Spain

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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
Government		Constitutional monarchy
-	Head of State	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
Accession to the European Union		January 1, 1986
Area
-	Total	506,030 km² (51st) 195,364 sq mi
-	Water (%)	1.04
Population
-	2007 estimate	45,061,274 (28th)
-	Density	88.39 /km² (106th) 220 /sq mi
GDP (PPP)		2005[1] estimate
-	Total	$1.141 trillion (11th)
-	Per capita	$27,522 (2005) (27th)
GDP (nominal)		2005[2] estimate
-	Total	$1.127 trillion (9th)
-	Per capita	$27,767 (2006) (25th)
Gini? (2000)		34.7 (medium)
HDI (2004)		0.938 (high) (19th)
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 GMT 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: [ɛˈspaɲa]), officially the Kingdom of Spain (Spanish: Reino de España), is a country located in Southern Europe, with three small exclaves in North Africa (all bordering Morocco). The mainland of Spain is bounded on the south and east by the Mediterranean Sea (containing the Balearic Islands), on the north by the Bay of Biscay and on the west by the Atlantic Ocean (containing the Canary Islands off the African coast). Spain shares land borders with Portugal, France, Andorra, Gibraltar, and Morocco. It is the largest of three sovereign states that make up the Iberian Peninsula — the others being Portugal and Andorra.

There are a number of hypotheses as to the origin of the Roman name "Hispania," the root of the Spanish name España and the English name Spain.

Spain is a democracy which is organised as a parliamentary monarchy, and it is a member of the European Union since 1986. It is a developed country with the eighth-largest economy in the world.^[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 Rise and fall as a world power: From the Renaissance to the 19th 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 Demography 6.1 Immigration in Spain 6.2 Minority groups 6.3 Most populous Urban Regions 7 Culture 8 Identities 8.1 Languages 9 Religion 10 International rankings 11 Gallery of images 12 See also 13 References 14 Further reading 15 External links 15.1 Overviews 15.2 Government 15.3 Tourism 15.4 Other

[edit] History

Main article: History of Spain

Different cultures have settled in the area of modern Spain, such as the Celts, Iberians, Romans, Visigoths, and Moors. For just over five centuries, during the Middle Ages, large areas were under the control of Islamic rulers, a fragment of which survived as late as 1492, when the Christian kingdoms of Castile and Aragón completed the 770 years long process of driving the Moors out. That same year, Christopher Columbus reached the New World, leading to the creation of the world-wide Spanish Empire. Spain became the most powerful country in Europe, but continued wars and other problems gradually reduced Spain to a diminished status. The 20th century was dominated in the middle years by the Franco dictatorship; with the dawn of a stable democracy in 1978, and having joined what is now known as the European Union in 1986, Spain has enjoyed an economic and cultural renaissance.

[edit] 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 north of 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.

The 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.

The earliest urban culture is believed to be that of the semi-mythical southern city of Tartessos (perhaps pre-1100 BCE). Between about 500 BCE and 300 BCE, the seafaring Phoenicians, and Greeks founded trading colonies along the Mediterranean coast. The 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.^[4]

[edit] 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 BCE to 205 BCE), 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.^[5] The base Celt and Iberian population remained in various stages of romanisation,^[6] and local leaders were admitted into the Roman aristocratic class.^[4]

The Romans improved existing cities, such as Lisbon (Olissipo) and Tarragona (Tarraco), and established Zaragoza (Caesaraugusta), Mérida (Augusta Emerita), and Valencia (Valentia).^[7] 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, Hadrian, Marcus Aurelius and Theodosius I, and the philosopher Seneca were born in Hispania.^[8] Christianity was introduced into Hispania in the first century CE and it became popular in the cities in the second century CE.^[4] Most of Spain's present languages and religion, and the basis of its laws, originate from this period.^[5]

The first Barbarians to invade Hispania arrived in the 5th century, as the Roman empire decayed.^[5] The tribes of Goths, Visigoths, Swabians (Suebi), Alans, Asdings and Vandals, arrived in Spain by crossing the Pyrenees mountain range.^[9] The romanised Visigoths entered Hispania in 415, and, after the conversion of their monarchy to Roman Catholicism, the Visigothic Kingdom eventually came to encompass the whole of the Iberian Peninsula.

[edit] Muslim Iberia

Main article: Al-Andalus

In the 8th century, nearly all 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 Islamic Umayyad Empire.^[10] Only three small areas in the mountains of northern Spain managed to cling to their independence, Asturias, Navarra and Aragon.

Under Islam, Christians and Jews were recognised as "peoples of the book", and were free to practice their religion, but faced some discriminations. Conversion to Islam proceeded at a steadily increasing pace, starting with the aristocracy, as it offered an escape from the limitations and humiliations of their dhimmi status. By the 11th century Muslims were believed to have outnumbered Christians in Al-Andalus.^[11]

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 and clashed with the Arab leadership from the Middle East.^[12] 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.^[11]

Cordoba, Muslim Spain's capital, was viewed as the richest and most sophisticated city of medieval Europe.^[13] 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 expanding classical Greek learning in Western Europe. Spain's romanised cultures interacted with Muslim and Jewish cultures in complex ways, giving Spain a distinctive culture.^[11] Outside the cities, the land ownership system from Roman times remained largely intact as Muslim leaders rarely dispossessed landowners, and new crops and techniques led to a remarkable expansion of agriculture.

However, by the 11th century, Muslim holdings had fractured into rival Taifa kingdoms.^[11] The arrival of the North African Muslim ruling empires of the Almoravids and the Almohads restored unity upon Muslim holdings, with a stricter, less tolerant application of Islam, but ultimately, after some initial successes in invading the north, proved unable to resist the increasing military strength of the Christian states.^[4]

[edit] Fall of Muslim rule and unification

Main article: Reconquista

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 in 722 with the creation of the Christian Kingdom of Asturias, only eleven years after the Moorish invasion. As early as 739, Muslim forces were driven out of Galicia, which was to host one of medieval Christianity's holiest sites, Santiago de Compostella.^[14] The breakup of Al-Andalus into the competing Taifa kingdoms helped the expanding Christian kingdoms. The capture of the central city of Toledo in 1085 largely completed the reconquest of the northern half of Spain.^[15] 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.^[16] Also in the 13th century, the kingdom of Aragón expanded its reach across the Mediterranean to Sicily.^[17]

In 1469, the crowns of the Christian kingdoms of Castile and Aragón were united by the marriage of Isabella and Ferdinand. In 1492, these united kingdoms captured Granada, ending the last remnant of a 781-year presence of Islamic rule on the Iberian Peninsula.^[18] 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 large Jewish community was expelled^[19] during the Spanish Inquisition.^[20]

As Renaissance New Monarchs, Isabella and Ferdinand centralised royal power at the expense of local nobility, and the word España began to be used to designate the whole of the two kingdoms.^[20] With their wide-ranging political, legal, religious and military reforms, Spain emerged as a European great power.

[edit] Rise and fall as a world power: From the Renaissance to the 19th century

Main articles: Habsburg Spain and Enlightenment Spain

The unification of the kingdoms of Aragón, 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 first part of the 17th century, a position 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 last Italian Wars, the Dutch revolt, clashes with the Ottomans, the Anglo-Spanish war and war with France.^[21]

The Spanish Empire expanded to include nearly all of South and Central America, Mexico, southern portions of today's United States, the Philippines in Eastern Asia, the Iberian peninsula (including the Portuguese empire (from 1580)), southern Italy, Sicily, 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 colonialism. Along with the arrival of precious metals, spices, luxuries, and new agricultural plants, Spanish explorers and others brought back knowledge that transformed the European understanding of the world.^[22]

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

The coast villages of Spain and Balearic Islands were frequently attacked by Barbary pirates from North Africa, the Formentera was even temporarily left by its population and long stretches of the Spanish and Italian coasts were almost completely abandoned by their inhabitants. In 1514, 1515 and 1521 coasts of the Balearic Islands and the Spanish mainland were raided by infamous Turkish privateer and Ottoman admiral Hayreddin Barbarossa. According to Robert Davis between 1 million and 1.25 million Europeans were captured by North African pirates and sold as slaves between the 16th and 17th century. These slaves were captured mainly from seaside villages in Spain, Italy and Portugal.

Spain faced decline from the middle decades of the 17th century. A major factor behind this was the strain of continuing military efforts in Europe as the Spanish Habsburgs enmeshed the country in continent wide religious-political conflicts. These conflicts drained it of resources and undermined the European economy. Spain managed to hold on to the majority of the scattered Habsburg empire, and help Imperial forces of the Holy Roman Empire reverse much of the advance of 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 following the Thirty Years War.^[23] From the 1640s Spain went into a gradual but seemingly irreversible decline for the rest of the 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).^[24]

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).^[25]

The 18th century saw a gradual recovery and increasing prosperity through much of the empire. The new Bourbon monarchy drew on the French system of modernising the administration and the economy. 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.^[26]

[edit] 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, known to the Spanish as the War of Independence, and to the English as the Peninsular War. Napoleon was forced to intervene personally, defeating the Spanish army and Anglo-Portuguese forces. 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

[edit] Spanish-American War

Main article: 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 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 became known, gave increased impetus to Spain's cultural revival (Generation of '98) in which there was much critical self examination. However, political stability in such a dispersed and variegated land, comprising strongly differentiated regional identities and deeply held divisions over governmental legitimacy, would elude the country for some decades and was ultimately imposed via dictatorship in 1939.

[edit] The 20th 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 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 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 Germany and 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.^[27]

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.

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 the U.S. to establish a military presence on the Iberian peninsula. 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.

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, political autonomy were established. In the Basque Country, moderate Basque nationalism coexisted with a radical nationalism supportive of the terrorist group ETA.

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.

[edit] 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 a fast process of economic modernisation.

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 possibly affecting national elections scheduled for March 14, three days after the attack. The Madrid train bombings had an adverse effect on the image of the then-ruling conservative party Partido Popular (PP) which polls had indicated were likely to win 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 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.

[edit] Politics

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 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 decentralised Federation of Autonomous Communities; it is regarded by many as the most decentralised nation in Europe; 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 widely replaces the State police functions (see Mossos d'Esquadra and Ertzaintza).

The Government of Spain has been involved in a long-running campaign against Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA), a terrorist organisation founded in 1959 in opposition to Franco and dedicated to promoting Basque independence through violent means. They consider themselves a guerrilla organisation while they are listed as a terrorist organisation 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.

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

[edit] 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).

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

[edit] 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 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.

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

• A temperate version of the 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.

[edit] Territorial disputes

[edit] Territories claimed by Spain

Spain has called for the return of Gibraltar, a small but strategic British overseas territory near the Strait of Gibraltar. In referenda held in this regard to date, the overwhelming majority of Gibraltarians have rejected any union with Spain. UN resolutions call on the United Kingdom and Spain to reach an agreement over the status of Gibraltar.

[edit] Spanish territories claimed by other countries

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

[edit] Economy

Main article: Economy of Spain

According to the World Bank, Spain's economy is the eighth largest worldwide and the fifth largest in Europe. As of 2005, the absolute GDP was valued at $1.12 trillion, just behind Italy and ahead of Canada (see List of countries by GDP (nominal)). It is listed 22nd in GDP per capita, just behind the United Arab Emirates and ahead of Singapore.

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 below 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 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, a large underground economy, low productivity and one of the lowest rates of investment in research and development among developed countries, also an education system slated in OECD reports as one of the worst in Western Europe. Due to the loss of competitiveness, manufacturing jobs are being lost to cheaper workforce countries in 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.^[28] 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.^[29] The Spanish economy has thus been regarded lately as one of the most dynamic within the EU, attracting significant amounts of foreign investment.^[30] During the last four decades the Spanish tourism industry has grown to become the second biggest in the world^[31] worth approximately 40,000 million Euros in 2006^[32] More recently, the Spanish economy has benefited greatly from the global real estate boom, with construction representing 16% of GDP and 12% of employment.^[31] According to calculations by the German newspaper Die Welt, Spain is on pace to overtake countries like Germany in per capita income by 2011.^[33] However, the downside of this has been a corresponding rise in the levels of personal debt; as prospective homeowners struggle to meet asking prices, so 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.^[34]

[edit] Demography

Main article: Demography of Spain

In 2007 Spain officially reached 45 million people^[35][36] 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 demographic boom by the 60's and early 70's. 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. 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%), Eastern Europe (16.33%), North Africa (14.99%) and Sub-Saharan Africa (4.08%).^[37] In 2005, Spain instituted a 3-month amnesty program through which certain hitherto undocumented aliens were granted legal residency. 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. These are mostly English, French, German, and Dutch from fellow EU countries and, from outside the EU, Norwegian.

[edit] Immigration in Spain

Main article: Immigration to Spain

According to the Spanish government there were 3.7 million foreign residents in Spain in 2005; independent estimates put the figure at 4.8 million people, or 11% of the total population (Red Cross, World Disasters Report 2006). According to residence permit data for 2005, about 500,000 were Moroccan, another 500,000 were Ecuadorian, more than 200,000 were Romanian, and 260,000 were Colombian. Other important foreign communities are British (8.09%), French (8.03%), Argentine (6.10%), German (5.58%) and Bolivian (2.63%). In 2005, a regularisation programme increased the legal immigrant population by 700,000 people. Since 2000, Spain has experienced high population growth as a result of immigration flows, despite a birth rate that is only half the replacement level. This sudden and ongoing inflow of immigrants, particularly those arriving clandestinely by sea, has caused noticeable social tension.

Based on 2004 figures ^[38] Spain has the second highest immigration rates within the EU, just after Cyprus.

There are a number of reasons to explain this, including Spain's cultural ties with Latin America, its geographical position, the porosity of its borders, the large size of its submerged economy and the strength of the agricultural and construction sectors which demand more low cost labour than can be offered by the national workforce. Another statistically significant factor is the large number of residents of EU origin typically retiring to Spain's Mediterranean coast. In fact, Spain has been Europe's largest absorber of migrants for the past six years, with its immigrant population increasing fourfold as 2.8 million people have arrived (see Immigration to Spain).

[edit] Minority groups

In the 16th century, a famous minority group, the Gitanos, a Roma people group, began to arrive in Spain.

Spain has a number of descendants of populations from former colonies (especially Equatorial Guinea) and immigrants from several Sub-Saharan and Caribbean countries have been recently settling in Spain. There are also sizeable numbers of Asian immigrants, most of whom are of Chinese, Filipino, Middle Eastern, Pakistani and Indian origins; Spaniards of Latin American descent are sizeable as well and a fast growing segment. Other growing groups are Britons (761,000 in 2006), Germans and other immigrants from western and eastern Europe.^[39]

After the 19th century, some Jews established themselves in Spain as a result of migration from former Spanish Morocco, escape from Nazi repression, and immigration from Argentina. Spanish law allows Sephardi Jews to claim Spanish citizenship.

[edit] Most populous Urban Regions

1. Madrid 5,943,041
2. Barcelona 5,327,872
3. Valencia 1,623,724
4. Sevilla 1,317,098
5. Málaga 1,074,074
6. Bilbao 946,829

See also: List of cities in Spain and List of cities in Spain over 20,000 population (2001 census)

[edit] Culture

Main articles: Culture of Spain, Spanish literature, Music of Spain, Sport in Spain, and Cinema of Spain

Spain is, along with Italy, the country with the highest number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the word, with a total of 41.

Further information: UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Spain

[edit] Identities

Main articles: Spanish people and Nationalities in Spain

The Spanish Constitution of 1978, in its second article, recognises historic entities ("nationalities“, a carefully chosen word in order to avoid the more politically loaded "nations") and regions, inside the unity of the Spanish nation. Spain's identity is for some people more an overlap of different regional identities than a sole Spanish identity. Indeed, some of the regional identities may be even in conflict with the Spanish one.

It is this last feature of "shared identity" between the more local level or Autonomous Community and the Spanish level which makes the identity question in Spain complex and far from univocal.

[edit] Languages

Main article: Languages of Spain

The Spanish Constitution, although affirming the sovereignty of the Spanish Nation, recognises historical nationalities.

Spanish (called both español and castellano in the language itself) is the official language throughout Spain, but other regional languages are also spoken, and are the primary languages in some of their respective geographies. The following languages are co-official with Spanish according to the appropriate Autonomy Statutes.

• Aranese (aranés)
• Basque (euskera).
• Catalan (català), which is known as Valencian in the Autonomous Community of Valencia.
• Galician (galego).

There are also some other surviving Romance minority languages such as Asturian, Astur-Leonese, Leonese, Extremaduran, Cantabrian, Aragonese, and others. Unlike Aranese, Basque, Catalan and Galician, these do not have any official status because of their very small number of speakers or because of lack of political will in the regions they are spoken^[40].

In the tourist areas of the Mediterranean coast and the islands, English and German are widely spoken by tourists, foreign residents, and tourism workers.

[edit] Religion

Main article: Religion in Spain

Although Chapter 2 of the Constitution states that no religion shall have a state character, Roman Catholicism is the main religion in the country. About 76% of Spaniards self-identify as Catholics, about 2% with another religious faith, and about 19% identify as non-believers or atheists. A study conducted in October 2006 by the Spanish Centre of Sociological Investigations^[41] shows that from the 76% of Spaniards who identify as Catholics or other religious faith, 54% hardly ever or never go to church, 15% go to church some times a year, 10% some time per month and 19% every Sunday or multiple times per week. About 22% of the whole Spanish population attend religious services at least once a month.

Evidence of the secular nature of contemporary Spain can be seen in the widespread support for the legalisation of same-sex marriage in Spain — over 66% of Spaniards support gay marriage according to a 2004 study by the Centre of Sociological Investigations.^[42] Indeed, in June 2005 a bill was passed by 187 votes to 147 to allow gay marriage, making Spain the third country in the European Union to allow same-sex couples to marry after Belgium and the Netherlands.

Protestant denominations are also present, all of them with less than 50,000 members, about 20,000 in the case of the Latter-day Saints (Mormons). Evangelism has been better received among Gypsies than among the general population; pastors have integrated flamenco music in their liturgy. Taken together, all self-described "Evangelicals" slightly surpass Jehovah's Witnesses (105,000) in number.

The recent waves of immigration have led to an increasing number of Muslims, who have about 1 million members. Muslims had not lived in Spain for centuries; however, colonial expansion in Northern and Western Africa gave some number of residents in the Spanish Morocco and the Sahara Occidental full citizenship. Nowadays, Islam is the second largest religion in Spain, accounting for approximately 3% of the total population.

Along with these waves of immigration, an important number of Latin American people, who are usually strong Catholic practitioners, have helped the Catholic Church to recover.

Judaism was practically non-existent until the 19th century, when Jews were again permitted to enter the country. Currently there are around 50,000 Jews in Spain, all arrivals in the past century and accounting less than 1% of the total number of inhabitants. Spain is believed to have been about 8% Jewish on the eve of the Spanish Inquisition.

Further information: History of the Jews in Spain

[edit] International rankings

• Reporters Without Borders world-wide press freedom index 2002: Rank 40 out of 139 countries.^[43]

• The Economist Intelligence Units worldwide quality-of-life index 2005: Rank 10 out of 111 countries (ahead of countries like the United States of America, the United Kingdom, and France)
• Nation Master's list by economic importance: Rank 9 of 25 countries, only surpassed by G-8 members (except Russia) and Australia.
• Nation Master's list by technological achievement: Rank 18 of 68 countries.

[edit] Gallery of images

The Sagrada Familia by night, Barcelona	The Cathedral of Seville	The Alhambra, Granada	Aqueduct of Segovia
The Sanctuary of Santa María Magdalena in Novelda, Spain	Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao	Antequera, in Málaga (Spain)	Coast of Cantabria, in the so called Green Spain.
The Maspalomas dunes Gran Canaria,Canary Islands	Aran valley, Catalonia	The Pyrenees	Jaen Cathedral

[edit] See also

v • d • e Spain-related topics
History	Prehistoric Iberia · Roman Hispania · Medieval Spain · Kingdom of Spain · Age of Expansion · Age of Enlightenment · Reaction and Revolution · First Spanish Republic · The Restoration · Second Spanish Republic · Spanish Civil War · Spain under Franco · Transition to Democracy · Modern Spain
Politics	Constitution · King · Government · Cortes Generales · Political parties · Elections · People's Defender · Human rights · Foreign relations · EU politics
Geography	Autonomous Communities · Autonomous Cities · Provinces · Comarcas · Municipalities · Islands · Extreme points
Economy	Economic history · Euro (Spanish coins) · Companies · Bank of Spain
Demographics	People · Languages · Immigration · Nationalities · Religion · Education
Culture	Architecture · Art · Bullfighting · Cinema · Cuisine · Holy Week · Falles · Flamenco · Literature · Myths and legends · Moros y Cristianos · Music · San Fermín
Other	Communications · Military · Sports · Transport
Portal

[edit] References

[edit] Further reading

• Thomas, Hugh (2003). Rivers of gold: the rise of the Spanish Empire. London: George Weidenfeld & Nicholson. ISBN 978-0297645634. 
• John Hickman and Chris Little, "Seat/Vote Proportionality in Romanian and Spanish Parliamentary Elections", Journal of Southern Europe and the Balkans Volume 2, Number 2, November 2000.
• Harold Raley, "The Spirit of Spain", Houston: Halcyon Press 2001. (ISBN 0-9706054-9-8)
• George Orwell's Homage to Catalonia.

[edit] External links

[edit] Overviews Find more information on Spain by searching Wikipedia's sister projects Dictionary definitions from Wiktionary Textbooks from Wikibooks Quotations from Wikiquote Source texts from Wikisource Images and media from Commons News stories from Wikinews Learning resources from Wikiversity Spain: CIA World Factbook entry (Updated on May 16, 2006; info as available on January 1, 2005) Encyclopaedia Britannica's Spain Portal site Maps of Spain: satellite images, relief maps, outlines and themed maps of Spanish autonomous communities, provinces and municipalities iberianature a guide to the environment, geography, climate, wildlife, natural history and landscape of Spain Spain: The Economist Country Briefings entry (current) This article contains material from the Library of Congress Country Studies, which are United States government publications in the public domain. (Link to Library of Congress Spain Country Series site (1988)) [edit] Government La Constitucion — Spanish Constitution Casa Real.es – Official site of the Spanish Royal Family La Moncloa.es — Prime Minister's official site (Spanish) administracion.es e-government Portal Congreso de los Diputados — Official site of the Congress of Deputies El Senado – Official site of the Senate Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Spanish) INEBase — National Institute of Statistics Agencia Estatal de Administración Tributaria — State Tax Administration Agency [edit] Tourism Spain travel guide from Wikitravel Spain Official Website of Tourism in Spain [edit] Other History of Spain: Primary Documents Chronology Spain Proel.org — Languages of Spain Geographic locale v • d • e Sovereign states of Europe Albania · Andorra · Armenia2 · Austria · Azerbaijan1 · Belarus · Belgium · Bosnia and Herzegovina · Bulgaria · Croatia · Cyprus2 · Czech Republic · Denmark3 · Estonia · Finland · France3 · Georgia1 · Germany · Greece · Hungary · Iceland · Ireland · Italy3 · Kazakhstan1 · Latvia · Liechtenstein · Lithuania · Luxembourg · Malta · Moldova · Monaco · Montenegro · Netherlands3 · Norway3 · Poland · Portugal3 · Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) · Romania · Russia1 · San Marino · Serbia · Slovakia · Slovenia · Spain3 · Sweden · Switzerland · Turkey1 · Ukraine · United Kingdom3 · Vatican City 1 Has majority of its territory in Asia.  2 Entirely in Asia but having socio-political connections with Europe.  3 Has dependencies or similar territories outside Europe. v • d • e Countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea Albania Algeria Bosnia and Herzegovina Croatia  Cyprus  Egypt  France  Greece  Israel  Italy  Lebanon  Libya  Malta  Monaco  Montenegro  Morocco  Slovenia  Spain  Syria  Tunisia  Turkey For dependent and other territories, see Dependent territory and List of unrecognized countries. 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the WTO in their own right: Austria • Belgium • Bulgaria • Cyprus • Czech Republic • Denmark • Estonia • Finland • France • Germany • Greece • Hungary • Ireland • Italy • Latvia • Lithuania • Luxembourg • Malta • Netherlands and Netherlands Antilles • Poland • Portugal • Romania • Slovakia • Slovenia • Spain • Sweden • United Kingdom 2 Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China. v • d • e Monarchies Absolute monarchy  ·  † Semi-constitutional monarchy  ·  Elective monarchy African Lesotho · †Morocco · Swaziland Asian †Bahrain · Bhutan · Brunei · Cambodia · Japan · †Jordan · †Kuwait · Malaysia · Nepal · Oman · Qatar · Saudi Arabia · Thailand · Tonga · United Arab Emirates Commonwealth Realms Antigua and Barbuda · Australia · Bahamas · Barbados · Belize · Canada · Grenada · Jamaica · New Zealand · Papua New Guinea · St. Kitts and Nevis · St. Lucia · St. Vincent and the Grenadines · Solomon Islands · Tuvalu · United Kingdom European Andorra · Belgium · Denmark · 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