It is one of the most sparsely populated of Spain's regions, with Albacete, Guadalajara, Toledo, Talavera de la Reina and Ciudad Real being the largest cities.

[8] The rest of urban centres lie on the central plains (with for example, the presence of intermediate agro-cities in La Mancha), contrasting with the sparsedly populated mountains and other peripheral areas.

The west-to-east Montes de Toledo range cuts across the meseta separating the (northern) Tagus and the (southern) Guadiana drainage basins.

[10] On the northwest is the Sistema Ibérico, where there is important fluvial and especially karstic activity, which has given rise to such landscapes as the Ciudad Encantada, the Callejones de Las Majadas and the Hoces del Cabriel.

[18] Lack of a marine influence leads to much more extreme temperatures: hotter summers and quite cold winters, with a daily oscillation as high as 18.5 °C (65.3 °F) on some areas.

[21] The Upper Acheulean sites are mostly located within the limits of the current-day province of Ciudad Real, substantially increasing in number and territorial spread across the region for the ensuing Middle Paleolithic.

[24] The natural region of La Mancha presents a number of archaeological sites related to the so-called Culture of Las Motillas of the Bronze Age, tentatively considered as the earliest reported case of human culture in Western Europe able to implement a system of underground water collection, whose installment is possibly connected to the surface water crisis caused by the 4.2 kiloyear event.

[26] During the Iron Age II (La Tène culture), the territory occupied by the current provinces of Ciudad Real and Albacete had a larger influence from Punic-Phoenician and Greek colonists, while the territory occupied by the current provinces of Toledo, Guadalajara and Cuenca was more influenced by the substrate of the earlier Atlantic Bronze, helping to line up the diffuse separation of two large groups of pre-Roman peoples ("Iberi" and "Celtiberi").

[27] Iberian-related peoples dwelling the southern rim of the inner plateau such as the Oretani and Contestani were organised in tribes ruled by a kinglet or chieftain, each one controlling a number of settlements.

[31] The territory of the current region was mining-rich in Antiquity, with mentions in classical sources to the mining of cinnabar from Sisapo [es],[32] silver, gold and other minerals such as selenite from Segobriga and the laminitana sharpening stone.

[33] Built from scratch on state initiative, the founding of the city of Reccopolis by Visigoths in the late 6th century was a singular development in the context of the European Early Middle Ages.

During this era, the Middle March had eminently a military nature, both shielding the core of Al-Andalus from the raids of the Northern Christian polities as well as serving as staging ground for Muslim offensive campaigns against the former.

[37] Berber clans such as the Masmuda Banu-Salim (linked to the founders of Guadalajara) or the Hawwara Banu Zennun (based in the Kura of Santover [es]) had an important role in the Muslim settlement of parts of the Middle March.

This underpinned the features of a sparse population in the region; as a result, ranching became a mainstay of the economy, which later led to the leading role of the military orders.

[44] The weak settlement and insecurity also allowed for countryside banditry (the so-called golfines) in the area of the Montes de Toledo until its progressive quelling, already effective by the late 13th century.

[47] Despite a poorly representative degree of permeability, urban oligarchies in the current-day region during the Late Middle Ages were largely perpetuated by means of lineage, through inheritance and marriage.

[48] Following the ascension of the Trastámaras, the territory of the current-day province of Toledo underwent a process of seigneuralization, and a number of non-religious lordships were progressively created in the area.

[54] The current provincial configuration roughly dates from the 1833 division by Javier de Burgos, establishing the outline of the modern provinces of Albacete, Ciudad Real, Cuenca, Guadalajara and Toledo, bar relatively minor later adjustments.

[60] The arrival of railway transport in the mid 19th-century subordinated the interests of the provinces to those of Madrid and the Levante, although it fostered the development of some urban centres such as those of Alcázar de San Juan, Manzanares and Albacete.

A joint assembly of legislators and provincial deputies of the provinces of Albacete, Ciudad Real, Cuenca, Guadalajara, Toledo was established in Manzanares in 1981 to draft the early sketch of the regional statute.

[65] On 17 June 1982, the Congress of Deputies approved the final text of the regional statute (an organic law), which was later published on 16 August 1982, giving birth to the autonomous community of "Castilla-La Mancha".[66][n.

Since the Spanish regional elections of 2023, the Cortes of Castilla–La Mancha has consisted of 17 deputies from social democratic PSOE, 12 from conservative People's Party and 4 from far right Vox.

[82] In terms of agricultural productivity and income, since Spain's incorporation into the European Union (EU) the primary sector of the regional economy has evolved dynamically.

[83] Traditionally, Castilla–La Mancha has had little industrial production, due to several factors among which are low population density and a shortage of qualified workers.

[93] Recent mining projects brought forward by the regional government in the province of Ciudad Real, rich in a number of strategic minerals, include those of tungsten (in between Almodóvar del Campo and Abenójar), phosphates (in Fontanarejo), and titanium and zirconium (in between Puebla de Don Rodrigo and Arroba de los Montes), but their final authorisations pend on satisfactory environmental impact statements, and they have also met the opposition from environmental organisations.

[96] In the area of tourism, there has been a great deal of growth, with Castilla–La Mancha becoming in recent decades one of the principal tourist destinations in the Spanish interior.

It is an integral part of Spain's National Health System, based on universal coverage, equal access, and public financing.

There are four main campuses, one each at Albacete, Ciudad Real, Cuenca and Toledo, with classes also offered in Almadén, Talavera de la Reina and Puertollano.

The National University of Distance Education also offers services in the region through five affiliated centers, one in each province: Albacete (with an extension in Almansa), Valdepeñas, Cuenca, Guadalajara, and Talavera de la Reina.

[108] As of 2020, the region features 644 bienes de interés cultural (BIC) across the 5 provinces: Albacete (92), Ciudad Real (108), Cuenca (99), Guadalajara (104) and Toledo (238) plus another 3 transcending the provincial borders.