National name: Reino de España

Ruler: King Juan Carlos I (1975)

Prime Minister: José María Aznar (1996)

Area: 504,750 sq. km

Population (2000 est.): 39,996,671 (average annual growth rate: 0.02%); birth rate: 9.2/1000; infant mortality rate: 5/1000; density per sq. mi.: 205

Capital and largest city (1995 est.): Madrid, 2,947,228

Other large cities:
Barcelona, 1,630,867;
Valencia, 764,293;
Seville, 714,148

Monetary units: Peseta and euro

Languages: Castilian Spanish 74%, Catalan 17%, Galician 7%, Basque 2%

Ethnicity/race: composite of Mediterranean and Nordic types

Religion: Roman Catholic, 99%

Literacy rate: 95% (1991)

Economic summary: GDP/PPP (1998 est.): $645.6 billion; $16,500 per capita. Real growth rate: 3.5%. Inflation: 2%. Unemployment: 20%. Arable land: 30%. Agriculture: grain, vegetables, olives, wine grapes, sugar beets, citrus; beef, pork, poultry, dairy products; fish. Labor force: 16.2 million; services, 64%; manufacturing, mining, and construction, 28%; agriculture, 8% (1997 est.). Industries: textiles and apparel (including footwear), food and beverages, metals and metal manufactures, chemicals, shipbuilding, automobiles, machine tools, tourism. Natural resources: coal, lignite, water power, uranium, mercury, pyrites, fluorospar, gypsum, iron ore, zinc, lead, tungsten, copper. Exports: $111.1 billion (f.o.b., 1998 est.): cars and trucks, other machinery and manufactured goods, foodstuffs, and other consumer goods. Imports: $132.3 billion (f.o.b., 1998 est.): machinery, transport equipment, fuel, semifinished goods, foodstuffs, consumer goods, chemicals. Major trading partners: EU, U.S., Japan.

Geography:
Spain occupies 85% of the Iberian Peninsula, which it shares with Portugal, in southwestern Europe. Africa is less than 16 km south at the Strait of Gibraltar. A broad central plateau slopes to the south and east, crossed by a series of mountain ranges and river valleys. Biggest rivers are the Ebro in the northeast, the Tajo in the central region, and the Guadalquivir in the south. Off Spain's east coast in the Mediterranean are the Balearic Islands (5,014 sq. km), the largest of which is Majorca. 97 km west of Africa are the Canary Islands ( 7,273 sq. km).

Government:
Parliamentary monarchy.

History:
Spain, originally inhabited by Celts, Iberians, and Basques, became a part of the Roman Empire in 206 B.C., when it was conquered by Scipio Africanus. In 711, the Muslims entered Spain from Africa and took it over. So Spain had quite an influence from Islam for some time.

Aragon and Castile were the most important Spanish states from the 12th to the 15th century, consolidated by the marriage of Ferdinand II and Isabella I in 1469. This is when Christopher Columbus sailed from Spain to discover America. The last Muslim stronghold, Granada, was captured in 1492. Roman Catholicism was established as the official state religion and most Jews (1492) and Muslims (1502) were expelled.

In the era of exploration, discovery, and colonization, Spain was very wealthy, and their kings were the most powerful in the world. In 1588, Philip II sent his ships to invade England, but they were sunk by the English. Spain then became less and less powerful.

In World War I, Spain did not take part. In 1923, they had a dictator take power. In 1930, a King took over again, but he had to leave Spain in 1931. Spain then became a republic.

On July 18, 1936, there was a civil war that followed lasted three years and killed nearly a million people. Franco was aided by Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany, while Soviet Russia helped the Loyalist side. The war ended when the fascists won under the leader Franco.

In 1969, Franco chose Prince Juan Carlos Alfonso Victor María de Borbón (who married Princess Sophia of Greece on May 14, 1962) to become king of Spain when the provisional government headed by Franco came to an end. Franco died of a heart attack on Nov. 20, 1975, after more than a year of ill health, and Juan Carlos was made king seven days later.

Spain entered NATO in 1982 and the European Union (EU) in 1986.

They now have a parliament and regular general elections.