Spain
hideSpain /ˈspeɪn/ (help·info) (Spanish: España, pronounced [esˈpaɲa] ( listen)), or the Kingdom of Spain (Spanish: Reino de España), is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Its mainland is bordered to the south and east by the Mediterranean Sea except for a small land boundary with Gibraltar; to the north by France, Andorra, and the Bay of Biscay; and to the northwest and west by the Atlantic Ocean and Portugal. Spanish territory also includes the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean, the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean off the African coast, and two autonomous cities in North Africa, Ceuta and Melilla, that border Morocco. With an area of 504,030 km², Spain is the second largest country in Western Europe and the European Union after France.
Because of its location, the territory of Spain was subject to many external influences, often simultaneously, since prehistoric times and through the dawn of Spain as a country. Conversely, the country itself has been an important source of influence to other regions, chiefly during the Modern Era, when it became a global empire that has left a legacy of over 400 million Spanish speakers today.
Spain is a democracy organised in the form of a parliamentary government under a constitutional monarchy. It is a developed country with the ninth largest economy by nominal GDP, and high living standards (16th highest HDI). It is a member of the United Nations, European Union, NATO, OECD, and WTO.
For more information about Spain, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with spain
The largest bat in Europe inhabited northeastern Spain more than 10,000 years ago
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Oct 29, 2009 |
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Spanish researchers have confirmed that the largest bat in Europe, Nyctalus lasiopterus, was present in north-eastern Spain during the Late Pleistocene (between 120,000 and 10,000 years ago). The Greater Noctul ...
Spain is the second country in the world where divorce is better accepted socially
Other Sciences / Social Sciences
Oct 13, 2009 |
2.5 / 5 (2) |
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Spain is the second country in the world where divorce is better accepted socially, only exceeded by Brazil. Likewise, 79 per cent of the Spanish people think that, when a couple is not able to solve their marital problems, ...
Anti-smoking law helps waiters to quit smoking
Sep 10, 2009 |
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Researchers from the Catalan Institute of Oncology have studied the impact of the law banning smoking in public places such as bars and restaurants on those working in these places. The results are positive ...
Key issues for the future of wind energy
Sep 08, 2009 |
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The prestigious journal Energy Policy has recently reported two studies that highlight some key issues for the future of wind energy in Spain. A team of engineers from the University of Zaragoza believes it is ...
Huge telescope opens in Spain's Canary Islands
Jul 24, 2009 |
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(AP) -- One of the world's most powerful telescopes opened its shutters for the first time Friday to begin exploring faint light from distant parts of the universe. The Gran Telescopio Canarias, a euro130 ...
Rainfall to decrease over Iberian Peninsula
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Jul 23, 2009 |
3.4 / 5 (5) |
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Scientists have recorded a decline in winter precipitation over the past 60 years in Spain, and they now forecast that precipitation will also decrease in spring and summer. A team from the Pyrenean Institute ...
Increasing age of mothers in Spain leads to rise in mortality rates
Jul 01, 2009 |
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A new study examining the evolution of maternal mortality rates in Spain since 1996 shows a 17% increase in deaths. This trend is linked to the widespread increase in maternal age. The highest death rates ...
Largest carnivorous dinosaur tooth in Spain described
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Jun 22, 2009 |
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Researchers from the Teruel-Dinópolis Joint Palaeontology Foundation have compared an Allosauroidea tooth found in deposits in Riodeva, Teruel, with other similar samples. The palaeontologists have ...
Spain facing key decision on use of nuclear power
Jun 11, 2009 |
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The Spanish government will have to take a clear stand for or against nuclear power in the coming weeks when it decides whether to renew the operating licence of the oldest of the country's six nuclear plants.
Spanish prostitutes least likely to use condoms
May 28, 2009 |
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The Centre for Epidemiological Studies into Sexually-Transmitted Diseases and AIDS in Catalonia (CEEISCAT) started a pioneering study in Spain in 2005 to look into the prevalence of sexually-transmitted diseases (STDs) among ...
Disabled Spanish athletes reach South Pole: report
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Mar 01, 2009 |
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Three disabled athletes from Spain have reached the South Pole unassisted by animals or machines, in what a Spanish newspaper said Sunday was a world first.
How a cometary boulder lit up the Spanish sky
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Feb 13, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (4) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Last July, people in Spain, Portugal and France watched the brilliant fireball produced by a boulder crashing down through the Earth’s atmosphere. In a paper to be published in the journal ...
