Back Kanariese Eilande Afrikaans Kanarische Inseln ALS ካናሪያስ ደሴቶች Amharic Canarias AN Fortunatus iegland ANG Achọ Kanari ANN جزر الكناري Arabic جزر الكنارى ARZ কেনেৰী দ্বীপপুঞ্জ Assamese Canaries AST

Canary Islands

"Canary Island" redirects here. For the locality in Australia, see Canary Island, Victoria.

Canary Islands
Islas Canarias (Spanish)
Autonomous community of Spain and outermost region of the European Union
Flag of the Canary Islands
Flag
Canary Islands
Coat of arms
Nickname(s): 
Las Islas Afortunadas (The Fortunate Isles)
Anthem: "Anthem of the Canaries"
Location of the Canary Islands (red) within Spain
Location of the Canary Islands (red) within Spain
CountrySpain Spain
CapitalSanta Cruz de Tenerife (executive and legislative) and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (executive and judicial)
28°0′N 15°45′W / 28.000°N 15.750°W / 28.000; -15.750
Largest cityLas Palmas de Gran Canaria
Official languageSpanish
Ethnic groups
(2025)[1]
76.8% Spaniards
23.2% foreign-born
Religion
Mostly Catholic
Demonym(s)Canarian
canario/-a (Spanish)
LegislatureParliament of the Canary Islands
JudiciaryHigh Court of Justice of the Canary Islands
Area
• Total
7,447 km2 (2,875 sq mi) (1.88% of Spain; 13th)
Highest elevation
3,715 m (12,188 ft)
 • Rank1st
Population
• 2025 estimate
2,258,219[2] (7th)
• Density
303/km2 (784.8/sq mi) (3rd)
GDP (nominal)2024 estimate
• Total
€58,531 billion[3] (8th)
• Per capita
€26,038 (15th)
HDI (2022)0.876[4]
very high · 15th
CurrencyEuro (€) (EUR)
Time zoneUTC (WET)
 • Summer (DST)
UTC+1 (WEST)
Date formatDD/MM/YYYY
Driving sideRight
ISO 3166 code
Most populated islandTenerife[5]
Statute of Autonomy7 November 2018
Congress seats15 (of 350)
Senate seats14 (of 265)
Websitewww.gobiernodecanarias.org/principal/

The Canary Islands (/kəˈnɛəri/, Spanish: Canarias, Spanish: [kaˈnaɾjas]), also known informally as The Canaries, are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the continent being 100 kilometres (62 miles) away. The islands have a population of 2.25 million people and are the most populous overseas special territory of the European Union.[6][7]

The seven main islands are from largest to smallest in area, Tenerife, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, La Palma, La Gomera, and El Hierro. The only other populated island is La Graciosa, which administratively is dependent on Lanzarote. The archipelago includes many smaller islands and islets, including Alegranza, Isla de Lobos, Montaña Clara, Roque del Oeste, and Roque del Este. It includes a number of rocks, including Garachico and Anaga. In ancient times, the island chain was often referred to as "the Fortunate Isles".[8] The Canary Islands are the southernmost region of Spain, and the largest and most populous archipelago of Macaronesia.[9] It is also the largest and most populated archipelago in Spain. Because of their location, the Canary Islands have historically been considered a link between Africa, Europe, and the Americas.[10]

In 2024, the Canary Islands had a population of 2,247,927,[11] with a density of 302 inhabitants per km2, making it the seventh most populous autonomous community of Spain. The population is mostly concentrated in the two capital islands: around 43% on the island of Tenerife and 40% on the island of Gran Canaria.

The Canary Islands, especially Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura, and Lanzarote, are a major tourist destination, with over 14.1 million visitors in 2023.[12] This is due to their beaches, subtropical climate, and important natural attractions, especially Maspalomas in Gran Canaria and Mount Teide, a World Heritage Site in Tenerife. Mount Teide is the highest peak in Spain and the 3rd tallest volcano in the world, measured from its base on the ocean floor.[13] The islands have warm summers and winters warm enough for the climate to be technically tropical at sea level.[14] The amount of precipitation and the level of maritime moderation vary depending on location and elevation. The archipelago includes green areas as well as semi-desert. The islands' high mountains are ideal for astronomical observation, because they lie above the temperature inversion layer. As a result, the archipelago has two professional astronomical observatories: the Teide Observatory on Tenerife, and Roque de los Muchachos Observatory on La Palma.[15]

In 1927, the Province of Canary Islands was split into two provinces, Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Las Palmas. In 1982, the autonomous community of the Canary Islands was established. The cities of Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria are, jointly, the capitals of the islands.[16][17][18] Those cities are also, respectively, the capitals of the provinces of Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Las Palmas. Las Palmas de Gran Canaria has been the largest city in the Canaries since 1768, except for a brief period in the 1910s.[19] Between the 1833 territorial division of Spain and 1927, Santa Cruz de Tenerife was the sole capital of the Canary Islands. In 1927, it was ordered by decree that the capital of the Canary Islands would be shared between two cities, and this arrangement persists to the present day.[17][20] The third largest city in the Canary Islands is San Cristóbal de La Laguna, another World Heritage Site on Tenerife.[21][22][23]

During the Age of Sail, the islands were the main stopover for Spanish galleons during the Spanish colonisation of the Americas, which sailed that far south in order to catch the prevailing northeasterly trade winds.[24][25]

  1. ^ "Foreign-born population by islands" (in Spanish).
  2. ^ "Annual population census 2022-2025". National Statistics Institute (Spain) (in Spanish). 13 February 2025. Retrieved 13 February 2025.
  3. ^ "PIB de Canarias 2024". www.laprovincia.es. Retrieved 19 April 2025.
  4. ^ "Sub-national HDI - Area Database - Global Data Lab". hdi.globaldatalab.org. Retrieved 28 January 2025.
  5. ^ "Real Decreto 743/2019, de 20 de diciembre, por el que se declaran oficiales las cifras de población resultantes de la revisión del Padrón municipal referidas al 1 de enero de 2019". BOE (in Spanish). 27 December 2019. pp. 141278–141281. Archived from the original on 20 February 2020. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
  6. ^ Utreta, Federico (1996). Canarias, secreto de estado: episodios inéditos de la transición política y militar en las islas. Madrid: Mateos López Editores. p. 291.
  7. ^ Tamaimos. "Canarias está en África". tamaimos.com. Archived from the original on 3 October 2018. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  8. ^ Benjamin, Thomas (2009). The Atlantic World: Europeans, Africans, Indians and Their Shared History, 1400–1900. Cambridge University Press. p. 107. ISBN 978-0-521-85099-5.
  9. ^ "La Macaronesia. Consideraciones geológicas, biogeográficas y paleoecológicas". Archived from the original on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 10 February 2010.
  10. ^ "Canarias, un puente entre continentes". La Nación. 19 November 2002. Archived from the original on 9 June 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
  11. ^ "Canarias - Población 2023 | Datosmacro.com". datosmacro.expansion.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 6 March 2024.
  12. ^ Finch, Walter (20 January 2024). "The Canary Islands shattered its record for tourists in 2023 - thanks to which holiday-loving nation of sun seekers?". Olive Press News Spain. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
  13. ^ Página web Archived 29 August 2010 at the Wayback Machine del ISTAC sobre entrada de turistas en Canarias.
  14. ^ "Canary Islands Weather and Climate". Worldtravelguide.net. Archived from the original on 31 May 2008. Retrieved 21 January 2010.
  15. ^ "First Light for Laser Guide Star Technology Collaboration". European Southern Observatory. Archived from the original on 24 February 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  16. ^ "Ley Orgánica 1/2018, de 5 de noviembre, de reforma del Estatuto de Autonomía de Canarias". BOE (in Spanish). 6 November 2018. pp. 107645–107708. Archived from the original on 23 September 2019. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  17. ^ a b "Real Decreto de 30 de noviembre de 1833 – Wikisource". es.wikisource.org (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 25 July 2024. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  18. ^ Real Decreto de 30 de noviembre de 1833 Archived 22 July 2012 at the Wayback Machine en el sitio web oficial del Gobierno de Canarias
  19. ^ "La población de Canarias se ha multiplicado por trece en los últimos 250 años". Canarias7.es. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 22 February 2011.
  20. ^ Real Decreto de 30 de noviembre de 1833 Archived 22 July 2012 at the Wayback Machine at the official website of the Canary Islands Government
  21. ^ "La Laguna. Guía turística de Tenerife. Tenerife, la isla de la eterna primavera". Tenerife2.com. Publiceuta S.L. 5 January 2009. Archived from the original on 24 November 2014. Retrieved 21 January 2010.
  22. ^ "2.2.6. Diagnóstico" (PDF). Plan Territorial Especial De Ordenación Del Sistema Viario Del Área Metropolitana De Tenerife (in Spanish). Archived (PDF) from the original on 8 August 2019. Retrieved 21 January 2010.
  23. ^ "Presentación general de la isla". Dracma (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 21 January 2010.
  24. ^ "1733 Spanish Galleon Trail, Plate Fleets". flheritage.com. Florida Department of State. Archived from the original on 28 May 2016. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  25. ^ "Trade Winds and the Hadley Cell". earthguide.ucsd.edu. Calspace, University of California, San Diego. 24 June 2013. Archived from the original on 21 May 2008. Retrieved 30 August 2016.

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