Finding a defibrillator in a country whose language you do not read sounds like the hard part. Andalusian law removes most of that problem, and it does it with a symbol.
How many defibrillators does Malaga have and how many at night? 605 units published with address, hours and ownership. 252 are municipal, 197 private, 95 fitted to city buses and 25 at the University of Malaga. Only 120 declare 24-hour availability, and the bus-mounted ones run 6am to 2am daily, so the overnight network is those 120 fixed points.
An automated external defibrillator is a public-access device that reads the heart rhythm and only delivers a shock if it detects one is needed. The city lists 605 of them and only 120 declare 24-hour availability, because 95 ride on Empresa Malagueña de Transportes buses and run 6am to 2am, seven days a week. Using one costs 0 euros and needs no booking. The obligation comes from Decreto 22/2012 of the Junta de Andalucía, which also covers the airport, the port and the main stations.
Checking the map costs nothing, needs no booking, and most units are reached on foot, since a street address is published for 510 of the 605. The best time to look is on arrival, not on the day you need one, and the quietest hour to walk the route is early morning, before the streets fill. From the airport, itself one of the sites legally required to hold one, a Cercanías single ticket costs 1.80 euros, with the rest in getting around Malaga.
How do you spot one if you do not read Spanish
Decreto 22/2012 does not leave the search to chance, and the Decreto requires that the place holding a defibrillator provide a visible and suitable space for it and that the location be signed clearly using the universal symbol recommended by ILCOR, the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation.
Two further requirements follow from that. The location must be marked on the building’s own plans or information maps where such maps exist, and the operating instructions must be shown visibly beside the device.
That combination is what makes the system usable by someone who reads no Spanish. The symbol is international, the instructions are physically attached to the unit, and neither depends on asking anyone.
Two more duties sit on the operator rather than the visitor. Maintenance and upkeep fall to whoever runs the space, following the manufacturer’s instructions, and when the installation is notified to the health authority the operator undertakes to keep staff with basic training available throughout public opening hours.
Where the law says one must exist
The decree lists the spaces obliged to hold a working unit, ready for immediate use.
| Type of space | Threshold |
|---|---|
| Large retail complexes | no threshold given |
| Airports and commercial ports | no threshold given |
| Bus or rail stations and halts | towns above 50,000 residents |
| Metro stations | 5,000 people a day or more |
| Sports centres | 500 daily users or more |
| Public venues | capacity of 5,000 or more |
Restricted-access sports facilities are excluded by name. For a visitor the useful reading is that the airport, the port and the main stations all fall inside the list, which covers most arrival points. Passenger volumes for two of them are in Malaga airport and the Malaga Cercanías.
Who owns them, and why 95 of them move
The Empresa Malagueña de Transportes block is the odd one. Its 95 units are registered under vehicle codes rather than building names, and all 95 share one timetable, 6am to 2am, seven days a week, and one contact, the duty inspector at the Camino de San Rafael control post.
Two consequences follow. That group cannot be planned around like a fixed point, because it moves. And its 20-hour day is longer than most units housed in buildings, which close when the building does.
What is open between 2am and 6am
The 120 that stay open are 79 municipal, 36 private and 5 regional. The 25 units of the Universidad de Málaga declare none available around the clock, and the bus fleet sits outside the count because it runs on its own timetable.
Before any use, the decree fixes the order of events. The Andalusian emergency medical service must be alerted and activated first, whether by calling the emergency numbers, by triggering the venue’s own emergency plan, or through connection devices built into the unit. Afterwards the incident is reported within 72 hours. Which number to ring, and the difference between an urgency and an emergency, is set out in pharmacies in Malaga at night.
On who may use one, article 7 sets a knowledge test rather than a nationality test: anyone with demonstrable basic knowledge of CPR, basic life support and the device, or a qualification in medicine, nursing or emergency response. Two gaps in the file are worth flagging. 95 records carry no street address, precisely the bus fleet, and none of the 510 complete records declares step-free access, the same pattern mapped in wheelchair accessible Malaga.
Common questions about defibrillators in Malaga
How many defibrillators are there in Malaga?
605 units are published on the city’s open data portal with address, hours and ownership. 252 are municipal, 197 private, 95 belong to the city bus company, 25 to the University of Malaga, 21 are regional, 12 other and 3 provincial.
Can a foreign visitor legally use a defibrillator in Andalusia?
Decreto 22/2012 allows anyone with demonstrable basic knowledge of CPR, basic life support and the device itself, as well as doctors, nurses and emergency technicians. It sets no nationality condition and no local certificate requirement.
How do you find a defibrillator in a Spanish building?
By the sign. The decree requires the universal ILCOR symbol, clearly displayed, the location marked on the building’s own plans where they exist, and the operating instructions shown visibly beside the unit itself.
How many defibrillators work overnight in Malaga?
120 of the 605 declare 24-hour availability. The 95 fitted to city buses run 6am to 2am every day, so between 2am and 6am the network shrinks to those 120 fixed points.
Look for the symbol, not for a word. By law the instructions are already beside it.