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A second relevant spatial contrast is the uneven ratio of the population living in rural municipalities to those living in urban municipalities. The threshold used for setting the difference between rural and urban municipalities is the one set out in the Rural Development Act from 2007 which considers rural municipalities to be those with less than 5,000 inhabitants (see the map on Rural population). There are 5,690,617 inhabitants living in 6,837 rural municipalities across the country. This means 12% of the total population and 84% of the total amount of municipalities. The spatial contrast is, however, in this case not as intense as in the spatial distribution of the population described before. It may be observed that there is less rural population in the hinterland than along the coast in absolute terms. Nevertheless, in relative terms, the percentage of rural population in relation to the total population of each province is higher in the hinterland than along the coast. Galicia stands out for its uniqueness in registering high figures in both absolute and relative terms. It shall be borne in mind, however, that the criterion used for considering the population rural or urban is merely quantitative or statistical, not qualitative or functional. Therefore, some municipalities have been considered rural even though most of the inhabitants may be in fact related to the industry or the service sector. This is the case in many municipalities in tourist areas and in peri-urban regions.

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Three noteworthy facts may be observed on the map on [[File:| ''Urban macrocephaly'']]. In the first place, the coast from western Andalusia (Andalucía) to Catalonia (Catalunya/Cataluña) is well traced and a moderate dominance of major towns with a large amount of inhabitants is shown in this area. To a lesser extent, the Atlantic coast in Galicia, the northern coast, the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands are also well outlined. In the hinterland, however, only Madrid, Valladolid and Saragossa (Zaragoza) stand out. Secondly, there is a sharp contrast between the Northern Plateau and the Southern Plateau as the presence of major towns with a larger amount of inhabitants is more significant in the former. Finally, it shall be noted that the weight of the municipality with most residents on the total population of each province is more significant in the northern half of the Spanish hinterland as well as in Madrid than in the rest of the country. It is also worthy of mention that the municipality with most residents within each province is the capital town of the province except for three cases out of fifty, i.e. Pontevedra, Asturias and Cádiz, where Vigo, Gijón/Xixón and Jerez de la Frontera are the largest towns in these provinces.

A second relevant spatial contrast is the uneven ratio of the population living in rural municipalities to those living in urban municipalities. The threshold used for setting the difference between rural and urban municipalities is the one set out in the Rural Development Act from 2007 which considers rural municipalities to be those with less than 5,000 inhabitants (see the map on Rural population). There are 5,690,617 inhabitants living in 6,837 rural municipalities across the country. This means 12% of the total population and 84% of the total amount of municipalities. The spatial contrast is, however, in this case not as intense as in the spatial distribution of the population described before. It may be observed that there is less rural population in the hinterland than along the coast in absolute terms. Nevertheless, in relative terms, the percentage of rural population in relation to the total population of each province is higher in the hinterland than along the coast. Galicia stands out for its uniqueness in registering high figures in both absolute and relative terms. It shall be borne in mind, however, that the criterion used for considering the population rural or urban is merely quantitative or statistical, not qualitative or functional. Therefore, some municipalities have been considered rural even though most of the inhabitants may be in fact related to the industry or the service sector. This is the case in many municipalities in tourist areas and in peri-urban regions.

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Besides, the maps showing the Population living in scattered villages (by province and by municipality), i.e. villages different to the capital town of the municipality, reveal a sharp contrast between the periphery [especially Galicia, western Asturias, the Basque Country (Euskadi/País Vasco), northwestern Navarre (Navarra), the district called Maestrazgo/Maestrat between the regions of Aragón and Valencia, as well as a long strip that goes from Alicante/Alacant to Cádiz], where more people live in scattered villages, and the Spanish hinterland, where lower figures are shown on both maps since more people live in the capital town of the municipality. In short, population distribution is more scattered along the coast, whether for geographical, historical or functional reasons. In the hinterland, by contrast, a greater concentration in terms of human settlements may be observed, yet certain differences shall be pointed out, i.e. human settlements are closer to each other although smaller in size in the Northern Plateau, whereas a smaller number of settlements that are more distant from each other and which have municipalities larger in size may be observed in the Southern Plateau.

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[[File:Logo Monografía.jpg|left|thumb|300px|Mapa: Human settlementes. 2020. Spain. [//centrodedescargas.cnig.es/CentroDescargas/busquedaRedirigida.do?ruta=PUBLICACION_CNIG_DATOS_VARIOS/aneTematico/Espana_Entidades-de-poblacion_2020_mapa_18023_spa.pdf PDF]. [//centrodedescargas.cnig.es/CentroDescargas/busquedaRedirigida.do?ruta=PUBLICACION_CNIG_DATOS_VARIOS/aneTematico/Espana_Entidades-de-poblacion_2020_mapa_18023_spa.zip Datos] [//interactivo-atlasnacional.ign.es/index.php#c=indicator&i=r_109_t.r_109_t&i2=c_108_t.c_108_t&s=2020&s2=2020&t=A02&t2=A02&view=map9 Versión interactiva].]]

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[[File:Logo Monografía.jpg|left|thumb|300px|Map: Population living in scattered villages by province. 2020. Spain. [//centrodedescargas.cnig.es/CentroDescargas/busquedaRedirigida.do?ruta=PUBLICACION_CNIG_DATOS_VARIOS/aneTematico/Espana_Poblacion-en-diseminado_2020_mapa_18024_spa.pdf PDF]. [//centrodedescargas.cnig.es/CentroDescargas/busquedaRedirigida.do?ruta=PUBLICACION_CNIG_DATOS_VARIOS/aneTematico/Espana_Poblacion-en-diseminado_2020_mapa_18024_spa.zip Datos]. [//interactivo-atlasnacional.ign.es/index.php#c=indicator&i=r_111_t.r_111_t&i2=c_110_t.c_110_t&s=2020&s2=2020&t=A02&t2=A02&view=map9 Versión interactiva].]]]

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</li></ul></div>{{ANEAutoria|Autores=José Sancho Comíns y María Zúñiga Antón}}