A referendum on the Spanish NATO membership was held in Spain on Wednesday, 12 March 1986. Voters were asked whether they ratified the national Government's proposal for the country remaining a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which it had joined in 1982.Nohlen, D & Stöver, P (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p1817

The question asked was "The Government considers it convenient, for national interests, for Spain to remain in the Atlantic Alliance, and agrees that such permanence be established in the following terms: (1) Non-incorporation into NATO's military structure; (2) Prohibition on the installation, storage or entry of nuclear weapons on Spanish territory; (3) Gradual reduction of the United States' military presence in Spain. Question: In your view, should Spain continue to be a member of the Atlantic Alliance subject to the terms agreed by the national Government?" ().

The referendum resulted in 56.9% of valid votes in favour of remaining within NATO on a turnout of 59.4%.

Opinion polls The table below lists voting intention estimates in reverse chronological order, showing the most recent first and using the dates when the survey fieldwork was done, as opposed to the date of publication. Where the fieldwork dates are unknown, the date of publication is given instead. The highest percentage figure in each polling survey is displayed with its background shaded in the leading choice's colour. The "Lead" column on the right shows the percentage-point difference between the "Remain" and "Leave" choices in a given poll.

Polling firm/Commissioner Fieldwork date Sample size Remain Leave Invalid/Blank Lead Notes 1986 referendum 12 Mar 1986 31.2 23.7 4.5 40.6 – 7.5 CIS 10–11 Mar 1986 1,188 33.0 27.0 3.0 12.0 25.0 5.0 CIS 7 Mar 1986 2,410 31.0 29.0 2.0 11.0 27.0 2.0 ECO/CIS 3–4 Mar 1986 2,500 27.0 35.0 – 12.0 26.0 8.0 Alef/El País 28 Feb–3 Mar 1986 3,000 26.2 36.2 37.6 10.0 Sofemasa/La Vanguardia 25–28 Feb 1986 3,100 24.8 35.5 2.6 12.3 24.8 10.7 CIS 27 Feb 1986? 29.0 28.0 2.0 13.0 24.0 1.0 Alef/El País 18–20 Feb 1986 1,525 25.2 34.2 3.6 19.1 17.9 9.0 CIS 15–19 Feb 1986 2,500 27.0 31.0 2.0 12.0 29.0 4.0 CIS 15 Feb 1986? 25.0 32.0 – 12.0 32.0 7.0 CIS 10 Feb 1986? 25.0 27.0 – 15.0 33.0 2.0 ECO/CIS 7–10 Feb 1986? 30.0 38.0 – 13.0 19.0 8.0 Alef/El País 2–4 Feb 1986 1,532 21.0 39.0 3.1 18.5 18.4 18.0 CIS 18–25 Jan 1986 10,632 30.0 28.0 – 10.0 32.0 2.0 CIS 1 Jan 1986? 29.0 27.0 – 12.0 32.0 2.0 CIS 13–16 Dec 1985 2,457 32.0 27.0 – 10.0 31.0 5.0 CIS 1 Oct 1985 1,232 30.0 25.0 – 9.0 36.0 5.0 CIS 17–20 Jul 1985 2,479 26.0 34.0 – 7.0 33.0 8.0 CIS 7–11 Jun 1985 3,435 24.0 34.0 – 9.0 33.0 10.0 CIS 10 Sep 1984? 25.0 47.0 – 1.0 27.0 22.0 31.0 42.0 – 9.0 18.0 11.0 19.0 57.0 – 9.0 15.0 38.0 CIS 1 Sep 1984 2,466 22.0 35.0 – 7.0 36.0 13.0 22.0 34.0 – 7.0 37.0 12.0 15.0 44.0 – 7.0 34.0 29.0 CIS 25–28 Apr 1984 2,474 20.0 43.0 – 6.0 31.0 23.0 19.0 46.0 – 7.0 29.0 27.0 11.0 54.0 – 6.0 29.0 43.0 CIS 1 Jan 1984 2,495 19.4 40.9 – 8.4 31.3 21.5 21.6 38.5 – 8.5 31.5 16.9 13.6 50.3 – 7.6 28.4 36.7 CIS 9–13 Nov 1983 2,476 15.0 44.0 – 9.0 32.0 29.0 CIS 1 Mar 1983 2,488 12.6 49.2 – 8.1 30.2 36.6 CIS 9–11 Sep 1981 1,193 12.0 37.0 – 11.0 40.0 25.0

Results Overall Question

Results by region Region Electorate Turnout Yes No Votes % Votes % Andalusia 4,810,221 61.55 1,868,623 67.38 904,635 32.62 Aragon 952,361 60.17 318,640 61.72 197,608 38.28 Asturias 907,599 56.36 273,074 57.28 203,622 42.72 Balearic Islands 524,710 52.03 151,881 61.11 96,663 38.89 Basque Country 1,644,108 65.41 336,518 32.45 700,539 67.55 Canary Islands 1,003,385 55.39 242,015 46.31 280,639 53.69 Cantabria 402,339 59.64 140,251 63.96 79,031 36.04 Castile and León 2,071,409 56.44 627,633 61.54 392,251 38.46 Castilla–La Mancha 1,283,563 58.30 451,729 68.42 208,484 31.58 Catalonia 4,614,731 62.80 1,263,416 46.28 1,466,639 53.72 Extremadura 823,281 61.96 305,219 65.79 158,723 34.21 Galicia 2,220,686 38.51 465,103 59.10 321,809 40.90 La Rioja 202,523 59.97 69,405 63.92 39,174 36.08 Madrid 3,591,044 60.91 1,135,636 56.77 864,700 43.23 Murcia 723,287 61.39 254,572 62.08 155,469 37.92 Navarre 396,841 62.64 99,815 43.28 130,828 56.72 Valencian Community 2,776,354 66.33 1,027,648 60.73 664,465 39.27 Total 29,024,494 59.42 9,054,509 56.85 6,872,421 43.15 Sources

Notes

References Opinion poll sources

Other

Further reading Pérez de Arcos, Marina (2026). ""Millions of Europeans are Watching": Reevaluating the 1986 NATO Referendum". Journal of Cold War Studies. 28 (3): 154–226. Lawrence Leduc, The Politics of Direct Democracy. Referendums in Global Perspective (Broadview Press, 2003), p. 82. Anthony Gooch, 'A Surrealistic Referendum: Spain and NATO', Government and Opposition 21(3), pp. 300–16.