Canary Islands

The Canary Islands are an Atlantic nation, an archipelago of eight inhabited islands lying closer to the African coast than to mainland Europe, with a distinct identity rooted in the heritage of their first inhabitants, the Guanches, and in centuries as a crossroads between Europe, Africa and the Americas.

Recognised as a nationalidad histórica, the Canary Islands have governed themselves under their Statute of Autonomy of 1982, with their own Parliament and regional government (Gobierno de Canarias), and a special economic and fiscal regime that reflects their remoteness. Within the European Union, they hold the status of outermost region (RUP) — fully part of the Union, yet benefiting from tailored derogations in recognition of their distance from the continent. They are the most populous of all the EU's outermost regions.

With around 2.2 million inhabitants (2024), the islands combine a unique natural heritage — including Spain's highest peak, the Teide — with a strategic position at the Atlantic gateway of Europe.

A nation at the edge of the continent, the Canary Islands embody a principle the European Democrats hold dear: that Europe must remain attentive to its most distant territories, and that geographic remoteness must never mean political distance from the heart of the Union.