National Day of Spain
Spain's National Day is celebrated every 12 October: the State's institutional day, coinciding with Hispanic Day and, in Zaragoza, with Our Lady of the Pillar.
National holiday
12 October 2026
49,114,494
Verified data
National Day of Spain in the working calendar
In 2026, National Day of Spain is recorded as a national holiday on 12 October 2026. The calendars included in the dataset apply it in 19 regions and autonomous cities, covering 49,114,494 residents in the 2025 register.
This comparison uses only the official working calendars incorporated into the dataset for each year.
| Year | Main date | Where recorded | Residents |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 12 October 2024 | 19 regions and autonomous cities | 48,587,813 |
| 2026 | 12 October 2026 | 19 regions and autonomous cities | 49,114,494 |
Demographic profile
Demographics of the covered population
Age, citizenship, birthplace and average-age structure from the 2025 Annual Population Census.
51% / 49%
12.9%
66.4%
20.7%
14.1%
19.3%
44.6 years
How it differs from its surroundings
Comparison with Spain. All five comparisons are population-weighted and use only the 2025 Annual Census. A positive sign means the covered population has a higher value than the benchmark.
| Demographic profile | Covered population | Compared with Spain |
|---|---|---|
| Aged 0–14 | 12.9% | 0 pp |
| Aged 65+ | 20.7% | 0 pp |
| Foreign citizenship | 14.1% | 0 pp |
| Born outside Spain | 19.3% | 0 pp |
| Weighted mean age | 44.6 years | 0 years |
The covered population matches Spain overall on these indicators.
Sex comes from the 2025 municipal register; all other metrics come from the 2025 Annual Census. Each percentage uses the total from its own statistical operation. INE municipal tables 68535 and 68541.
What is National Day of Spain
12 October is fixed by law as Spain's National Day. The date refers to 12 October 1492, the arrival of Columbus's expedition in America, and has been interpreted in different ways over time: from the idea of an encounter between peoples to contemporary debates on conquest and memory.
On the religious calendar the day coincides with Our Lady of the Pillar, patron of Zaragoza and of Hispanic Day in Spanish Catholic tradition. The flower offering in the Plaza del Pilar is one of the day's best-known images, alongside pilgrimages and Marian events in other localities.
The State's institutional events centre on Madrid: the Armed Forces parade, homage to the flag and an official reception. Outside the capital the day is lived more quietly or tied to the Pilar festival, depending on the territory and each person's outlook.
As a fixed-date feast, 12 October mixes civic, military and religious dimensions. The dataset treats it as a milestone on the working calendar; the symbolic meaning of Hispanic Day remains open to plural readings in Spanish society.
Other holidays
Per-municipality data with its official source (regional gazette). Every date is verifiable on the municipality page. Data from festivos.io — CC BY 4.0.