SPAIN is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.

The Spanish mainland is bordered to the south and east by the Mediterranean Sea except for a small land boundary with Gibraltar; to the north by France, Andorra, and the Bay of Biscay; and to the west by the Atlantic Ocean and Portugal. 

Spanish territory also includes the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean, the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean off the African coast, and two autonomous cities in North Africa, Ceuta and Melilla, that border Morocco. With an area of 504,030 km², Spain is the second largest country in Western Europe after France.

Because of its location, Spain has been subject to many external influences, often simultaneously, since prehistoric times. At times the country itself has been an important source of influence to other regions. Archaeological and genetic evidence strongly suggests that the Iberian Peninsula acted as one of three major refugia from which northern Europe was repopulated following the end of the last ice age. It has also played an important part in Europe and even the world at certain historic times; in the latter case when it was the seat of a global empire that has left a legacy of 400 million Spanish speakers today. 

The combination of external influences with the interactions of the culturally and politically differentiated regions of the rugged peninsula has produced a dramatic history, typified by alternating periods of unity and disunity under very different regimes.

BASIC FACTS

Official name 

Kingdom of Spain

Capital 

Madrid

Area 

505,990 sq km
195,364 sq mi

Largest cities (population)

Madrid 3,132,463 (2007)
Barcelona 1,595,110 (2007)
Valencia 797,654 (2007)
Seville 699,145 (2007)
Zaragoza 654,390 (2007)
Málaga 561,250 (2007)
Murcia 422,861 (2007)
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria 377,203 (2007)
Palma 383,107 (2007)
Bilbao 353,168 (2007)

Population 

40,491,051 (2008 estimate)

Population growth rate 

0.10 per cent (2008 estimate)

Population density 

81 persons per sq km (2008 estimate)
210 persons per sq mi (2008 estimate)

Urbanisation

Per cent urban 77 per cent (2005 estimate)
Per cent rural 23 per cent (2005 estimate)

Life expectancy

Total 79.9 years (2008 estimate)
Female 83.5 years (2008 estimate)
Male 76.6 years (2008 estimate)

Infant mortality rate

4 deaths per 1,000 live births (2008 estimate)

Literacy rate

Total 98.1 per cent (2005 estimate)
Female 97.4 per cent (2005 estimate)
Male 98.8 per cent (2005 estimate)

Ethnic divisions

Spanish 74 per cent
Catalan 16 per cent
Galician 8 per cent
Basque 2 per cent

Languages

Castilian Spanish (official), Aragonese (regional language), Asturian (regional language), Basque (regional language), Galician (regional language), Gascon (regional language), Catalan (regional language), Extremaduran

Religions

Roman Catholic, other

Type of government

Parliamentary monarchy

Independence 

1492 (expulsion of the Moors and unification)

Constitution 

December 6, 1978, effective December 29, 1978

Voting rights 

Universal at age 18

Economy

Gross domestic product (GDP) (US$)1,224,676 million (2006)
GDP per capita (US$) 27,757 (2006)
GDP by economic sector
GDP, agriculture 3.1 per cent (2006)
GDP, industry 29.7 per cent (2006)
GDP, services 67.2 per cent (2006)

National budget (US$)

Total revenue 332,508 million (2006)
Total expenditure 308,334 million (2006)

Monetary unit

1 Euro (EUR), consisting of 100 cents

Euro (€) notes and coins replaced the Peseta (Pta) as the national currency on January 1, 2002.

Exports

Cars and trucks, semi-finished manufactured goods, iron and steel goods, food and livestock, wine, tobacco, mineral products, chemicals, plastic and rubber products, wood and paper products, textiles, footwear, machinery

Imports

Machinery, transport equipment, fuels, electrical equipment, food and livestock, consumer goods, chemicals, minerals, plastics, rubber goods, hides and skins, wood and paper products, textiles, building materials, precious and semi-precious stones, precision instruments

Major trading partners for exports

France, Germany, Italy, United Kingdom, Portugal, United States

Major trading partners for imports

France, Germany, Italy, United Kingdom, Belgium, United States, Japan

Industries

Textiles, footwear, food processing, wine, steel, metals, cement, chemicals, shipbuilding, cars, machine tools, tourism

Agriculture

Major products: barley, wheat, maize, rice, potatoes, vegetables, olives, wine grapes, sugar beet, sugar cane, citrus fruits; livestock products: beef, pork, poultry, dairy, honey, wool, hides, eggs

Natural resources

Coal, petroleum, natural gas, lead, potash salts, fluorspar, salt, gypsum, iron ore, copper, uranium, mercury, zinc, lead

Croatia - Montenegro - Albania - Greece - Turkey - Cyprus - Israel
Egypt - Libya - Algeria - Tunisia - Morocco - Spain - France - Italy - Malta