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Spain

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see Spain (disambiguation).


"Espaa" redirects here. For other uses, see Espaa (disambiguation).
Coordinates: 40N 4W

Kingdom of Spain
Reino de Espaa[a][b]

Flag

Coat of arms

Motto: "Plus Ultra" (Latin)


"Further Beyond"

Anthem: "Marcha Real" (Spanish)[2]


"Royal March"

Location of Spain (dark green)


in Europe (green & dark grey)
in the European Union (green)

Capital

Madrid

and largest city

4026N 342W

Official language

Spanish[c]

and national
language
Recognised

Aragonese

regional

Astur-Leonese

languages[c]

Basque
Catalan
Galician
Occitan

Ethnic groups (201


89.9% Spanish

5)

10.1% others
Spanish

Demonym

Spaniard
Government

Unitary parliamentaryconstitutional monarc


hy

Monarch

Felipe VI

Prime Minister

Mariano Rajoy

Legislature

Cortes Generales

Upper house

Senate

Lower house

Congress of Deputies

Formation
Dynastic

20 January 1479

De facto

23 January 1516

De jure

9 June 1715

First constitution

19 March 1812

Current

29 December 1978

democracy
EEC accession[d]

1 January 1986

Area
Total

505,990[4] km2 (51st)


195,364 sq mi

Water (%)

1.04

Population
2015 census

46,423,064[e] (30th)

Density

92/km2 (112th)
240/sq mi

GDP (PPP)

2015 estimate

Total

$1.674 trillion[6] (16th)

Per capita

$36,143[6] (33rd)

GDP (nominal)

2016 estimate

Total

$1.242 trillion[6] (12th)

Per capita

$26,823[6] (29th)

Gini (2013)

33.7[7]
medium

HDI (2014)

0.876[8]
very high 26th

Currency

Euro[f] () (EUR)

Time zone

CET (UTC+1)
WET (UTC)

Summer (DST)

CEST (UTC+2)
WEST (UTC+1)
Note: Spain observes CET/CEST, except
theCanary Islands which observe WET/WEST

Date format

dd/mm/yyyy (CE)

Drives on the

right

Calling code

+34

ISO 3166 code

ES

Internet TLD

.es[g]

Spain ( /spen/; Spanish: Espaa [espaa] ( listen)), officially theKingdom of


Spain (Spanish: Reino de Espaa),[a][b] is a sovereign statelargely located on the Iberian
Peninsula in southwestern Europe, witharchipelagos in the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea,
and several small territories on and near the North African coast. Its Mainland is bordered to the
south and east by the Mediterranean Sea except for a small land boundary with Gibraltar; to the
north and northeast by France, Andorra, and the Bay of Biscay; and to the west and northwest
by Portugal and the Atlantic Ocean. Along with France and Morocco, it is one of only three countries
to have both Atlantic and Mediterranean coastlines. Extending to 1,214 km (754 mi), the Portugal
Spain border is the longest uninterrupted borderwithin the European Union.
i

Spanish territory includes two archipelagos: the Balearic Islands, in the Mediterranean Sea, and
the Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean off the African coast. It also includes two
major exclaves, Ceuta and Melilla, in continental North Africa; and the islands and peones (rocks)
of Alborn,Alhucemas, Chafarinas and Vlez de la Gomera. With an area of
505,990 km2 (195,360 sq mi), Spain is the largest country in Southern Europe, the second largest
country in Western Europe and the European Union, and the fourth largest country in the European
continent. By population, Spain is the sixth largest in Europe and the fifth in the European Union.
Modern humans first arrived in the Iberian Peninsula around 35,000 years ago. Iberian cultures
along with ancient Phoenician, Greek and Carthaginiansettlements developed on the peninsula until
it came under Roman rule around 200 BCE, after which the region was named Hispania. In the
Middle Ages, the area was conquered by Germanic tribes and later by the Moors. Spain emerged as
a unified country in the 15th century, following the marriage of the Catholic Monarchs and the
completion of the centuries-long reconquest, or Reconquista, of the peninsula from the Moors in
1492. In the early modern period, Spain became one of history's first global colonial empires, leaving
a vast cultural and linguistic legacy that includes over 500 million Spanish speakers, making Spanish
the world's second most spoken first language, after Chinese and before English.
Spain is a democracy organised in the form of a parli

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