ALBACETE, inland province, south-east Spain, formed in 1833 out of the northern half of Murcia. Pop. (1930), 332,619; area, 5,471sq.m.; density per sq.m. 60.8. A somewhat featureless province; except for the Sierra de Alcaraz in the west, Albacete continues south-east of the monotonous arid steppe land of La Mancha. Lying in the south-eastern corner of the central plateau, where the border of the plateau is less clearly marked by moun tains than elsewhere, the province is crossed by the main routes from Madrid both to the Valencian plain and to the south-east. The drainage is almost entirely to the Mediterranean by the rivers Jucar and Segura, but the rainfall is low and the province con tributes little to the volume of these rivers except from the west ern sierras. In these sierras the snow lies for several months; elsewhere the climate is mild and healthy. About 55% of the province is cultivated land, of which cereals—wheat, barley, oats, rye and maize in order of importance occupy nearly half. Alba cete is a stock-raising province, but the acreage devoted to wheat shows a steady rise, with much breaking-up of natural pastures and a corresponding decline in live stock. Of these, sheep, belong ing to the large Manchigan breed with its all-round production, are now the most important (1924, 3 69,6 2 7) ; sheep and wool are exported to Barcelona and Valencia, and cheeses to all parts of Spain. The vine has suffered much from repeated attacks of phylloxera, and replacement with local stocks has been unsuc cessful; olives are cultivated ; the peaches of the Cabriel and Jucar valleys supply canning factories in Valencia. Saffron and esparto (wild) are exported, and employ much labour. There are important pine forests. Manufactures are almost confined to the spinning of hemp and the making of coarse cloth, porcelain, earthenware and cutlery. Brandy is distilled, and there is some trade in wood. Albacete, the capital (pop. 41,885), and the other important towns, Almansa and Hellin, are described separately. The railroad from Madrid to Albacete passes south west to Chinchilla, where it bifurcates, one line going to Murcia and the other to Alicante. A large part of the province is acces sible only by road. In respect of elementary education, Albacete is one of the seven most backward provinces, with 65.89% of the population returned as illiterate.