  This study presents the basic lines of electronic administration in Spain.
The complexity of the Spanish political-administrative system makes such a
study challenging, in view of the considerable degree of autonomy and
competences of the regional administrative bodies and local agencies with
respect to the central government, the former being more visible in the 17
regions of Spain. Nonetheless, the central government maintains a series of
legal instruments that allow a certain common framework of action to be
imposed, aside from what is put into effect through diverse programs aimed
precisely to develop common tools for the regions and municipalities of Spain.
  After an introduction that provides some necessary background, this study
describes the legislative framework in which Spain's electronic administrative
system has developed. The data included in the study refer to investment in
information and communication technologies (ICT) and the services offered by
the different Administrations on the internet; internet access by citizens,
homes, businesses, and employees, as well as the interactivity existing with
administrations by means of the internet; the origins and rise of various
political initiatives of the Central Government involving electronic
administration; and finally, the situation of civil service personnel, as
catalysts of the success of Information Society in the Public Administration
within Spain.
