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Youth Wiki

Spain

1. Youth Policy Governance

1.2 National youth law

Last update: 15 December 2025

On this page

  1. Existence of a National Youth Law
  2. Scope and contents
  3. Revisions/updates

Existence of a National Youth Law

As of 2025, there is no enacted national youth law in Spain passed by the General State Administration. However, efforts are underway: in January 2024, the Ministry of Youth and Children (“Ministerio de Juventud e Infancia”) under Minister Sira Rego announced intentions to draft Spain’s first comprehensive Youth Law (Ley de Juventud Estatal).

At regional level, there are youth laws in the majority of Spain’s 17 Autonomous Communities. As of late 2023 / early 2024, 14 of the 17 Autonomous Regions have youth laws:

  1. Youth Law of Aragon (Ley 6/2015, de 25 de marzo de 2015, de Juventud de Aragón), related to Youth from the Aragon Autonomous Region, modified through the Law 12/2023 (Ley 12/2023 de 30 de marzo de 2023)
  2. Youth Participation and Promotion Law of Asturias (Ley 6/2019, de 29 de marzo de 2019, de Participación y Promoción Juvenil de Asturias).
  3. Youth Policies Law of the Balearic Islands (Ley 5/2022, de 8 de julio de 2022 de políticas de juventud de las Illes Balears).
  4. Youth Law of the Basque Country (Ley 2/2022, de 10 de marzo de 2022, de Juventud del País Vasco).
  5. Youth Law of Cantabria (Ley 3/2025, de 30 de junio, de Políticas de Juventud de Cantabria).
  6. Youth Law of the Canary Islands (Ley 2/2023, de 1 de marzo de 2023 de Políticas de Juventud de Canarias).
  7. Youth Law of Castile and León (Ley 11/2002, de 10 de julio, de Juventud de Castilla y León).
  8. Youth Law of Catalonia (Ley 33/2010, de 1 de octubre de 2010, de políticas de juventud de Cataluña).
  9. Youth Law of Galicia (Ley 6/2012, de 19 de junio de 2012, de Juventud de Galicia).
  10. Youth Law of La Rioja (Ley 14/2022, de 23 de diciembre, de Juventud de La Rioja).
  11. Youth Law of the Autonomous Region of Madrid (Ley 8/2002, de 27 de noviembre, de Juventud de la Comunidad de Madrid).
  12. Youth Law of the Region of Murcia (Ley 6/2007, de 4 de abril, de Juventud de la Región de Murcia).
  13. Foral Youth Law of Navarra (Ley Foral 11/2011, de 1 de abril de 2011, de Juventud de Navarra), related to Youth from the Navarra Statutory Autonomous Region.
  14. Integral Youth Policies Law of Valencia (Ley 15/2017, de 10 de noviembre de 2017, de políticas integrales de juventud de la Comunitat Valenciana).

In Andalucia, a draft the Youth Law of Andalucia (Proyecto de Ley de Juventud de Andalucía) is underway, in its consultation and drafting phases. 

 

Scope and contents

The regional youth laws that are currently in force tend to cover similar areas, including:

  • Education, training, youth information services
  • Employment and promotion of employability for young people
  • Housing and emancipation supports
  • Health and well-being (sometimes mental health / leisure)
  • Participation and associative life (youth councils, associations)
  • Culture, sports, rural youth issues
  • Administrative organization and financing of youth policy / youth services

For example, the Youth Law of Aragon (Law 6/2015, modified by Law 12/2023) includes elements such as clarifying guiding principles of youth programmes, expanding observatory functions, specifying roles for municipal and comarca level authorities in youth policy.

Revisions/updates

  1. The State Youth Law remains under development. The announced structure of this law includes four cross-cutting pillars: economic rights and social protection; democratic rights and political participation; mental health and well-being; and eco-social crisis and the rights of future generations. The drafting process includes public participation at national level, for more information see Chapter 1.9 Current debates and reforms.
  2. Aragón’s Youth Law has been formally revised (Law 12/2023) to adapt to new challenges for youth, updating scope and competencies.
  3. Andalucía is preparing its regional law to fill the legal vacuum and to modernise its youth policy framework.