Spain is located on the Iberian Peninsula in south-western Europe, with Canary Islands off the North African Atlantic coast, the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean Sea, two large archipelagos and two cities, Ceuta and Melilla, in the North African mainland in addition to several small islands in the Alboran Sea near the Moroccan coast.
Spain’s mainland is bordered to the west and northwest by Portugal and the Atlantic Ocean, to the north and northeast by France, Andorra, and the Bay of Biscay, and to the south and east by the Mediterranean Sea except for a small land boundary with Gibraltar; Spain is the only European country that has a border with an African country (Morocco) and its territory in Africa accounts for almost 5% of its population, located mostly in the Canary Islands but also in Ceuta and Melilla.
Spain is the largest country in Southern Europe and the fourth largest country in the European continent with an area of 505,990 km2. Spain has the sixth largest population in Europe and the fifth largest in the European Union.
General information
- Population: 46423064
- Official language: Spanish
- Area: 505,990 km2
- Ethnic groups: Spanish: 89.9%, Other: 10.1%
- Capital: Madrid
- Government: Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy
- GDP (PPP): $1.769 trillion
- Currency: EUR
- ISO code: ES
- Time zone: General: UTC +1 Summer time: UTC+2 Canary Islands: UTC Summer time: UTC +1
Climate and culture
Spain is a democracy organised in the form of a parliamentary government under a constitutional monarchy. It is the world’s fourteenth largest economy by nominal GDP and sixteenth largest by purchasing power parity.
The country generally experiences warm sunny climate with humid wind currents blowing in the west from the Atlantic Ocean.
Spanish culture is highly impacted by Roman culture with a slight addition of local identity, which will differ depending on province. Roman Catholic Church always has had strong presence in Spain. Despite Spain is a western European country – Spain is one of the major Latin countries in Europe, with unique art, architecture and literature.
