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About Spain
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 Spain, officially the Kingdom of Spain (Spanish: España, Reino de España), is a country located in Southern Europe, with two small exclaves in North Africa (both bordering Morocco). The mainland of Spain is bounded on the south and east by Mediterranean Sea (containing the Balearic Islands), on the north by the Cantabrian Sea 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.
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.
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 organized as a parliamentary monarchy. It is a developed country with the eighth-largest economy in the world.
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General:
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Area:
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504,750 sq km; 194,884 sq miles
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Population:
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39.5 million (growth rate 0.2%)
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Languages:
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Castilian Spanish (official language)
Catalonian, Galician, Valenciano, Vasco (are also official languages in the autonomous communities of Catalonia, Galicia, Valencia and Basque Country, respectively)
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Religion:
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99% Roman Catholic
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Capital:
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Madrid
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Form of Government:
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Constitutional Monarchy
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Head of State:
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King Juan Carlos
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President:
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José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero
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Of Interest for Visitors:
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Tourism:
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45 million visitors per year
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Currency:
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Euro (Exchange Rate)
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Credit Cards:
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Visa, Eurocard, American Express, MasterCard, Diners Club and Access are widely accepted.
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Visas:
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No visa required for EU passport holders and for U.S. and Canadian citizens staying up to 90 days.
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Time:
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GMT/UTC plus 1 hour
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Electricity:
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220V
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Weights and Measures:
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metric
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Spain, officially the Kingdom of Spain (Spanish: España, Reino de España), is a country located in Southern Europe, with two small exclaves in North Africa (both bordering Morocco). The mainland of Spain is bounded on the south and east by Mediterranean Sea (containing the Balearic Islands), on the north by the Cantabrian Sea 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.
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.
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 organized as a parliamentary monarchy. It is a developed country with the eighth-largest economy in the world.
|
General:
|
|
Area:
|
504,750 sq km; 194,884 sq miles
|
|
Population:
|
39.5 million (growth rate 0.2%)
|
|
Languages:
|
Castilian Spanish (official language)
Catalonian, Galician, Valenciano, Vasco (are also official languages in the autonomous communities of Catalonia, Galicia, Valencia and Basque Country, respectively)
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|
Religion:
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99% Roman Catholic
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|
Capital:
|
Madrid
|
|
Form of Government:
|
Constitutional Monarchy
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|
Head of State:
|
King Juan Carlos
|
|
President:
|
José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero
|
Of Interest for Visitors:
|
|
Tourism:
|
45 million visitors per year
|
|
Currency:
|
Euro (Exchange Rate)
|
|
Credit Cards:
|
Visa, Eurocard, American Express, MasterCard, Diners Club and Access are widely accepted.
|
|
Visas:
|
No visa required for EU passport holders and for U.S. and Canadian citizens staying up to 90 days.
|
|
Time:
|
GMT/UTC plus 1 hour
|
|
Electricity:
|
220V
|
|
Weights and Measures:
|
metric
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Capital
(and largest city) |
Madrid
40°26′N,
3°42′W
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Official lan- guages
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Spanish 2
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Government
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Constitutional
monarchy
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Head of State |
King Juan Carlos I
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President
of the Government
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José L.
Rodríguez
Zapatero
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| Formation |
15th century
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| - |
Dynastic union |
1516
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Unification |
1469
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de facto |
1716
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de jure |
1812
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Accession to EU
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January 1, 1986
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| Area |
| - |
Total |
506,030 km² (51st)
195,364 sq mi
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| - |
Water (%) |
1.04
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| Population |
| - |
2006 census |
44,708,964
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Density |
88.39 /km² (106th)
220 /sq mi
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| GDP (PPP) |
2005 estimate
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Total |
$1.133 trillion (12th)
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Per capita |
$26,320 (25th)
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| GDP (nominal) |
2005 estimate
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Total |
$1.124 trillion (9th)
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Per capita |
$27,226 (22nd)
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| Gini? (2000) |
34.7 (medium)
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| HDI (2004) |
 0.938 (high) (19th)
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Currency
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Euro (€)3 ()
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Time zone
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CET4 (UTC+1)
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Summer (DST) |
CEST (UTC+2)
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Internet TLD
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.es5
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Calling code
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+34
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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. |
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Capital
(and largest city) |
Madrid
40°26′N,
3°42′W
|
|
Official lan- guages
|
Spanish 2
|
|
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
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Accession to EU
|
January 1, 1986
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| Area |
| - |
Total |
506,030 km² (51st)
195,364 sq mi
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| - |
Water (%) |
1.04
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| Population |
| - |
2006 census |
44,708,964
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| - |
Density |
88.39 /km² (106th)
220 /sq mi
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| GDP (PPP) |
2005 estimate
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| - |
Total |
$1.133 trillion (12th)
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| - |
Per capita |
$26,320 (25th)
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| GDP (nominal) |
2005 estimate
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| - |
Total |
$1.124 trillion (9th)
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| - |
Per capita |
$27,226 (22nd)
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| Gini? (2000) |
34.7 (medium)
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| HDI (2004) |
0.938 (high) (19th)
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Currency
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Euro (€)3 ()
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Time zone
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CET4 (UTC+1)
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| - |
Summer (DST) |
CEST (UTC+2)
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Internet TLD
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.es5
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Calling code
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+34
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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. |
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