General Information

Spain is located in the Southwestern of Europe, bordering with the Bay of Biscay, the Mediterranean Sea, the North Atlantic Ocean and the Pyrenees Mountains of the southwest of France. It is divided in 17 autonomous communities: Andalucia, Aragon, Asturias, Baleares (Balearic Islands), Canarias (Canary Islands), Cantabria, Castilla-La Mancha, Castilla y Leon, CataluÒa, Comunidad Valenciana, Extremadura, Galicia, La Rioja, Madrid, Murcia, Navarra, Pais Vasco (Basque Country) and 2 autonomous cities: Ceuta and Melilla. The autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla plus three small islands of Islas Chafarinas, PeÒon de Alhucemas, and PeÒon de Velez de la Gomera, administered directly by the Spanish central government, are all located off the coast of Morocco and are collectively referred to as Places of Sovereignty.

The Iberian Peninsula was formed of independent kingdoms prior to the Moslem occupation. The occupation began in the 8th century A. D. and lasted nearly seven centuries; the reconquest began on the north, culminating in Granada in 1492, completing the unification of several kingdoms.

Population

Spain has approximately 40,341,462 people. The official language of Spain is Spanish though there also some other regional languages spoken in some parts of the Peninsula.

Economy

Spain has suffered a huge transformation in the last three decades from a rural, agricultural country into a nation with a diversified economy with strong manufacturing and service sectors. Nowadays, the economy of Spain is the fifth largest in Europe, accounting for around 9% of EU output. The income per capita is well ahead of the IPC of Ireland, Portugal and Greece. Spain's main trading partners are France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Portugal, and the United States for exports and Germany, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, Belgium, the United States, and Japan for imports. Spain's main imports include machinery, mineral fuels, transportation equipment, food products, metals and metal products, and textiles. Spain exports motor vehicles, machinery, basic metals, vegetable products, chemicals, mineral products, and textiles among other products. In terms of tourism, Spain is the world's third most visited country after the USA and France. Economy growth has been 2.7% in 2004 and is expected to rise to 3% in 2006. Fiscal consolidation, the fall in interest rates due to the introduction of the euro, structural reforms and the immigration have created a virtuous circle of rapidly rising activity sustained by strong job creation.