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A National Atlas is a fundamental and complex geographical atlas containing that comprises a synthesis of contemporary scientific knowledge in the field of physical, economic, cultural and political human geography of the country under consideration. It serves as a reference tool by adding essential of very high added value for the Public Administration when implementing public managerpolicies, and by providing it provides a vast knowledge of on the different territorial aspects that define the territory for students in business activities; at the same time, medium and high educational levels and it provides an educational wide terms of reference point on geography and cartography for the wider populationgeneral public.

Several Five stages can may be distinguished set in relation to the evolution of the National Atlas project: the elaboration of , i.e. the Geographical and Statistical Review of Spain (1880-1912), the Geographical Statistical Atlas project (1930), the National Atlas of Spain of from 1965 and, finally, the National Atlas of Spain of from 1986-2008and the current National Atlas of Spain (2008-nowadays).

<span style="color: #17aded">'''The Geographical and Statistical Review of Spain(1880-1912)'''</span>[[File:Mapa españa 1M500.jpg|left|thumb|300px|Map of Spain at a scale of 1:1,500,000 drawn up by Ibáñez de Íbero Ibero on the basis of the territorial division of the territory into military zonesareas.]][[File:Lluvia media anual.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Map showing the distribution of average annual rainfall. This thematic map appears in the first volume Spain at a scale of 1:1,500,000 drawn up by Ibáñez de Ibero on the The Geographical and Statistical Review of Spain, which is a description basis of the territoryterritorial division into military areas.]]The first experiences in the creation of experience for creating a national atlas at was the Geographical and Statistical Institute (IGE) date Review of Spain that dates back to 1880, when General Ibáñez e Ibáñez de Ibero, Director of the Geographical and Statistical Institute(as it was called in those days), launched the this project for the creation of the "Geographical and Statistical Review of Spain", with the . The aim of updating was to update it annuallyevery year.It was a major project, and issue as Ibáñez de Íbero pointed out in the prologue, in order it needed to be carried out successfully, "“with the indispensable collaboration of the other management centres was indispensableleading organisations, as was well as with the collaboration of the authorities of from all orderslevels, including the prelates, and of some other scientific establishments"bodies”, as Ibáñez de Ibero pointed out in the prologue.

The work was finally published in 1888, and consisted of twenty-three articles and a single geographical map of the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands.

The mapis the only drawing in the publication, it was accomplished at a scale of 1:1,500,000, and it was drawn by Ibáñez de Ibero himself for the division of the territory into military zones, is the only illustration accompanying the textareas. Published It was published in black and sienna, it colours and was reprinted in 1902. The editing work was carried out at the press of the Geographical and Statistical Institute press.

The work, is therefore, is not strictly speaking a national atlas (strictly speaking, as it only includes one map). However, but it can may be considered as an a predecessor of ita national atlas, since as it was essentially a synthesis of the statistical data available about at the time on the geography of the country, and it prepared the way for their cartographic representation. Despite the intention to update and reprint every year, it took almost a quarter of a century for a new Geographical and Statistical Review to be published in three volumes in 1912, at the beginning of 1913 and at the end of 1914. The great innovation of this edition was the inclusion of some thematic cartographic sheets, statistical graphs and topographical profiles. This was possible, amongst other factors, due to the fact that the increase in resources at the Institute allowed creating the Graphic Arts Section, which did not exist when the first edition of the Review was produced back in 1888.