Background
The right of peoples to self-determination is a fundamental principle of modern international law. It recognises the right of peoples to freely determine their political status and pursue their economic, social and cultural development without external interference.
United Nations General Assembly Resolution 1514 from 1960 states in point 2 that: “All peoples have the right to self-determination; by virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development.” Nations such as Estonia, Latvia, Kosovo, Slovenia, Quebec in Canada or Scotland have exercised their right to self-determination.
Language
Catalan is Catalonia’s own language, although Occitan (spoken in the Val d’Aran valley) and Spanish are also official languages in Catalonia. Catalan is spoken in four different states: Andorra, Spain (Catalonia, Valencia, the Balearic Islands and eastern Aragon), France (northern Catalonia) and Italy (in the city of Alghero in Sardinia). It is spoken by more than 10 million people across four states and is the ninth most spoken language in the European Union. Yet it is not an official EU language.
Under Franco’s dictatorship, Catalan was prohibited from public, educational and official use. Following the restoration of democracy, Catalan became a co-official language in Catalonia and the basis of the public education system’s linguistic immersion model, which aims to guarantee that students acquire full competence in both Catalan and Spanish.
For many Catalans, protecting the language is not simply a cultural question, but a matter of ensuring the survival and normalisation of a language that lacks its own sovereign state.
Economics
Catalonia is one of Spain’s economic engines and Spain’s leading exporting region and has long attracted foreign investment, thanks to its strategic position. As an export-oriented economy, Catalonia depends on public investment in infrastructure to remain competitive, yet projects considered essential to its economy, such as the Mediterranean rail corridor and freight connections with France, have faced delays and insufficient investment from the Spanish Government.
At the same time, Catalonia has consistently recorded a fiscal deficit: according to the Catalan Government’s fiscal balance calculations, billions of euros more are contributed to the Spanish state in taxes than are returned in public expenditure.
In Spain, these fiscal flows cannot be attributed exclusively to a redistribution policy. There are rich regions that do not show a fiscal deficit (Basque Country and Navarre); there are rich regions such as Aragon, Cantabria and La Rioja that have a fiscal surplus (i.e. they receive net transfers). And finally, poor regions (with a GDP lower than average) have a fiscal deficit.
For many Catalans, this combination of fiscal redistribution, infrastructure deficits and limited control over economic policy has contributed to growing support for greater economic and political sovereignty.
History and politics
Catalonia has one of the oldest parliamentary traditions in Europe. During the 11th century, a primitive form of parliamentary system already existed in Catalonia: the Assembly of Peace and Truce.
Some years later, one of the earliest parliaments was created: the Catalan Courts in the 13th century, after the Principality of Catalonia had been integrated into the Crown of Aragon. In 1469, the marriage of Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile united the two crowns, while their institutions and parliaments remained separate.
In 1641, the Catalan Republic was briefly proclaimed by Pau Claris under French protection. The War of the Spanish Succession marked a decisive turning point. After Barcelona fell to the Franco-Spanish army in 1714, Philip V abolished the institutions and laws of Catalonia and the other territories of the Crown of Aragon, imposing Castilian institutions and absolutist rule. This marked the birth of Spain as a unitary State.
Catalonia regained limited self-government during the Second Spanish Republic (1931–1939) and again after the end of Franco’s dictatorship, when the Generalitat was restored in 1977. In 2006, a new Statute of Autonomy was approved after being negotiated between Catalonia and the Spanish state and ratified by referendum. In 2010, however, the Spanish Constitutional Court struck down key provisions of the Statute, including its recognition of Catalonia as a nation. The ruling marked a turning point in the growth of the independence movement.
Since 2012, successive Catalan governments have repeatedly proposed a binding referendum on independence as a democratic way of resolving Catalonia’s political status. In 2014, despite a Constitutional Court ban, Catalonia held a non-binding consultation on independence, with 2.3 million participants and 80.8% voting in favour.
After pro-independence parties won a parliamentary majority in 2015, the Catalan Parliament passed a referendum law in 2017 and called a vote for 1 October. Despite the suspension of the referendum by the Constitutional Court and police efforts to prevent it, the vote took place, with 90% of participating voters casting a ballot in favour of independence. But Spain imposed direct rule over Catalonia and several Catalan political and civil society leaders were imprisoned or forced into exile. Those imprisoned were pardoned in 2021, and the Spanish Parliament approved an amnesty law in 2024 covering acts related to the independence process. However, the political conflict remains unresolved.
Society and culture
Catalonia is a diverse society shaped by successive waves of migration from Spain and around the world. This diversity is an essential part of contemporary Catalan identity, and an independent Catalonia would seek to remain an open, inclusive and welcoming society.
Sports, music, gastronomy, painting, literature… Catalonia stands out across a wide range of disciplines, from the most demanding to the most creative, combining talent and commitment.
Catalan culture is also expressed through different traditions. There is Sant Jordi, the festival of books, roses and love; La Castanyada, a traditional autumn celebration; and the Tió de Nadal, a Christmas tradition in which children “feed” a decorated log before making it “bring” them presents. And then there are the Castellers. Recognised by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage, the human towers embody values of cooperation, trust and collective effort: a powerful metaphor for Catalan culture itself.