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Reino de España Kingdom of Spain
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: "Plus Ultra"  (Latin) "Further Beyond"
Anthem: "Marcha Real" 1  (Spanish) "Royal March"
Location of  Spain  (dark green) – on the European continent  (light green & dark grey) – in the European Union  (light green)
Capital (and largest city)		Madrid 40°26′N, 3°42′W
Official languages		Spanish2,
Demonym		Spanish, Spaniard
Government		Parliamentary democracy and Constitutional monarchy
-	Monarch	King Juan Carlos I
-	President of    the Government	José L. Rodríguez Zapatero
Formation		15th century
-	Dynastic union	1516
-	Unification	1469
-	de facto	1716
-	de jure	1812
EU accession		January 1, 1986
Area
-	Total	504,030 km² (51st) 195,364 sq mi
-	Water (%)	1.04
Population
-	2007 estimate	45,116,894 (28th)
-	Density	79 people/km² (106th) 220/sq mi
GDP (PPP)		2006[1] estimate
-	Total	$1.261 trillion (11th)
-	Per capita	$27,950 (2005) (27th)
GDP (nominal)		2006[2] estimate
-	Total	$1.224 trillion (9th)
-	Per capita	$27,767 (2006) (26th)
Gini? (2000)		34.7 (medium)
HDI (2005)		0.949 (high) (13th)
Currency		Euro (€) ³ (EUR)
Time zone		CET4 (UTC+1)
-	Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Internet TLD		.es5
Calling code		+34
1	Also serves as the Royal anthem.
2	In some autonomous communities, Aranese (Occitan), Basque, Catalan and Galician are co-official languages.
3	Prior to 1999 (by law, 2002) : Spanish Peseta.
4	Except in the Canary Islands, which are in the WET time zone (UTC, UTC+1 in summer).
5	The .eu domain is also used, as it is shared with other European Union member states.

Spain (Spanish: España (help·info), IPA: [es'paɲa]), is a Southern European country. The country consists of Peninsular Spain which is located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, two archipelagos, one in each sea, and two autonomous cities in North Africa.

The Spanish mainland is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the south and east, by the Cantabric Sea that includes the Bay of Biscay to the north, and by the Atlantic Ocean and Portugal to the west. Spanish territory also includes the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean and the Canary Islands off the African coast. It shares land borders with Portugal, France, Andorra, the British overseas territory of Gibraltar, and Morocco. It is the largest of the three sovereign states that make up the Iberian Peninsula — the others being Portugal and Andorra. With an area of 504,030 km², Spain is the second largest country in Western Europe (behind France).

Spain is a constitutional monarchy organised as a parliamentary democracy, and has been a member of the European Union since 1986. It is a developed country with the ninth largest economy in the world and fifth largest in the EU, based on nominal GDP.^[3]

Contents 1 History 1.1 Prehistory and pre-Roman peoples in the Iberian Peninsula 1.2 Roman Empire and Germanic invasions 1.3 Muslim Iberia 1.4 Fall of Muslim rule and unification 1.5 Imperial Spain 1.6 Napoleonic rule and its consequences 1.7 Spanish-American War 1.8 The Twentieth Century 1.9 21st century 2 Politics 2.1 Spanish Government 2.2 Spanish Constitution 2.3 Foreign relations of Spain 2.3.1 Territorial disputes 2.3.1.1 Territory claimed by Spain 2.3.1.2 Spanish territories claimed by other countries 3 Administrative divisions 4 Geography 5 Military of Spain 6 Economy 7 Demography 7.1 Immigration in Spain 7.2 Minority groups 7.3 Most populous urban regions 8 Identities 8.1 Peoples 8.2 Languages 9 Religion 10 Culture 10.1 Education in Spain 10.2 Spanish Academy 10.3 Spanish art 10.4 Spanish literature 10.5 Spanish architecture 10.6 Music of Spain 10.7 Cinema of Spain 10.8 Spanish cuisine 10.9 Sports in Spain 10.10 Public holidays in Spain 11 International rankings 12 See also 13 References 14 Further reading 15 External links 15.1 Overviews 15.2 Government 15.3 Tourism 15.4 Other

History

Main article: History of Spain

Spain has a very ancient and complex prehistory. Under the Roman Empire Hispania flourished and became one of the Empire's most important regions. During the early Middle Ages it came under Germanic rule. Later, nearly the entire peninsula came under Muslim rulers. Through a long process Christian kingdoms in the north gradually rolled back Muslim rule, which was finally extinguished in 1492. That year Columbus reached the Americas, the beginnings of a global empire. Spain became the strongest kingdom in Europe in the 16th and first half of the 17th centuries but continued wars and other problems eventually led to a diminished status. In the middle decades of the 20th century it came under a dictatorship, under which it went through many years of stagnation and then a spectacular economic revival. In 1986 it joined the European Union and has experienced an economic and cultural renaissance.

Prehistory and pre-Roman peoples in the Iberian Peninsula

Main article: Prehistoric Iberia

Modern humans in the form of Cro-Magnons began arriving in the Iberian Peninsula from the Pyrenees some 35,000 years ago. The best known artifacts of these prehistoric human settlements are the famous paintings in the Altamira cave of Cantabria in northern Spain, which were created about 15,000 BCE. New archeological research at Atapuerca indicates that the Iberian Peninsula was peopled more than a million years ago.^[4] Furthermore, archeological evidence in places like Los Millares in Almería and in El Argar in Murcia suggest that developed cultures existed in the eastern part of the Iberian Peninsula during the late Neolithic and the Bronze Age; these cultures may result from migrations from northern Africa.

The two main historical peoples of the peninsula were the Iberians and the Celts, the former inhabiting the Mediterranean side from the northeast to the southwest, the latter inhabiting the Atlantic side, in the north and northwest part of the peninsula. In the inner part of the peninsula, where both groups were in contact, a mixed, distinctive, culture was present, known as Celtiberian. Different names of places witness their geographical distribution. Celts founded military forts (from the Celt "briga" = fortress) that later evolved into cities such as Coimbra, Braga, and Segovia.^[5] The Iberians gave their name to Spain's longest river Ebro (or "Iberian river") and to cities such as Ilici (present-day Elche) and Ilerda (Lérida). In addition, Basques occupied the western area of the Pyrenees mountains, although some geographical names attest their presence as far south as Aranjuez, a name that originates in the Basque words aran zuri ("valley of thorns") and contemporary Basque aranzazu (thorn, thistle). Other ethnic groups existed along the southern coastal areas of present day Andalusia. Among these southern groups there grew the earliest urban culture in the Iberian Peninsula, that of the semi-mythical southern city of Tartessos (perhaps pre-1100 BC) near the location of present-day Cádiz. The flourishing trade in gold and silver between the people of Tartessos and Phoenicians and Greeks is documented in the history of Strabo and in the biblical book of king Solomon. Between about 500 BC and 300 BC, the seafaring Phoenicians and Greeks founded trading colonies along the Mediterranean coast. These colonies include present-day cities like Empúries (from the Greek word 'emporion'), Málaga (from the Phoenician word 'malaka' for salt, as fish was salted in the harbour), and the city of Alicante, originally named in Greek Akra Leuka (i.e., white bay). Phoenicians from the African city of Carthage (Carthaginians) briefly took control of much of the Mediterranean coast in the course of the Punic Wars until they were eventually defeated and replaced by the Romans.^[6] Carthaginians created important cities in the Mediterranean littoral, including 'Carthago nova' or 'New Carthage' (present-day Cartagena) and a city in the northeast founded by Hannibal's father Hamilcar Barca. Hamilcar named the city Barcino, after his family; the city is present day Barcelona.

Roman Empire and Germanic invasions

Main article: Hispania

During the Second Punic War, an expanding Roman Empire captured Carthaginian trading colonies along the Mediterranean coast (from roughly 210 BC to 205 BC), leading to eventual Roman control of nearly the entire Iberian Peninsula - a control which lasted over 500 years, bound together by law, language, and the Roman road.^[7] The base Celt and Iberian population remained in various stages of Romanisation,^[8] and local leaders were admitted into the Roman aristocratic class.^[6]

The Romans improved existing cities, such as Lisbon (Olissis bona or 'good for Ulysses') and Tarragona (Tarraco), and established Zaragoza (Caesaraugusta), Mérida (Augusta Emerita), Valencia (Valentia), León ("Legio Septima"), Badajoz ("Pax Augusta"), and Palencia (Παλλαντία, "Pallas Ateneia").^[9] The peninsula's economy expanded under Roman tutelage. Hispania served as a granary for the Roman market, and its harbors exported gold, wool, olive oil, and wine. Agricultural production increased with the introduction of irrigation projects, some of which remain in use. Emperors Trajan, Theodosius I, and the philosopher Seneca were born in Hispania.^[10] Christianity was introduced into Hispania in the first century CE and it became popular in the cities in the second century CE.^[6] Most of Spain's present languages and religion, and the basis of its laws, originate from this period.^[7]

The first Germanic barbarians to invade Hispania arrived in the 5th century, as the Roman Empire decayed.^[7] The Visigoths, Suebi, Vandals and Alans arrived in Spain by crossing the Pyrenees mountain range.^[11] The Romanized Visigoths entered Hispania in 415. After the conversion of their monarchy to Roman Catholicism, the Visigothic Kingdom eventually encompassed a great part of the Iberian Peninsula after conquering the disordered Suebic territories in the northwest and Byzantine territories in the southeast.^[6]

Muslim Iberia

Main article: Al-Andalus

In the 8th century, nearly all of the Iberian Peninsula was quickly conquered (711-718) by mainly Berber Muslims (see Moors) from North Africa. These conquests were part of the expansion of the Umayyad Islamic Empire.^[12] Only a number of areas in the mountains to the north of the Iberian Peninsula managed to cling to their independence, occupying the areas roughly corresponding to modern Asturias, Navarre and Aragon.

Under Islam, Christians and Jews were recognised as "peoples of the book", and were free to practice their religion, but faced a number of mandatory limits and penalties as dhimmis.^[13][14][15] Conversion to Islam proceeded at a steadily increasing pace, with conversions among the aristocracy, commoners and slaves, as it circumvented the disadvantages of dhimmi status.^[16] With the mass conversions in the 10th and 11th centuries Muslims are believed to have come to outnumber Christians in Al-Andalus.^[17]

The Muslim community in the Iberian peninsula was itself diverse and beset by social tensions. The Berber people of North Africa, who had provided the bulk of the invading armies, clashed with the Arab leadership from the Middle East.^[18] Over time, large Moorish populations became established, especially in the Guadalquivir River valley, the coastal plain of Valencia, and (towards the end of this period) in the mountainous region of Granada.^[17]

Córdoba, the capital of the muslim caliphate, was the largest, richest and most sophisticated city of medieval Europe.^[19] Mediterranean trade and cultural exchange flourished. Muslims imported a rich intellectual tradition from the Middle East and North Africa. Muslim and Jewish scholars played a great part in reviving and expanding classical Greek learning in Western Europe. The Romanized cultures of the Iberian peninsula interacted with Muslim and Jewish cultures in complex ways, thus giving the region a distinctive culture.^[17] Outside the cities, where the vast majority lived, the land ownership system from Roman times remained largely intact as Muslim leaders rarely dispossessed landowners, and the introduction of new crops and techniques led to a remarkable expansion of agriculture.

However, by the 11th century, Muslim holdings had fractured into rival Taifa kingdoms, allowing the small Christian states the opportunity to greatly enlarge their territories and consolidate their positions.^[17] The arrival of the North African Muslim ruling sects of the Almoravids and the Almohads restored unity upon Muslim holdings, with a stricter, less tolerant application of Islam, but ultimately, after some successes in invading the north, proved unable to resist the increasing military strength of the Christian states.^[6]

Fall of Muslim rule and unification

Main article: Reconquista

See also: Medieval demography

The term Reconquista ("Reconquest") is used to describe the centuries-long period of expansion of Spain's Christian kingdoms; the Reconquista is viewed as beginning after the battle of Covadonga in 722. The Christian army victory over the Muslim forces lead to the creation of the Christian Kingdom of Asturias. Muslim armies had also moved north of the Pyrenees, but they were defeated at the Battle of Poitiers in France. Subsequently, they retreated to more secure positions south of the Pyrenees with a frontier marked by the Ebro and Duero rivers in Spain. In the following years Christian armies moved to occupy and colonized the vacant areas. As early as 739, Muslim forces left Galicia, which was to host one of medieval Christianity's holiest sites, Santiago de Compostela. A little later Frankish forces established Christian counties south of the Pyrenees; these areas were to grow into kingdoms, in the north-east and the western part of the Pyrenees. These territories included Navarre, Aragon and Catalonia.^[20]

The breakup of Al-Andalus into the competing Taifa kingdoms helped the expanding Christian kingdoms, namely Castile that would become the main driving force in the Reconquista. The capture of the central city of Toledo in 1085 largely completed the reconquest of the northern half of Spain.^[21] After a Muslim resurgence in the 12th century, the great Moorish strongholds in the south fell to Christian Spain in the 13th century—Córdoba in 1236 and Seville in 1248—leaving only the Muslim enclave of Granada as a tributary state in the south.^[22] Also in the 13th century, the kingdom of Aragon, still ruled by the Catalan count of Barcelona, expanded its reach across the Mediterranean to Sicily.^[23]

In 1469, the crowns of the Christian kingdoms of Castile and Aragon were united (even though both kingdoms kept a high degree of political and economical independence) by the marriage of Isabella and Ferdinand. In 1478 began the final stage of the conquest of Canary Islands and in 1492, these united kingdoms captured Granada, ending the last remnant of a 781-year presence of Islamic rule in the Iberian Peninsula.^[24] The year 1492 also marked the arrival in the New World of Christopher Columbus, during a voyage funded by Isabella. That same year, Spain's Jews were ordered to convert into the Catholicism or face expulsion from Spanish territories during the Spanish Inquisition.^[25][26]

As Renaissance New Monarchs, Isabella and Ferdinand centralized royal power at the expense of local nobility, and the word España - whose root is the ancient name "Hispania" - began to be used to designate the whole of the two kingdoms.^[26] With their wide-ranging political, legal, religious and military reforms, Spain emerged as a world powerful nation.

Imperial Spain

Main articles: Habsburg Spain and Enlightenment Spain

The unification of the kingdoms of Aragon, Castile, León, and Navarre laid the basis for modern Spain and the Spanish Empire. Spain became Europe's leading power throughout the 16th century and most of the 17th century, a position later reinforced by trade and wealth from colonial possessions. Spain reached its apogee during the reigns of the first two Spanish Habsburgs, Charles I (1516–1556) and Philip II (1556–1598). Included in this period are the Italian Wars, the Dutch revolt, clashes with the Ottomans, the Anglo-Spanish war and war with France.^[27]

The Spanish Empire expanded to include most part of South and Central America, Mexico, southern and western portions of today's United States, the Philippines, Guam and the Mariana Islands in Eastern Asia, the Iberian peninsula (including the Portuguese Empire (from 1580), southern Italy, Sicily, cities in Northern Africa, as well as parts of modern Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands. It was the first empire about which it was said that the sun did not set. This was an age of discovery, with daring explorations by sea and by land, the opening up of new trade routes across oceans, conquests and the beginning of European colonial exploitation. Along with the arrival of precious metals, spices, luxuries, and new agricultural plants, Spanish explorers and others brought back knowledge, playing a leading part in transforming the European understanding of the world.^[28]

Of note was the cultural efflorescence now known as the Spanish Golden Age and the intellectual movement known as the School of Salamanca.

In the 16th and 17th centuries Spain was confronted by unrelenting challenges from all sides. In the early 16th century Barbary pirates under the aegis of the rapidly growing Ottoman empire, disrupted life in many coastal areas through their slave raids and renewed the threat of an Islamic invasion.^[29] This at a time when Spain was often at war with France in Italy and elsewhere. Later the Protestant Reformation schism from the Catholic Church dragged the kingdom ever more into the mire of religiously charged wars. The result was a country forced into ever expanding military efforts across Europe and in the Mediterranean.

By the middle decades of a war-ridden mid-17th century Europe, the effects of the strain began to show. The Spanish Habsburgs had enmeshed the country in the continent wide religious-political conflicts. These conflicts drained it of resources and undermined the European economy generally. Spain managed to hold on to the majority of the scattered Habsburg empire, and help the Imperial forces of the Holy Roman Empire reverse a large part of the advances made by Protestant forces, but it was finally forced to recognise the independence of Portugal - with its empire - and the Netherlands, and eventually began to surrender territories to France after the immensely destructive, Europe-wide Thirty Years War.^[30] From the 1640s Spain went into a gradual but seemingly irreversible decline for the remainder of the century, however it was able to maintain and enlarge its vast overseas empire which remained intact until the 19th century.

Controversy over succession to the throne consumed the first years of the 18th century. The War of Spanish Succession (1701–1714), a wide ranging international conflict combined with a civil war, cost Spain its European possessions and its position as one of the leading powers on the Continent (although it retained its overseas territories).^[31]

During this war, a new dynasty—the French Bourbons—was installed. Long united only by the Crown, a true Spanish state was established when the first Bourbon king Philip V of Spain united Castile and Aragon into a single state, abolishing many of the regional privileges (fueros).^[32]

The 18th century saw a gradual recovery and some increase in prosperity through much of the empire. The new Bourbon monarchy drew on the French system of modernising the administration and the economy. Enlightenment ideas began to gain ground among some of the kingdom's elite and monarchy. Towards the end of the century trade finally began growing strongly. Military assistance for the rebellious British colonies in the American War of Independence improved Spain's international standing.^[33]

Napoleonic rule and its consequences

In 1793, Spain went to war against the new French Republic, which had overthrown and executed its Bourbon king, Louis XVI. The war polarised the country in an apparent reaction against the gallicised elites. Defeated in the field, Spain made peace with France in 1795 and effectively became a client state of that country; the following year, it declared war against Britain and Portugal. A disastrous economic situation, along with other factors, led to the abdication of the Spanish king in favour of Napoleon's brother, Joseph Bonaparte.

This new foreign monarch was regarded with scorn. On May 2, 1808, the people of Madrid began a nationalist uprising against the French army, marking the beginning of what is known to the Spanish as the War of Independence, and to the English as the Peninsular War. Napoleon was forced to intervene personally, defeating several badly-coordinated Spanish armies and forcing a British Army to retreat to Corunna. However, further military action by Spanish guerrillas and Wellington's Anglo-Portuguese army, combined with Napoleon's disastrous invasion of Russia, led to the ousting of the French from Spain in 1814, and the return of King Ferdinand VII.

The French invasion proved disastrous for Spain's economy, and left a deeply divided country that was prone to political instability for more than a century. The power struggles of the early 19th century led to the loss of all of Spain's colonies in Latin America, with the exception of Cuba and Puerto Rico.

Further information: Mid-nineteenth century Spain

Spanish-American War

Main article: Spanish–American War

Amid the instability and economic crisis that afflicted Spain in the 19th century there arose nationalist movements in the Philippines and Cuba. Wars of independence ensued in those colonies and eventually the United States became involved. Although Spanish military units won respect from American soldiers they fought, for their bravery and skill, the Spanish-American war of 1898 was so badly mismanaged by the highest levels of command and government that it was soon over. "El Desastre", as the war became known in Spain, helped give impetus to the Generation of 98 who were already conducting much critical analysis concerning the country. It also weakened the stability that had been established during Alfonso XII's reign.

The Twentieth Century

The 20th century brought little peace; Spain played a minor part in the scramble for Africa, with the colonisation of Western Sahara, Spanish Morocco and Equatorial Guinea. The heavy losses suffered during the Rif war in Morocco helped to undermine the monarchy. A period of authoritarian rule under General Miguel Primo de Rivera (1923-1931) ended with the establishment of the Second Spanish Republic. The Republic offered political autonomy to the Basque Country, Catalonia and Galicia and gave voting rights to women.

The bitterly fought Spanish Civil War (1936-39) ensued. Three years later the Nationalist forces, led by General Francisco Franco, emerged victorious with the support of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. The Republican side was supported by the Soviet Union and Mexico, but it was not supported by the Western powers due to the British-led policy of Non-Intervention. The Spanish Civil War has been called the first battle of the Second World War; under Franco, Spain was neutral in the Second World War though sympathetic to the Axis.^[34]

The only legal party under Franco's regime was the Falange española tradicionalista y de las JONS, formed in 1937; the party emphasised anti-Communism, Catholicism and nationalism. Nonetheless, since Franco's anti-democratic ideology was opposed to the idea of political parties, the new party was renamed officially a National Movement (Movimiento Nacional) in 1949.

After World War II, Spain was politically and economically isolated, and was kept out of the United Nations until 1955, when due to the Cold War it became strategically important for the U.S. to foment a military presence on the Iberian peninsula, next to the Mediterranean Sea and the Strait of Gibraltar, in order to protect southern Europe. In the 1960s, Spain registered an unprecedented economic growth in what was called the Spanish miracle, which gradually transformed it into a modern industrial economy with a thriving tourism sector and a high degree of human development.

Upon the death of General Franco in November 1975, Prince Juan Carlos assumed the position of king and head of state. With the approval of the new Spanish Constitution of 1978 and the arrival of democracy, political autonomy were established. In the Basque Country, moderate Basque nationalism coexisted with a radical nationalism supportive of the terrorist group ETA.

On February 23, 1981, rebel elements among the security forces seized the Cortes and tried to impose a military-backed government. However, the great majority of the military forces remained loyal to King Juan Carlos, who used his personal authority and addressed the usurpers via national TV as commander in chief to put down the bloodless coup attempt.

In 1982, the Spanish Socialist Worker's Party (PSOE) came to power, which represented the return to power of a leftist party after 43 years. In 1986, Spain joined the European Community (which was to become the European Union). The PSOE was replaced by the PP after the latter won the 1996 General Elections; at that point the PSOE had served almost 14 consecutive years in office.

The Government of Spain has been involved in a long-running campaign against the terrorist organization ETA ("Basque Homeland and Freedom"), founded in 1959 in opposition to Franco and dedicated to promoting Basque independence through violent means. They consider themselves a guerrilla organization while they are listed as a terrorist organization by both the European Union and the United States on their respective watchlists. The current nationalist-led Basque Autonomous government does not endorse ETA's nationalist violence, which has caused over 800 deaths in the past 40 years.

21st century

On January 1, 2002, Spain terminated its historic peseta currency and replaced it with the euro, which has become its national currency shared with 13 other countries from the Eurozone. This culminated the first phase of a period of economic growth,^[35] which has kept the Spanish economy growing well over the EU average, but concerns are growing that the extraordinary property boom and high foreign trade deficits of recent years may bring this to an end.^[36]

On March 11, 2004, a series of bombs exploded in commuter trains in Madrid, Spain. This act of terror (later claimed by Al Quaeda) killed 191 people and wounded 1,460 more, besides possibly affected national elections scheduled for March 14, three days after the attack, which was, arguably, the main goal of the terrorists. The Madrid train bombings had an adverse effect on the image of the then-ruling conservative party Partido Popular (PP) which polls had indicated was likely to win the elections. Reversely, it helped the election of Zapatero's Partido Socialista Obrero Español (PSOE). Following the bombings, there were two nights of incidents around the PP headquarters, with the PSOE and other political parties accusing the PP of hiding the truth by saying that the incidents were caused by ETA even though new evidence that pointed to an Islamic attack started appearing. These incidents are still a cause of discussion, since some factions of the PP suggest that the elections were "stolen" by means of the turmoil which followed the terrorist bombing, which was, according to this point of view, backed by the PSOE.

March 14, 2004, three days after the bombings, saw the PSOE party elected into government, with Rodríguez Zapatero becoming the new Presidente del Gobierno or prime minister of Spain thus replacing the former PP administration.

Politics

Spanish Government

Main article: Politics of Spain

Spain is a constitutional monarchy, with a hereditary monarch and a bicameral parliament, the Cortes Generales. The executive branch consists of a Council of Ministers presided over by the President of Government (comparable to a prime minister), proposed by the monarch and elected by the National Assembly following legislative elections.

The legislative branch is made up of the Congress of Deputies (Congreso de los Diputados) with 350 members, elected by popular vote on block lists by proportional representation to serve four-year terms, and a Senate (Senado) with 259 seats of which 208 are directly elected by popular vote and the other 51 appointed by the regional legislatures to also serve four-year terms.

• Chief of State
  • King Juan Carlos I, since November 22, 1975
• Head of Government
  • President of the Government: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, elected 14 March 2004.
    • First Vice President and Minister of Presidency: María Teresa Fernández de la Vega, elected 14 March 2004.
    • Second Vice President and Minister of Economy and Finance: Pedro Solbes, elected 14 March 2004.
• Cabinet
  • Council of Ministers (Spanish Consejo de Ministros) designated by the president.

The Spanish nation is organizationally composed in the form of a State of Autonomies; it is one of the most decentralized countries in Europe, after Switzerland, Germany and Belgium;^[37][38][39] for example, all territories manage their own health and education systems, and other territories (the Basque Country and Navarre) manage their own public finances. In Catalonia and the Basque Country, an autonomous police corps replaces some of the State police functions (see Mossos d'Esquadra and Ertzaintza).

See also: List of Spanish monarchs and Monarchs of Spain family tree

Spanish Constitution

Main article: Spanish Constitution of 1978

The Spanish Constitution of 1978 is the culmination of the Spanish transition to democracy.

The constitutional history of Spain dates back to the constitution of 1812. After the death of Francisco Franco in 1975, a general election in 1977 convened the Constituent Cortes (the Spanish Parliament, in its capacity as a constitutional assembly) for the purpose of drafting and approving the constitution of 1978.

As a result, Spain is now composed of 17 autonomous communities and two autonomous cities with varying degrees of autonomy thanks to its Constitution, which nevertheless explicitly states the indivisible unity of the Spanish nation.^[40]

Foreign relations of Spain

Main article: Foreign relations of Spain

After the return of democracy following the death of Franco in 1975, Spain's foreign policy priorities were to break out of the diplomatic isolation of the Franco years and expand diplomatic relations, enter the European Community, and define security relations with the West.

As a member of NATO since 1982, Spain has established itself as a major participant in multilateral international security activities. Spain's EU membership represents an important part of its foreign policy. Even on many international issues beyond western Europe, Spain prefers to coordinate its efforts with its EU partners through the European political cooperation mechanisms.

With the normalization of diplomatic relations with North Korea in 2001, Spain completed the process of universalizing its diplomatic relations.

Spain has maintained its special identification with Latin America. Its policy emphasizes the concept of an Iberoamerican community, essentially the renewal of the historically liberal concept of hispanoamericanismo (or hispanism as it is often referred to in English), which has sought to link the Iberian peninsula with Latin America through language, commerce, history and culture. Spain has been an effective example of transition from dictatorship to democracy, as shown in the many trips that Spain's King and Prime Ministers have made to the region.

Territorial disputes

Territory claimed by Spain

There is a territorial dispute with the United Kingdom over Gibraltar, a 6 square km. Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom in the southernmost part of the Iberian Peninsula which was conquered by Britain from Spain in 1704 during the War of the Spanish Succession, along with the Spanish island of Minorca (which had also been invaded but was reconquered in 1782 and finally ceded back to Spain in 1802 by the Treaty of Amiens).

The legal situation was regularized in 1713 by the Treaty of Utrecht, in which Spain ceded the territory in perpetuity to the British Crown.^[41]

Spain has called for the return of Gibraltar. The overwhelming majority of Gibraltarians strongly oppose this, along with any proposal of shared sovereignty.^[42] UN resolutions call on the United Kingdom and Spain, both EU members, to reach an agreement over the status of Gibraltar.^[43]

Spanish territories claimed by other countries

Morocco claims the Spanish cities of Ceuta and Melilla and some isles plazas de soberanía off the northern coast of Africa. Portugal does not recognise Spain's sovereignty over the territory of Olivenza / Olivença.

Administrative divisions

Main articles: Autonomous communities of Spain and Provinces of Spain

Spain is divided into 17 autonomous communities (comunidades autónomas) and 2 autonomous cities (ciudades autónomas) - Ceuta and Melilla. These autonomous communities are subdivided into 50 provinces (provincias).

Administratively Spain is also divided into fifty provinces since the reforming bourbonism. Seven autonomous communities are composed of only one province: Asturias, Balearic Islands, Cantabria, La Rioja, Madrid, Murcia, and Navarre.

Historically, some provinces are also divided into comarcas (roughly equivalent to a US "county" or an English district). The lowest administrative division of Spain is the municipality (municipio).

See also: Comarcas of Spain and List of municipalities of Spain

Geography

Main article: Geography of Spain

At 194,884 mi² (504,782 km²), Spain is the world's 51st-largest country. It is comparable in size to Turkmenistan, and is somewhat larger than the U.S. state of California.

On the west, Spain borders Portugal, on the south, it borders Gibraltar (a British overseas territory) and Morocco, through its cities in North Africa (Ceuta and Melilla). On the northeast, along the Pyrenees mountain range, it borders France and the tiny principality of Andorra. Spain also includes the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean Sea, the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean and a number of uninhabited islands on the Mediterranean side of the strait of Gibraltar, known as Plazas de soberanía, such as the Chafarine islands, the isle of Alborán, the "rocks" (peñones) of Vélez and Alhucemas, and the tiny Isla Perejil. In the northeast along the Pyrenees, a small exclave town called Llívia in Catalonia is surrounded by French territory.

Mainland Spain is dominated by high plateaus and mountain ranges, such as the Sierra Nevada. Running from these heights are several major rivers such as the Tagus, the Ebro, the Duero, the Guadiana and the Guadalquivir. Alluvial plains are found along the coast, the largest of which is that of the Guadalquivir in Andalusia.

Due to Spain's geographical situation and orographic conditions, the climate is extremely diverse; it can be roughly divided in three areas:

• The moderate Continental climate takes place in the inland areas of the Peninsula (largest city, Madrid).
• The Mediterranean climate region, which roughly extends from the Andalusian plain along the southern and eastern coasts up to the Pyrenees, on the seaward side of the mountain ranges that run near the coast (largest city, Barcelona).
• An Oceanic climate takes place in Galicia and the coastal strip by the Bay of Biscay (largest city, Bilbao). This area is often called Green Spain.

Military of Spain

Main article: Spanish Armed Forces

The armed forces of Spain are known as the Spanish Armed Forces (Spanish: Fuerzas Armadas Españolas). Their Commander-in-Chief is the King of Spain, Juan Carlos I.

The Spanish Armed Forces are divided into four branches:

• Army (Ejército de Tierra)
• Navy (Armada)
• Air Force (Ejército del Aire)
• Guardia Civil (Military police) which serves for the most part as a rural and general purpose police force.

Economy

Main article: Economy of Spain

According to the World Bank, Spain's economy is the ninth largest worldwide and the fifth largest in Europe. As of 2006, absolute GDP was valued at $1.084 trillion according to the CIA Factbook, (see List of countries by GDP (nominal)). The per capita PPP is estimated at $27,400 (2006), trailing the major industrialized nations of the G7 and placing Spain at 13th in the European Union.

The centre-right government of former prime minister José María Aznar worked successfully to gain admission to the group of countries launching the euro in 1999. Unemployment stood at 7.6% in October 2006, a rate that compares favorably to many other European countries, and which is a marked improvement over rates that exceeded 20% in the early 1990s. Perennial weak points of Spain's economy include high inflation,^[44] a large underground economy,^[45] and an education system which OECD reports place among the poorest for developed countries, together with the United States and UK.^[46] Nevertheless, it is expected that the Spanish economy will continue growing based on the strengthening of industry, the growth of the global economy and increasing trade with Latin America and Asia.

The Spanish economy is credited for having avoided the virtual zero growth rate of some of its largest partners in the EU.^[47] In fact, the country's economy has created more than half of all the new jobs in the European Union over the five years ending 2005.^[48] The Spanish economy has thus been regarded lately as one of the most dynamic within the EU, attracting significant amounts of foreign investment.^[49] During the last four decades the Spanish tourism industry has grown to become the second biggest in the world,^[50] worth approximately 40 billion Euros in 2006^[51] More recently, the Spanish economy has benefited greatly from the global real estate boom, with construction representing 16% of GDP and 12% of employment.^[50] According to calculations by the German newspaper Die Welt, Spain is on pace to overtake countries like Germany in per capita income by 2011.^[52] However, the downside of the real estate boom has been a corresponding rise in the levels of personal debt; as prospective homeowners struggle to meet asking prices, the average level of household debt has tripled in less than a decade. Among lower income groups, the median ratio of indebtedness to income was 125% in 2005.^[53]

Demography

Main article: Demography of Spain

In 2007 Spain officially reached 45 million people^[54][55] registered at the Padrón municipal, an official record analogous to the British Register office. Spain's population density, at 87.8/km² (220/sq. mile), is lower than that of most Western European countries and its distribution along the country is very unequal. With the exception of the region surrounding the capital, Madrid, the most populated areas lie around the coast.

The population of Spain doubled during the twentieth century, due to the spectacular de