Spain, officially the Kingdom of Spain (Spanish: España, Reino de España[1]), is a country located in Southern
Europe, with two small exclaves in North Africa (both bordering Morocco). Spain is a democracy which is organized as a
parliamentary monarchy. It is a developed country with the ninth-largest economy in the world.[2] It is the larger of
two sovereign states that make up the Iberian Peninsula — the other is Portugal.
To the west, Spain borders Portugal, to the south, it borders Gibraltar (a British overseas territory) and Morocco,
through its cities in North Africa (Ceuta and Melilla). To the northeast, along the Pyrenees mountain range, it borders
France and the tiny principality of Andorra. It 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.
The term Spain (España in Spanish) is derived from the Roman name for the region: Hispania.
Contents [hide]
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 Rise as a World Power: From the Renaissance to the nineteenth century
1.6 Napoleonic rule and its consequences
1.7 Spanish-American War
1.8 The 20th century
1.9 21st century
2 Politics
3 Administrative divisions
4 Geography
4.1 Territorial disputes
4.1.1 Territories claimed by Spain
4.1.2 Spanish territories claimed by other countries
5 Economy
6 Demographics
6.1 Immigration in Spain
6.2 Most populous metropolitan regions
7 Identities
7.1 Languages
7.2 Minority groups
8 Religion
9 Most important media
9.1 National TV channels (analogue)
9.2 Regional TV channels
9.3 DVB-T channels
9.4 Radio stations
9.5 Newspapers
10 International rankings
11 See also
12 References and notes
13 Further reading
14 Other images
15 External links
15.1 Overviews
15.2 Government
15.3 Tourism
15.4 Other
[edit] History
Main article: History of Spain
[edit] Prehistory and pre-Roman peoples in the Iberian Peninsula
Main article: Prehistoric Spain
The earliest records of hominids living in Europe to date has been found in the Spanish cave of Atapuerca which has
become a key site for world Palaeontology due to the importance of the fossils found there, dated roughly 1,000,000
years ago.
Modern humans in the form of Cro-Magnons began arriving in the Iberian Peninsula from north of the Pyrenees some 35,000
years ago. The more conspicuous sign of prehistoric human settlements are the famous paintings in the northern Spanish
Altamira (cave), which were done ca. 15,000 BCE and are regarded, along with those in Lascaux, France, as paramount
instances of cave art.
The earliest urban culture documented is that of the semi-mythical southern city of Tartessos, pre- 1100 BCE. The
seafaring Phoenicians, Greeks and Carthaginians successively settled along the Mediterranean coast and founded trading
colonies there over a period of several centuries. Around 1100 BCE, Phoenician merchants founded the trading colony of
Gadir or Gades (modern day Cádiz) near Tartessos. In the 9th century BCE the first Greek colonies, such as Emporion
(modern Empúries), were founded along the Mediterranean coast on the East, leaving the south coast to the Phoenicians.
The Greeks are responsible for the name Iberia, apparently after the river Iber (Ebro in Spanish). In the 6th century
BCE the Carthaginians arrived in Iberia while struggling first with the Greeks and shortly after with the Romans for
control of the Western Mediterranean. Their most important colony was Carthago Nova (Latin name of modern day
Cartagena).
The native peoples which the Romans met at the time of their invasion in what is now known as Spain were the Iberians,
inhabiting from the Southwest part of the Peninsula through the Northeast part of it, and then the Celts, mostly
inhabiting 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, the one known as Celtiberian.
[edit] Roman Empire and Germanic invasions
Main article: Hispania
Roman bridge in CordobaHispania supplied Rome with food, olive oil, wine and metal. The emperors Trajan, Hadrian,
Marcus Aurelius and Theodosius I, the philosopher Seneca and the poets Martial, Quintilian and Lucan were born in
Spain. The Spanish Bishops held the Council at Elvira in 306. The collapse of the Western Roman empire did not lead to
the same wholesale destruction of Western classical society as happened in areas like Britain, Gaul and Germania
Inferior during the Dark Ages, even if the institutions, infrastructure and economy did suffer considerable
degradation. Spain's present languages, its religion, and the basis of its laws originate from this period. The
centuries of uninterrupted Roman rule and settlement left a deep and enduring imprint upon the culture of Spain.
The first hordes of Barbarians to invade Hispania arrived in the 5th century, as the Roman empire decayed. The tribes
of Goths, Visigoths, Swebians (Suebi), Alans, Asdings and Vandals, arrived to Spain by crossing the Pyrenees mountain
range. They were all of Germanic origin. This led to the establishment of the Swebian Kingdom in Gallaecia, in the
northwest, and the Visigothic Kingdom elsewhere. For a while, the Germanic peoples lived under their own laws while the
much larger romanized local populations continued to live under Roman-inspired law. The Visigothic Kingdom eventually
encompassed the entire Iberian Peninsula with the Roman Catholic conversion of the Goth monarchs. The famous horseshoe
arch, which was adapted and perfected by the later Muslim era builders was in fact originally an example of Visigothic
art.
[edit] Muslim Iberia
Main article: Al-Andalus
In the 8th century, nearly all the Iberian peninsula was quickly conquered (711–71 , by mainly Berber Muslims (see
Moors), who had crossed over from North Africa. Visigothic Spain was the last of a series of lands conquered by the
Islamically inspired armies of the Umayyad empire. Indeed, they continued northwards until they were defeated in
central France at the Battle of Tours, 732. Astonishingly, the invasion started off as an invitation from a Visigoth
faction within Spain. Only three small Christian counties in the mountains of northern Spain managed to cling to their
independence: Asturias, Navarra and Aragon, which were eventually to become kingdoms.
In its first centuries the Muslim emirate was strong, stopping Charlemagne's forces at Saragossa. In the 11th century
the break up of Al-Andalus led to the creation of the Taifa kingdoms, who attempted to outshine each other in art and
culture and were often at war, becoming vulnerable to the consolidating power of Spain's Christian kingdoms.
Interior of the Mezquita in Córdoba, a Muslim mosque until the Reconquest, after which it became a Christian
cathedral.Spanish society under Muslim rule became increasingly complex, partly because Islamic conquest did not
involve the systematic conversion of the much larger conquered population to Islam. At the same time, Christians and
Jews were recognized under Islam as "peoples of the book", and so given dhimmi status. Most importantly, the Islamic
Berber and Arab invaders were a small minority, ruling over several million Christians. Thus, Christians and Jews were
free to practise their religion, but faced certain restrictions and financial burdens. Conversion to Islam proceeded at
a steadily increasing pace, as it offered social and economic and political advantages. By the 11th century Muslims are
believed to have outnumbered Christians in Al-Andalus.
The Muslim community in Spain was itself diverse and beset by social tensions. The Berber people of North Africa had
provided the bulk of the armies, clashed with the Arab leadership from the Middle East. The Berbers soon gave up
attempting to settle the harsh lands in the north of the Meseta Central handed to them by the Arab rulers. Over time
the relatively tiny number of Moors gradually increased with immigration and inter-marriage. Large Moorish populations
grew, most notably (though not only) in the south, above all in the Guadalquivir River valley.
Cordoba, Muslim Spain's capital, was the richest and most sophisticated city of medieval Europe. It was not until the
12th century that western medieval Christendom began reaching comparable levels of sophistication, and this was due in
no small part to the stimulus coming from Muslim Spain. 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 major
part in reviving and contributing to the tradition of classical Greek philosophy, mathematics and science in Western
Europe. New crops and techniques led to a remarkable expansion of agriculture. Magnificent mosques, palaces, and other
monuments were constructed. Outside the cities, the mixture of large estates and small farms that existed in Roman
times remained largely intact because Muslim leaders rarely dispossessed landowners.
The relative social peace and splendour broke down with the later, stricter Muslim ruling sects of Almoravids and
Almohads.
Roman, Jewish, and Muslim culture interacted in complex ways, giving Spanish culture — religion, literature, music,
art and architecture, and writing systems - a rich and distinctive heritage. However, as the 11th century drew to a
close most of the north and centre of Spain was back under Christian control.
[edit] Fall of Muslim rule and unification
Main article: Reconquista
Equal partners: Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of CastileThe long period of expansion of the Christian kingdoms,
beginning in 722 with the Muslim defeat in the Battle of Covadonga and the creation of the Christian Kingdom of
Asturias, only eleven years after the Moorish invasion, is called the Reconquista. As early as 739 Muslim forces were
driven out of Galicia, which came to host one of Christianity's holiest sites, Santiago de Compostela. Areas in the
northern mountains and around Barcelona were soon captured by Frankish and local forces, providing a base for Spain's
Christians. The 1085 conquest of the central city of Toledo largely completed the reconquest of the northern half of
Spain.
By the middle of the 12th century the Almoravid empire, which had conquered territories as far north as Saragossa, had
disintegrated. The great Moorish strongholds in the south fell to Christian Spain, most notably Córdoba in 1236 and
Seville in 1248. Within a few years of this nearly the whole of the Iberian peninsula had been reconquered, leaving
only the Muslim enclave of Granada as a small tributary state in the south. Surrounded by Christian Castile but afraid
of another invasion from Muslim northern Africa, it clung tenaciously to its isolated mountain splendour for two and
half centuries. It came to an end in 1492 when Isabella and Ferdinand captured the southern city of Granada, the last
Moorish city in Spain. The Treaty of Granada[3] guaranteed religious tolerance toward Muslims while Spain's Jewish
population of over 200,000 people was expelled that year. At Ferdinand's urging the Spanish Inquisition had been
established in 1478. With a history of being invaded by three Islamic empires (Ummayad, Almoravid and Almohad), there
was a fear that Muslims might assist yet another invasion. Also, Aragonese labourers were angered by landlords' use of
Moorish workers to undercut them. A 1499 Muslim uprising, triggered by forced conversions, was crushed and was followed
by the first of the expulsions of Muslims, in 1502. The year 1492 was also marked by the discovery of the New World.
Isabella I funded the voyages of Christopher Columbus. Ferdinand and Isabella, as exemplars of the Renaissance New
Monarchs, consolidated the reform of their respective economies that had been pursued by their predecessors and
enforced reforms that weakened the position of the great magnates against the new centralized crowns. In their contests
with the French army in the Italian Wars, Spanish forces under Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba eventually achieved
success, against the French knights, thereby revolutionizing warfare. The combined Spanish kingdoms of Castile and
Aragon, vibrant and expansive, emerged as a European great power.
The process of religious conversion which started with the arrival of the Moors was reversed from the mid 13th century
as the Reconquista was advancing south: as this happened the Muslim population either fled or forcefully converted into
Catholicism, mosques and synagogues were converted into churches.
With the union of Castile and Aragón in 1479 and the subsequent conquest of Granada in 1492 and Navarre in 1512, the
word Spain (España, in Spanish- derived from the ancient "Hispania") began being used only to refer to the new united
kingdoms (they kept their separate laws and institutions) and not to the whole of Hispania.
[edit] Rise as a World Power: From the Renaissance to the nineteenth century
Main article: Habsburg Spain
Main article: Enlightenment Spain
Until the late 15th century, Castile and León, Aragón and Navarre were independent states, with independent
languages, monarchs, armies and, in the case of Aragon and Castile, two empires: the former with one in the
Mediterranean and the latter with a new, rapidly growing one in the Americas. The process of political unification
continued into the early 16th century. It was the unification of these separate Iberian empires that became the base of
what is now referred to as the Spanish Empire.
King Charles I of Spain, aka
Holy Roman Emperor Charles VDuring the 16th century, early Habsburg Spain (i.e. the reigns of Charles V, Philip II)
became the most powerful state in Europe. The Spanish Empire covered most territories of South and Central America,
Mexico, the south of North America (New Spain), some of Eastern Asia (including the Philippines), the Iberian peninsula
(including the Portuguese empire invaded by the Kingdom of Spain and the Duke of Alba in 1580), southern Italy, Sicily,
Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands. It was the first empire about which it was said that the sun did not
set. It was a time of daring explorations by sea and by land, the opening up of new trade routes across oceans,
conquests and the beginning of European colonization. Not only did this lead to the arrival of ever increasing
quantities of precious metals, spices and luxuries, and new agricultural plants, that had a great influence on the
development of Europe, but the explorers, soldiers, sailors, traders and missionaries also brought back with them a
flood of knowledge that radically transformed the European understanding of the world, ending conceptions inherited
from medieval times. An example of this Renaissance intellectual transformation is to be seen in the influential School
of Salamanca.
Of note during the 16th and 17th centuries was the cultural efflorescence now known as the Spanish Golden Age.
The middle and latter 17th century saw a grim decline and stagnation under the drifting leadership of the last Spanish
Habsburgs. The lingering, "decline of Spain" after a long period of considerable growth was partly due to its successes
in the 15th and 16th centuries that gave rise to the treasure fleets across the Atlantic and the Manila galleons across
the Pacific, which, combined with the earlier political, social and military adaptations, made Spain the most powerful
nation in Europe from the beginning of the 16th century until the middle of the 17th century.
Inflation in the 16th century, partly caused in Spain's case by the opening of the American silver mines from the mid
16th century, engendered an inflation that undermined Spanish trades and commerce (Spain was never densely populated so
much of the trade and finance were diverted to peripheral areas of the empire, such as Flanders and northern Italy as
well as neighbouring areas).
The wars defending the Spanish empire against envious European rivals, internal successions and the European wars
(Eighty Years' War, and, above all the vast and complicated Thirty Years' War - drained men and money into other parts
of Europe) for Habsburg interests, as much for reasons of religious faith (Counter Reformation) as for defending
dynastic claims.
With Spain stretched to its limits by war across Europe it suffered heavy defeats in attempting to control simultaneous
rebellions in Portugal and Catalonia. Portugal won its independence in 1640, though Catalonia and the Italian
territories were recovered. Spain thus lost significant parts of what had become part of its overseas empire that had
been ruled from Lisbon (Brazil and several strongholds in India, Africa and a number of islands).
Segovia Alcazar, a fusion of palace and military fortressThe once vibrant intellectual life was gradually smothered by
an ever more severe inquisition enforced orthodoxy. Domination by a self serving nobility with medieval attitudes, due
to the reversal of Isabella's and Ferndinand's reforms by the Habsburgs, forstalled economic development. Churchmen,
benefiting from vast land grants, were accused of hypocrisy by peasants. The growing beggary forced many to live by
their wits, helping to increase the popularity of picaresque literature. This 17th century stagnation was mirrored
throughout a war weary Europe, as the growing global oceanic trade that had been pioneered by the Iberian countries was
increasingly diverted to north-western Europe.
Controversy over succession to the throne consumed what had become a leaderless country with a vast empire, and much of
Europe, during the first years of the 18th century.
Further information: War of the Spanish Succession
It was only after this war ended and a new dynasty—the French Bourbons—was installed that a true Spanish state was
established when the absolutist first Bourbon king Philip V of Spain in 1707 dissolved the pro-parliamentary Aragon
court and unified the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon into a single, unified Kingdom of Spain, abolishing many of the
regional privileges and autonomies (fueros) that had hampered Habsburg rule. The British abandoned the conflict after
Utrecht (1713), which led to Barcelona's easy defeat by the "absolutists" in 1714. The National Day of Catalonia still
commemorates this defeat.
Following the wars at its commencement the 18th century saw a long, slow recovery, with an expansion of the iron and
steel industries in the Basque Country, a growth in ship building, some increase in trade and a recovery in food
production and a gradual recovery of population in Castile. The new Bourbon monarchy drew on the French system in
trying to modernize the administration and economy, in which it was more successful in the former than the latter. In
the last two decades of the century, with the ending of Cadiz's royally granted monopoly, trade experienced rapid
growth and even witnessed the initial steps of an industrialization of the textile industry in Catalonia. Spain's
effective military assistance to the rebellious British colonies in the American War of Independence won it renewed
international standing.
[edit] Napoleonic rule and its consequences
The reform efforts of Charles III and his ministers led to a profound gap between partisans of the Enlightenment
(Afrancesados) and partisans of the Old Spain. The subsequent war with France in 1793 polarized the country in an
apparent reaction against the Gallicised elites. The disastrous Spanish economic situation, and controversial relations
with the juggernaut that was Napoleonic France, led to the Mutiny of Aranjuez on March 17, 1808, and forced the
abdication of the king in favour of Joseph Bonaparte. The abdication was masterminded by Napoleon, who distrusted the
unreliable ally that Spain was under the House of Bourbon.
The new foreign monarch was regarded with scorn. On May 2, 1808, the people of Madrid took up arms in a nationalist
uprising against the French army. A massively destructive and savage war ensued, known to the Spanish as the War of
Independence, and to the English as the Peninsular War. Napoleon was forced to intervene personally, bringing the
Spanish army to its knees and driving the Anglo-Portuguese forces out — but triggering a massive guerrilla war as a
result. The guerrillas and Wellington's Anglo-Portuguese army were very effective: their actions, 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 had numerous consequences for Spain. The war proved disastrous for Spain's economy, reversing the
improvements of the late 18th century. It also brought a political and territorial legacy, and left a deeply divided
country that was prone to political instability for more than a century. In 1812, the Liberal Courts of Cádiz redacted
a Constitution, bringing to the country a new form of government under which future monarchs would be obliged to rule,
more or less willingly. The power vacuum between 1808 and 1814 enabled local juntas in the Spanish colonies in the
Americas to rule independently. Starting in 1809, the hemisphere began the process of freeing itself from Spanish rule.
By 1825, Spain had lost all of its colonies in Latin America, with the exception of Cuba and Puerto Rico.
Further information: Mid-nineteenth century Spain
[edit] Spanish-American War
At the end of the 19th century, Spain lost all of its remaining old colonies in the Caribbean and Asia-Pacific regions,
including Cuba, Puerto Rico, Philippines, and Guam to the United States after unwittingly and unwillingly being thrust
into the Spanish-American War of 1898. In 1899 Spain sold its remaining Pacific possessions to Germany.
"The Disaster" of 1898, as the Spanish-American War was called, gave increased impetus to Spain's cultural revival
(Generation of '9 in which there was much critical self examination, and relieved it from the burden of its last
major colonies. However, political stability in such a dispersed and variegated land, caught between pockets of
modernity and large areas of extreme rural backwardness and strongly differentiated regional identities and deep
divisions over legitimacy originating from the Napoleonic period, would elude the country for some decades yet, and was
ultimately imposed only by a brutal dictatorship in 1939.
[edit] The 20th century
The bombing of Gernika during the Spanish Civil War, 1937The 20th century initially brought little peace; Spain played
a minor part in the scramble for Africa, with the colonization of Western Sahara, Spanish Morocco and Equatorial
Guinea. However the area assigned to Spain was mostly abrupt terrain populated by warlike tribesmen with an age-old
history of fighting outsiders. A poorly planned and led advance into the interior due to political pressure led to
military disaster in Morocco in 1921. This contributed to discrediting the monarch and worsened political instability.
A period of dictatorial 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 (where
the autonomy did not have any effect due to the civil war) and gave voting rights to women.
Right-Left tensions continued to mount in spite of the 1936 elections, with the destruction of Church property and
political assassinations. A coup failed but 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 Germany and Italy. The
Republican side was supported by the Soviet Union and Mexico, but was crucially left isolated through the British-led
policy of Non-Intervention. The Spanish Civil War has been called the first battle of the Second World War. Spanish
involvement in the Second World War was in fact a continuation of its civil war. Under Franco Spain was neutral though
sympathetic to the Axis.
Over a hundred thousand highly motivated Spanish Civil War veterans were to give both sides the benefit of their
experience throughout the Second World War in Europe, the Eastern Front and North Africa. Many in the French Resistance
were Spanish as was the 9th Armoured Company that spearheaded Général Leclerc's 2nd Armoured Division's liberation of
Paris. On the other side, about 40,000 Spaniards fought against the Soviet Union in the Wehrmacht's División Azul
(Blue Division).
The only legal party under Franco's regime (see Spain under Franco) was the Falange española tradicionalista y de las
JONS, formed in 1937 by the forcible fusion of the pseudo-fascist Falange and the monarchist Carlist movement. The
party emphasized anti-Communism, Catholicism, nationalism, and imperial expansion, and was one of the regime's major
instruments of internal control.
After World War II Spain was politically and economically isolated, and was kept out of the United Nations until 1955,
when it became strategically important for US president Eisenhower to establish a military presence in the Iberian
peninsula. In the 1960s, Spain began to enjoy economic growth (Spanish miracle) which gradually transformed it into a
modern industrial economy with a thriving tourism sector.
Upon the death of General Franco in November 1975, his personally designated heir Prince Juan Carlos assumed the
position of king and head of state. With the approval of the Spanish Constitution of 1978 and the arrival of democracy,
were given some political autonomy, which was then soon extended to all Spanish regions. In the Basque Country, moderate
Basque nationalism coexists with radical nationalism supportive of the terrorist group ETA. In 1982, the Spanish
Socialist Worker's Party (PSOE) came to power and played a crucial role leading the country down the road to Community
membership. One of the essential objectives of the party was attaining EU membership, which they associated with
modernization.
The scene of one of the Madrid bombings.On January 1, 1999 Spain adopted the Euro as its national currency.
Since the current Constitution was passed in 1978, Spain has had 5 Presidentes del Gobierno (Prime Ministers) as of
September 2006.
[edit] 21st century
On November 18 2002, the oil tanker Prestige sank near to the Galician coast, causing a huge oil spill. It has since
been regarded as one of the worst environmental disasters in Spanish history.
On March 11 2004, a series of bombs exploded in commuter trains in Madrid, Spain. This act of terror killed 191 people
and wounded 1,460 more, besides having arguably a dramatic effect on the upcoming national elections. The 11 March 2004
Madrid train bombings had an adverse effect on the then-ruling conservative party Partido Popular (PP) which polls were
giving as a likely winner of the elections, thus helping the election of Zapatero's Partido Socialista Obrero Español
(PSOE). There were two nights of incidents around the PP headquarters, with PSOE 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. These incidents did interfere with the last day of campaigning when, according to the Spanish
electoral system regulations, any kind of political propaganda is prohibited and PP's candidate (Mariano Rajoy)
appeared in some newspapers as interior minister.
March 14 2004 saw the PSOE party elected into government, with Zapatero becoming the new PM of Spain. Since the PSOE's
election victory Zapatero's government has withdrawn Spanish troops from Iraq and tackled a series of social issues,
including same-sex marriages, gender-violence and divorce. Zapatero also presided over the Spanish Parliament's
approval of the new (and controversial) Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia. Spain has also experienced increasing
immigration since the start of the twenty-first century.
[edit] Politics
More information on politics and government of Spain can be found at Politics of Spain, the main article in the
Politics and government of Spain series.
King Juan Carlos I 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 or 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.
Spain is, at present, what is called a State of Autonomies, formally unitary but, in fact, functioning as a highly
decentralized Federation of Autonomous Communities, each one with slightly different levels of self-government. The
little differences within this system are due to the fact that the devolution process from the centre to the periphery
was a process initially thought to be asymmetrical, granting a higher degree of self government only to those
autonomous governments ruled by nationalist parties (namely Catalonia and the Basque Country) who were much more vocal
in the matter and seeking a more federalist kind of relationship with the rest of Spain. Conversely the rest of
Autonomous Communities would have a lower self-government. This pattern of asymmetrical devolution has been described
as a coconstitutionalism and the devolution process adopted by the United Kingdom since 1997 shares traits with it.
However, as years passed, the Autonomous Communities which in the beginning were thought to have a lower profile have
caught up in terms of self-government with the nationalist ruled Autonomous communities and the gap in terms of
self-government is not that wide anymore.
In the end, Spain is regarded as probably the most decentralized State in Europe at the present moment, with all of its
different territories managing locally their Health and Education systems (just to mention some aspects of the public
budget) and with some other territories (the Basque Country and Navarre) even managing their own public finances
without hardly any presence of the Spanish central government in this regard or, in the case of Catalonia and the
Basque Country, equipped with their own, fully operative and completely autonomous, police corps which widely replaces
the State police functions in these territories (see Mossos d'Esquadra and Ertzaintza).
José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, Spanish prime ministerThe Government of Spain has been involved in a long-running
campaign against Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA), a terrorist organization 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 actually listed as a terrorist organization by both the European Union and the United States in their
watchlists on the matter. Although the current nationalist led Basque Autonomous government does not endorse any kind
of violence, their different approaches as to how to terminate ETA and their different approaches to the separatist
movement are a source of tension between the central and Basque governments.
Initially ETA targeted primarily Spanish security forces, military personnel and Spanish Government officials. As the
security forces and prominent politicians improved their own security, ETA increasingly focused its attacks on the
tourist seasons (scaring tourists was seen as a way of putting pressure on the government, given the sector's
importance to the economy, although no tourists were injured) and local government officials in the Basque Country. The
group carried out numerous bombings against Spanish Government facilities and economic targets, including a car bomb
assassination attempt on then-opposition leader Aznar in 1995, in which his armoured car was destroyed but he was
unhurt. The Spanish Government attributes over 800 deaths to ETA during its campaign of rebellion.
On 17 May 2005, all the parties in the Congress of Deputies, except the PP, passed the Central Government's motion
giving approval to the beginning of peace talks with ETA, without making political concessions and with the requirement
that it give up its weapons. PSOE, CiU, ERC, PNV, IU-ICV, CC and the mixed group —BNG, CHA, EA y NB— supported it
with a total of 192 votes, while the 147 PP parliamentarians objected. ETA declared a "permanent cease-fire" that came
into force on March 24 2006. In the years leading up to the permanent cease-fire, the government had had more success
in controlling ETA, due in part to increased security cooperation with French authorities.
On February 20 2005, Spain became the first country to allow its people to vote on the European Union constitution that
was signed in October 2004. The rules state that if any country rejects the constitution then the constitution will be
declared void. Despite a very low participation (42%), the final result was very strongly in affirmation of the
constitution, making Spain the first country to approve the constitution via referendum (Hungary, Lithuania and
Slovenia approved it before Spain, but they did not hold referendums).
See also: List of Spanish monarchs and Kings of Spain family tree
[edit] Administrative divisions
Main articles: Autonomous communities of Spain and Provinces of Spain
Autonomous communities of Spain.Spain is divided into 17 autonomous communities (comunidades autónomas) and 2 African
autonomous cities (ciudades autónomas) - (Ceuta and Melilla. These autonomous communities are subdivided into 50
provinces (provincias).
Traditionally and historically, some provinces are also divided into comarcas (singular comarca). A comarca is roughly
equivalent to a US "county" or an English district. In some of the regions (e.g. Catalonia) their borders are clear so
they are easy to identify. In some other (e.g. Extremadura) their legal status is not very formal so they rather
correspond to natural areas (valleys, sierres and so on).
The lowest administrative division of Spain is the municipality (municipio).
See also: Comarcas of Spain and List of municipalities of Spain
[edit] Geography
Main article: Geography of Spain
Mainland Spain is dominated by high plateaus and mountain ranges such as the Pyrenees or the Sierra Nevada. Running
from these heights are several major rivers such as the Tajo, 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, in the east
there are alluvial plains with medium rivers like Segura, Júcar and Turia. Spain is bound to the south and east by
Mediterranean Sea (containing the Balearic Islands), to the north by the Cantabrian Sea and to its west by the Atlantic
Ocean, where the Canary Islands off the African coast are found. Spain shares borders with Andorra 63.7 km, France 623
km, Gibraltar 1.2 km, Portugal 1,214 km and Morocco 6.3 km .
Due to Spain's own geographical situation which allows only its northern part to be in the way of the Jet Stream's
typical path and due to its own orographic conditions, its climate is extremely diverse. It can be roughly divided in
the following areas:
The Northern and Eastern Mediterranean coast (Catalonia, Northern half of the Valencian Community and the Balearic
islands): Warm to hot summers with relatively mild to cool winters. Precipitation averaging 600 mm (23.6 in) a year.
These show an average Mediterranean climate.
The South East Mediterranean coast (Alicante, Murcia and Almería): Hot summers and mild to cool winters. Very dry,
virtually sub-desertic, rainfall as low as 150 mm (5.9 in) a year in the Cabo de Gata which is reported to be the
driest place in Europe. These areas qualify mostly as Semiarid climate in terms of precipitation.
Southern Mediterranean coast (Málaga and Granada's coastal areas): Warm summers, very mild winters. Average yearly
temperatures close to 20 degrees Celsius (68°F) and wet. Close to Subtropical climate.
The Guadalquivir valley (Seville, Cordoba): Very hot and dry summers and mild winters. Relatively dry climate.
South West Atlantic coast (Cadiz, Huelva): Pleasant summers, very mild and temperate winters. Relatively wet climate.
The inner land plateau (Madrid, Valladolid, Toledo) and the Ebro Valley (Zaragoza): Cold winters (depending mostly on
altitude) and hot summers, close to the Continental climate. Relatively dry weather (400-600mm or 15.7 - 23.6 in per
year).
Northern Atlantic coast or "Green Spain" (Galicia, Asturias, Coastal Basque country): A very wet climate (averaging
1000 mm. or 39.4 in a year, some spots over 1200 mm. or 47.2 in), with mild summers and mild to cool winters. These
show mostly an Oceanic climate.
The Pyrenees: overall wet weather with cool summers and cold winters, the highest part of it has an Alpine climate.
The Canary Islands: Subtropical climate in terms of temperature, being these mild and stable (18 °C to 24 °C; 64 °F
to 75 °F) throughout the year. Desertic in the Eastern islands and moister in the westernmost ones.
At 194,884 mi² (504,782 km²), Spain is the world's 51st-largest country (after Thailand). It is comparable in size to
Turkmenistan, and somewhat larger than the US state of California.
Location Record highs Record lows
(°C) (°F) (°C) (°F)
Mediterranean
Murcia 47.2°C 117.0°F −6.0°C 21.2°F
Malaga 44.2°C 111.6°F −3.8°C 25.1°F
Valencia 42.5°C 108.5°F −7.2°C 19°F
Alicante 41.4°C 106.5°F −4.6°C 23.7°F
Palma of Mallorca 40.6°C 105.1°F - -
Barcelona 39.8°C 103.6°F −10.0°C 14°F
Gerona 41.7 107°F −13.0°C 8.6°F
The inner land
Sevilla 50.0°C 122°F −5.5°C 22.1°F
Cordoba 46.6°C 115.9°F - -
Badajoz 45.0°C 113°F - -
Albacete 42.6°C 108.7°F −24.0°C −11.2°F
Zaragoza 42.6°C 108.7°F - -
Madrid 42.2°C 108.0°F −14.8°C 5.4°F
Burgos 41.8°C 107.2°F −22.0°C −7.6°F
Valladolid 40.2°C 104.4°F - -
Salamanca - - −20.0°C −4.0°F
Teruel - - −27.0°C −2.2°F
Northern Atlantic coast (°C) (°F) (°C) (°F)
Orense 45°C 113°F −9.0°C 15.8°F
Bilbao 42.0°C 107.6°F −8.6°C 16.5°F
La Coruña 37.6°C 99.7°F −4.8°C 23.4°F
Gijón 36.4°C 97.5°F −4.8°C 23.4°F
The Canary Islands
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria 38.6°C 102°F 11.4 ° 48.6°F
[edit] Territorial disputes
[edit] Territories claimed by Spain
Spain has called for the return of Gibraltar, a small but strategic British overseas territory which lies near the
Peninsula's southernmost tip, in the Eastern side of the Strait of Gibraltar. It was conquered during the War of the
Spanish Succession in 1704 and was ceded to Britain in perpetuity in the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht. An overwhelming
majority of Gibraltar's 30,000 inhabitants want to remain British, as they have repeatedly proven in referenda on the
issue. The UN resolutions (2231 (XXI) and 2353 (XXII)) call on the UK and Spain to reach an agreement to resolve their
differences over Gibraltar, while Spain does not recognize this border and so it is ordinarily kept under strict
traffic scrutiny (in the recent past it was often closed as a means to put pressure to Gibraltar, since its economy is
partially dependent on Spanish goods and workers).
Moreover, the exact tracing of the demarcation line established by the Treaty of Utrecht is disputed between both sides
(Spain claims that the UK is also occupying a tract of land around the airport which was not originally included in the
Treaty provisions).
Gibraltar is officially a non-self governing territory or colony according to the UN original definition; in this
regard, article 103 of the UN Charter states, universally speaking, that the right of self-determination of the people
from the non-self governing territory should be the paramount and overriding principle. To this, the Spanish position
objects that it would overrule the only other legal document available on the matter, the Treaty of Utrecht, which
states that the area must return to Spain should the UK renounce to it.
[edit] Spanish territories claimed by other countries
Morocco claims the Spanish cities of Ceuta and Melilla and the Vélez, Alhucemas, Chafarinas, and Perejil islands, all
on the Northern coast of Africa. Morocco points out that those territories were obtained when Morocco could not do
anything to prevent it and has never signed treaties ceding them, but Morocco did not yet exist in the 14th and 15th
century when these places became Spanish possessions. Spain claims that these territories are integral parts of Spain
and have been Spanish or linked to Spain since before the Islamic invasion of Spain in 711; the Ceuta area (including
the islet of Perejil) returned to Spanish rule in 1415 and the rest did so only a few years after the conquest of
Granada in 1492. Spain claims that Morocco's only claim on these territories is merely geographical. Parallelism with
Egyptian ownership of the Sinai (in Asia) or Turkish ownership of Istanbul (in Europe) is often used to support the
Spanish position.
Portugal does not recognize Spain's sovereignty over the territory of Olivenza. The Portuguese claim that the Treaty of
Vienna (1815), to which Spain was a signatory, stipulated return of the territory to Portugal. Spain alleges that the
Treaty of Vienna left the provisions of the Treaty of Badajoz (1801) intact.
[edit] Economy
Main article: Economy of Spain
King Juan Carlos, depicted on the Spanish €2 coinAccording to World Bank, Spain's economy is the ninth biggest
worldwide and the fifth largest in Europe. As of 2005, GDP was valued at $1.12 Trillion, just after Italy and before
Canada (see List of countries by GDP (nominal)).
Spain's mixed economy supports a GDP that on a per capita basis is 90% of that of the four leading West European
economies and slightly above the European Union average. The centre-right government of former Prime Minister Aznar
worked successfully to gain admission to the first group of countries launching the European single currency, the euro,
on 1 January 1999. The Aznar administration continued to advocate liberalization, privatization, and deregulation of the
economy and introduced some tax reforms to that end. Unemployment fell steadily both under the Aznar and Zapatero
administration. It affects now 7.6% of the labour force (October 2006) having fallen from a high of 20% and above in
the early 1990s. It also compares favourably to the other large European countries, most notably, Germany with an
unemployment of approximately 12%. Growth of 2.4% in 2003 was satisfactory given the background of a faltering European
economy, and has steadied since at an annualized rate of about 3.3% in mid 2005 and 3.5% in the first quarter, 3,7% in
the second quarter and 3,8% in the third quarter of 2006. There is a widespread concern, however, that the growth is
too concentrated upon a few sectors (mainly residential building and those related to it). The current Prime Minister
Rodríguez Zapatero has pointed out as matters to be addressed during his administration plans to reduce government
intervention in business, combat tax fraud, and support innovation, research and development, but also intends to
reintroduce labour market regulations that had been scrapped by the Aznar government. Adjusting to the monetary and
other economic policies of an integrated Europe — and reducing unemployment — will pose challenges to Spain over
the next few years.
There is general concern that Spain's model of economic growth (based largely on mass tourism, the construction
industry, and manufacturing sectors) is faltering and may prove unsustainable over the long term. The first report of
the Observatory on Sustainability (Observatorio de Sostenibilidad) — published in 2005 and funded by Spain's Ministry
of the Environment and Alcalá University — reveals that the country's per capita GDP grew by 25% over the last ten
years, while greenhouse gas emissions have risen by 45% since 1990. Although Spain's population grew by less than 5%
between 1990 and 2000, urban areas expanded by no less than 25% over the same period. Meanwhile, Spain's energy
consumption has doubled over the last 20 years and is currently rising by 6% per annum. This is particularly worrying
for a country whose dependence on imported oil (meeting roughly 80% of Spain's energy needs) is one of the greatest in
the EU. Large-scale unsustainable development is clearly visible along Spain's Mediterranean coast in the form of
housing and tourist complexes, which are placing severe strain on local land and water resources. Recent developments
include the construction of reverse osmosis plants along the Spanish Costas, to probably meet over 1% of Spain's total
water needs. Other perennial weak points of Spain's economy include one of the lowest rates of investment in Research
and Development. Education in the EU, as well, is particularly worrying, given that the country's generally
poorly-trained workforce is no longer as competitive in price terms as it was several decades ago. As a result, many
manufacturing jobs are going abroad — mainly to Eastern Europe and Asia.
On the brighter side, the Spanish economy is credited for having avoided the virtual zero growth rate of some of its
largest partners in the EU (namely France and Germany) by the late 90's and beginning of the 21st century, in a process
which started with former Prime Minister Aznar's liberalization and deregulation reforms aiming to reduce the State's
role in the market place. Thus in 1997, Spain started an economic cycle - which keeps going as of 2006 - marked by an
outstanding economic growth, with figures around 3%, often well over this rate..[4] In fact, the country's economy has
created more than half of all the new jobs in the European Union over the past five years. [1]
This has narrowed steadily the economic gap between Spain and its leading partners in the EU over this period. Hence,
the Spanish economy has been regarded lately as one of the most dynamic within the EU, even able to replace the leading
role of much larger economies like the aforementioned, thus subsequently attracting significant amounts of foreign
investment.[5]
[edit] Demographics
Geographical distribution of the Spanish population in 2005Main article: Demographics of Spain
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 demographic boom by the 60's and
early 70's. Then, after the birth rate plunged in the 80's and Spain's population became stalled, a new population
increase started based initially in the return of many Spanish who emigrated to other European countries during the
70's and, more recently, it has been boosted by the large figures of foreign immigrants, mostly from Latin America
(38.75% of them), Eastern Europe (16.33%), Maghreb (14.99%) and Sub-Saharan Africa (4.08%).[6] Also some important
pockets of population coming from other countries in the European Union are found (20.77% of the foreign residents),
specially along the Mediterranean costas and Balearic islands, where many choose to live their retirement or even
telework. There has also been a steady influx of English, French, German, and Dutch immigrants since the 70's as
well.However, the pattern of growth was extremely uneven due to large-scale internal migration from the rural interior
to the industrial cities during the 60's and 70's. No fewer than eleven of Spain's fifty provinces saw an absolute
decline in population over the century.
[edit] Immigration in Spain
Madrid
Barcelona
The Hemispheric at the Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències, ValenciaAccording to the Spanish government there were 3.7
million foreign residents in Spain in 2005; independent estimates put the figure at 4.8 million or 15.1% of
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