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| About the Spain | ||
| View History | ||
| National name: | Reino de España | |
| Government: | Parliamentary Monarchy | |
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| Geography | ||
| Spain occupies 85% of the Iberian Peninsula, which it shares with Portugal, in southwest Europe. Africa is less than 10 mi (16 km) south at the Strait of Gibraltar. A broad central plateau slopes to the south and east, crossed by a series of mountain ranges and river valleys. Principal rivers are the Ebro in the northeast, the Tajo in the central region, and the Guadalquivir in the south. Off Spain's east coast in the Mediterranean are the Balearic Islands (1,936 sq mi; 5,014 sq km), the largest of which is Majorca. Sixty mi (97 km) west of Africa are the Canary Islands (2,808 sq mi; 7,273 sq km). |
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| Land Area: | 192,873 sq mi (499,542 sq km); | |
| Total Area: | 194,897 sq mi (504,782 sq km)¹ | |
| Population (2006 est.): 40,397,842 (growth rate: 0.1%); birth rate: 10.1/1000; infant mortality rate: 4.4/1000; life expectancy: 79.7; density per sq mi: 210 | ||
| Capital and largest city (2003 est.): Madrid, 5,130,000 (metro. area), 3,169,400 (city proper) |
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| Other large cities: Barcelona, 1,528,800; Valencia, 741,100; Seville, 679,100 | ||
| Monetary Unit: | Euro (formerly peseta) | |
| Languages: | Castilian Spanish 74% (official nationwide); Catalan 17%, Galician 7%, Basque 2% (each official regionally) |
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| Ethnicity/race: | composite of Mediterranean and Nordic types | |
| Religions | Roman Catholic 94%, other 6% | |
| Literacy rate: | 98% (2003 est.) | |
| Economic summary | ||
| GDP/PPP | (2005 est.): $1.017 trillion; per capita $25,200. | |
| Real growth rate: | 3.4% | |
| Inflation: | 3.4% | |
| Unemployment | 10.1% | |
| Arable Land: | 27% | |
| Agriculture: | grain, vegetables, olives, wine grapes, sugar beets, citrus; beef, pork, poultry, dairy products; fish. | |
| Labor Force: | 20.67 million; agriculture 5.3%, manufacturing, mining, and construction 30.1%, services 64.6% (2004 est.). |
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| Industries: | textiles and apparel (including footwear), food and beverages, metals and metal manufactures, chemicals, shipbuilding, automobiles, machine tools, tourism, clay and refractory products, footwear, pharmaceuticals, medical equipment. |
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| Natural resources: | coal, lignite, iron ore, uranium, mercury, pyrites, fluorspar, gypsum, zinc, lead, tungsten, copper, kaolin, potash, hydropower, arable land. | |
| Exports: | $194.3 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.): machinery, motor vehicles; foodstuffs, pharmaceuticals, medicines, other consumer goods. | |
| Imports | $271.8 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.): machinery and equipment, fuels, chemicals, semifinished goods, foodstuffs, consumer goods, measuring and medical control instruments. | |
| Major Trading Partners: | France, Germany, Portugal, Italy, UK, Netherlands (2004). | |
| Communications | ||
| Telephones | main lines in use: 17.336 million (1999); mobile cellular: 8.394 million (1999). |
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| Radio broadcast stations: | AM 208, FM 715, shortwave 1 (1998). Radios: 13.1 million (1997). |
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| Television broadcast stations: | 224 (plus 2,105 repeaters); note: these figures include 11 television broadcast stations and 88 repeaters in the Canary Islands (1995). |
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| Televisions: | 16.2 million (1997). | |
| Internet Service Providers: | 56 (2000). | |
| Internet users | 7.89 million (2002). | |
| Transportation | ||
| Railways: | total: 14,189 km (2002). | |
| Highways: | total: 663,795 km; paved: 657,157 km (including 10,317 km of expressways); unpaved: 6,638 km (1999). | |
| Waterways | 1,045 km. | |
| Ports and Harbors | Aviles, Barcelona, Bilbao, Cadiz, Cartagena, Castellon de la Plana, Ceuta, Huelva, La Coruna, Las Palmas (Canary Islands), Malaga, Melilla, Pasajes, Gijon, Santa Cruz de Tenerife (Canary Islands), Santander, Tarragona, Valencia, Vigo. | |
| Airports | 152 (2002). | |
| International Disputes | ||
| Gibraltar residents vote overwhelmingly in referendum against “total shared sovereignty” arrangement worked out between Spain and UK to change 300-year rule over colony; Morocco protests Spain's control over the coastal enclaves of Ceuta, Melilla, and Penon de Velez de la Gomera, the islands of Penon de Alhucemas and Islas Chafarinas, and surrounding waters; Morocco also rejected Spain's unilateral designation of a median line from the Canary Islands in 2002 to set limits to undersea resource exploration and refugee interdiction; Morocco allowed Spanish fishermen to fish temporarily off the coast of Western Sahara after an oil spill soiled Spanish fishing grounds; Portugal has periodically reasserted claims to territories around the town of Olivenza, Spain. | ||
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| View History | ||
| Phils: 6 Jul 08 - 1:31 am | ||
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