowers developed to fight off invaders. A number of battles were held here in the Middle Ages, and on April 25, 1707, the Battle of Almansa was held in the vicinity of the town of Albacete, a major Spanish battle which culminated in the triumph of Philip V who ascended to the throne, establishing the monarchy for the House of Bourbon in Spain.[3]
In 1822, the short-lived Province of Chinchilla was created, composed of municipalities in the provinces of La Mancha, Cuenca and the Kingdom of Murcia. Its capital at Chinchilla de Monte-Aragón, very close to the city of Albacete, would be the basis on which the province of Albacete was created in 1833 as dictated by Javier de Burgos.[4] Following the adoption of the Constitution in 1978, the province of Albacete joined the Castile-La Mancha Region from the Murcia Region, and its Statute of Autonomy was approved in 1982.[5]
Located in the southeast of the Central Plateau with an area of 14,926 km ², the province of Albacete is bordered by the provinces of Granada, Murcia, Alicante, Valencia, Cuenca, Ciudad Real and Jaén. The province is divided into 87 municipalities and seven judicial districts. Its seat of government is Albacete. Other important towns (with more than 10,000 inhabitants) are: Hellín, Villarrobledo, Almansa, La Roda and Caudete. The main river of the province is the Jucar river, which crosses the province in the northeast, renowned for its deep gorges and trees.[6] The Lagunese de Ruidera flows in the west. Other rivers of note include the Cabriel on the far northeastern border, the Salobral, Navalcudi, and Tajo-Segura in the central part, the Corcoles in the northwest, and the Guadalmena, Mundo, Tus, Segura, and Taibilla rivers in the south. It is also home to seasonal rivers, including Abengibre Creek.
The historical population is given in the following chart:
ImageSize = width:600 height:auto barincrement:28PlotArea = left:40 bottom:40 top:20 right:20DateFormat = x.yPeriod = from:0 till:420TimeAxis = orientation:horizontalAlignBars = lateScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:50 start:0ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:10 start:0BackgroundColors = canvas:sfondo
PlotData= color:skyblue width:20 shift:(-50,-5) fontsize:M anchor:till bar:1877 from:0 till:219 text:219,009 bar:1887 from:0 till:232 text:231,591 bar:1900 from:0 till:241 text:241,244 bar:1910 from:0 till:272 text:271,716 bar:1920 from:0 till:297 text:296,712 bar:1930 from:0 till:334 text:334,371 bar:1940 from:0 till:379 text:379,169 bar:1950 from:0 till:401 text:400,731 bar:1960 from:0 till:375 text:375,175 bar:1970 from:0 till:341 text:340,720 bar:1980 from:0 till:339 text:339,373 bar:1990 from:0 till:343 text:342,677 bar:2000 from:0 till:365 text:364,835 bar:2010 from:0 till:402 text:401,580 bar:2020 from:0 till:388 text:388,270
TextData= pos:(35,20) fontsize:M text:"Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadística, INE"
In 2020, the total value of products produced in Albacete was .[7]