Spain
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226011252
2008-07-16T12:53:27Z
Sardanaphalus
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{{this|the country}}
{{Infobox Country
|native_name = Reino de España
|conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Spain
|common_name = Spain
|image_flag = Flag of Spain.svg
|image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
|image_map = Location Spain EU Europe.png
|map_caption = {{map_caption|location_color=dark green|region=[[Europe]]|region_color=dark grey|subregion=the [[European Union]]|subregion_color=light green|legend=Location Spain EU Europe.png}}
|national_motto = {{lang|la|"[[Plus Ultra (motto)|Plus Ultra]]"}}{{spaces|2}}<small>([[Latin]]) <br />"Further Beyond"</small>
|national_anthem = {{lang|es|""[[Marcha Real]]"}}</sup>{{spaces|2}}<small>([[Spanish language|Spanish]]) <br />"Royal March"
|official_languages = [[Spanish language|Spanish]]{{Ref|2}}
|regional_languages = [[Aranese language|Aranese]], [[Basque language|Basque]], [[Catalan language|Catalan/Valencian]] and [[Galician language|Galician]]
|ethnic_groups = 89% [[Spanish people|Spanish]], 11% minority groups
|demonym = [[Spanish people|Spanish]], [[Spanish people|Spaniard]]
|capital = [[Madrid]]
|latd=40 |latm=26 |latNS=N |longd=3 |longm=42 |longEW=W
|largest_city = capital
|government_type = [[Parliamentary democracy]] and [[Constitutional monarchy]]
|leader_title1 = [[Spanish monarchy|Monarch]]
|leader_title2 = [[President of the Government of Spain|President of<br />{{spaces|3}}the Government]]
|leader_name1 = King [[Juan Carlos I of Spain|Juan Carlos I]]
|leader_name2 = <br />{{nowrap|[[José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero|José L. Rodríguez Zapatero]]}}
|sovereignty_type = Formation
|sovereignty_note = 15th century
|established_event1 = Unification
|established_date1 = [[Catholic Monarchs|1469]]
|established_event2 = Dynastic union
|established_date2 = [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|1516]]
|established_event3 = {{spaces|2}}''[[de facto]]''
|established_date3 = [[Nueva Planta decrees|1716]]
|established_event4 = {{spaces|2}}''[[de jure]]''
|established_date4 = [[Spanish Constitution of 1812|1812]]
|accessionEUdate = [[January 1]], [[1986]]
|EUseats = 54
|area_km2 = 504,030
|area_sq_mi = 195,364 <!--Do not remove per [[WP:MOSNUM]]-->
|area_rank = 51st
|area_magnitude = 1 E11
|percent_water = 1.04
|population_estimate = 45,200,737<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ine.es/jaxi/menu.do?type=pcaxis&path=%2Ft20/e260&file=inebase&L=1|title=Official Population Figures of Spain. Population on the 1st January 2007|author=Instituto Nacional de Estadística de España|accessdate=2008-02-05}}</ref>
|population_estimate_year = 2007
|population_estimate_rank = 28th
|population_density_km2 = 90 people
|population_density_sq_mi = 231 <!--Do not remove per [[WP:MOSNUM]]-->
|population_density_rank = 106th
|GDP_PPP_year = 2007<ref>[http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2007/02/weodata/weorept.aspx?sy=2006&ey=2008&ssd=1&sic=1&sort=country&ds=%2C&br=1&pr1.x=53&pr1.y=11&c=512%2C941%2C914%2C446%2C612%2C666%2C614%2C668%2C311%2C672%2C213%2C946%2C911%2C137%2C193%2C962%2C122%2C674%2C912%2C676%2C313%2C548%2C419%2C556%2C513%2C678%2C316%2C181%2C913%2C682%2C124%2C684%2C339%2C273%2C638%2C921%2C514%2C948%2C218%2C686%2C963%2C688%2C616%2C518%2C223%2C728%2C516%2C558%2C918%2C138%2C748%2C196%2C618%2C278%2C522%2C692%2C622%2C694%2C156%2C142%2C624%2C449%2C626%2C564%2C628%2C283%2C228%2C853%2C924%2C288%2C233%2C293%2C632%2C566%2C636%2C964%2C634%2C182%2C238%2C453%2C662%2C968%2C960%2C922%2C423%2C714%2C935%2C862%2C128%2C716%2C611%2C456%2C321%2C722%2C243%2C942%2C248%2C718%2C469%2C724%2C253%2C576%2C642%2C936%2C643%2C961%2C939%2C813%2C644%2C199%2C819%2C184%2C172%2C524%2C132%2C361%2C646%2C362%2C648%2C364%2C915%2C732%2C134%2C366%2C652%2C734%2C174%2C144%2C328%2C146%2C258%2C463%2C656%2C528%2C654%2C923%2C336%2C738%2C263%2C578%2C268%2C537%2C532%2C742%2C944%2C866%2C176%2C369%2C534%2C744%2C536%2C186%2C429%2C925%2C178%2C746%2C436%2C926%2C136%2C466%2C343%2C112%2C158%2C111%2C439%2C298%2C916%2C927%2C664%2C846%2C826%2C299%2C542%2C582%2C443%2C474%2C917%2C754%2C544%2C698&s=PPPGDP&grp=0&a= IMF (2008 Data base)]</ref>
|GDP_PPP = $1.310 trillion
|GDP_PPP_rank = 11th
|GDP_PPP_per_capita = $33,700 (2007)
|GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank = 27th
|GDP_nominal = $1.439 trillion
|GDP_nominal_rank = 8th
|GDP_nominal_year = 2007<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2008/01/weodata/weorept.aspx?pr.x=62&pr.y=16&sy=2007&ey=2009&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=512%2C446%2C914%2C666%2C612%2C668%2C614%2C672%2C311%2C946%2C213%2C137%2C911%2C962%2C193%2C674%2C122%2C676%2C912%2C548%2C313%2C556%2C419%2C678%2C513%2C181%2C316%2C682%2C913%2C684%2C124%2C273%2C339%2C921%2C638%2C948%2C514%2C943%2C218%2C686%2C963%2C688%2C616%2C518%2C223%2C728%2C516%2C558%2C918%2C138%2C748%2C196%2C618%2C278%2C522%2C692%2C622%2C694%2C156%2C142%2C624%2C449%2C626%2C564%2C628%2C283%2C228%2C853%2C924%2C288%2C233%2C293%2C632%2C566%2C636%2C964%2C634%2C182%2C238%2C453%2C662%2C968%2C960%2C922%2C423%2C714%2C935%2C862%2C128%2C716%2C611%2C456%2C321%2C722%2C243%2C942%2C248%2C718%2C469%2C724%2C253%2C576%2C642%2C936%2C643%2C961%2C939%2C813%2C644%2C199%2C819%2C184%2C172%2C524%2C132%2C361%2C646%2C362%2C648%2C364%2C915%2C732%2C134%2C366%2C652%2C734%2C174%2C144%2C328%2C146%2C258%2C463%2C656%2C528%2C654%2C923%2C336%2C738%2C263%2C578%2C268%2C537%2C532%2C742%2C944%2C866%2C176%2C369%2C534%2C744%2C536%2C186%2C429%2C925%2C178%2C746%2C436%2C926%2C136%2C466%2C343%2C112%2C158%2C111%2C439%2C298%2C916%2C927%2C664%2C846%2C826%2C299%2C542%2C582%2C443%2C474%2C917%2C754%2C544%2C698%2C941&s=NGDPD&grp=0&a= International Monetary Fund|title='''IMF (2007)''' |date=World Economic Outlook Database, April 2008}}</ref>
|GDP_nominal_per_capita = $31,471 (2007)
|GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank = 26th
|HDI_year = 2005
|HDI = 0.949
|HDI_rank = 13th
|HDI_category = <font color="#009900">high</font>
|Gini = 32<ref>[https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2172.html CIA World Factbook]</ref>
|Gini_year = 2005
|currency = [[Euro]] ([[Euro sign|€]]) ³
|currency_code = EUR
|time_zone = [[Central European Time|CET]]<sup>4</sup>
|utc_offset = +1
|time_zone_DST = [[Central European Summer Time|CEST]]
|utc_offset_DST = +2
|cctld = [[.es]], [[.cat]]<sup>5</sup>
|calling_code = 34
|footnote1 = Also serves as the [[Royal anthem]].
|footnote2 = In some [[autonomous communities of Spain|autonomous communities]], [[Aranese]] ([[Occitan language|Occitan]]), [[Basque language|Basque]], [[Catalan language|Catalan/Valencian]], and [[Galician language|Galician]] are co-official languages.
|footnote3 = Prior to 1999 (by law, 2002) : [[Spanish Peseta]].
|footnote4 = Except in the [[Canary Islands]], which are in the [[Western European Time|WET]] time zone ([[Coordinated Universal Time|UTC]], [[Coordinated Universal Time|UTC]]+1 in summer).
|footnote5 = The [[.eu]] domain is also used, as it is shared with other [[European Union]] member states. Also, the [[.cat]] domain is used in Catalan-speaking territories.
}}
'''Spain''' ({{Audio-es|''España''|ES-españa.ogg}}, {{IPA2|es'paɲa}}) or the '''Kingdom of Spain''' ({{lang-es|Reino de España}}),<ref>The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though ''España'' (Spain), ''Estado español'' (Spanish State) and ''Nación española'' (Spanish Nation) are used interchangeably. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in an Ordinance published in 1984, declared that "''[...] denominations "Spain" and "Kingdom of Spain" are equally valid to designate the Spanish State in international treaties..."[http://edit.mae.es/es/MenuPpal/Ministerio/Informacion+para+el+personal/Secretara+General+Tcnica/Recopilacin+de+rdenes+Circulares/3.049.htm?valor=65054521458745654&decodifica=SPS2003]</ref> is a country located mostly in [[Southern Europe|southwestern Europe]] on the [[Iberian Peninsula]]. The Spanish mainland is bordered to the south and east almost entirely 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 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 of Spain|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]] (behind France) and with an average altitude of 650 m, the second highest country in Europe (behind [[Switzerland]]).
Spain is a [[constitutional monarchy]] organised as a [[parliamentary democracy]] and has been a member of the [[European Union]] since 1986, and [[NATO]] since 1982. It is a [[developed country]] with the eighth largest economy in the world and fifth largest in the EU, based on nominal GDP.<ref name=Lists>[[List of countries by GDP (nominal)|Rank by nominal GDP]]: 8 (2007) ; [[List of countries by GDP (PPP) per capita]]: 28 (2007) ; [[Economy of the European Union]]: 13 (2006).</ref>
==History==
{{main|History of Spain}}
===Summary===
Spain is a key site when it comes to studying the human prehistory of Europe. After a long and hard conquest Hispania became one of the Roman Empire's most important regions. During the early Middle Ages it came under Germanic rule. Later it was conquered by Muslim invaders. Through a very long and fitful process, the Christian kingdoms in the north gradually rolled back Muslim rule, finally extinguishing its last remnant in Almería in [[1492]]. The same year Columbus reached the New World, a global empire began. Spain became the strongest kingdom in Europe and leading world power during the 16th century and first half of the 17th century, but continued wars and other problems eventually led to a diminished status. A French invasion of Spain in the early 19th century led to chaos; triggering independence movements that tore apart most of the empire and left the country politically unstable. In the 20th century it suffered a devastating civil war and came under the rule of a dictatorship, leading to years of stagnation, but finishing in a strong economic revival. Democracy was restored in 1978 in the form of a constitutional monarchy. In 1986, Spain joined the European Union; experiencing a cultural renaissance and steady economic growth.
===Prehistory and pre-Roman peoples in the Iberian Peninsula===
{{main|Prehistoric Iberia}}
Archeological research at [[Atapuerca]] indicates that the Iberian Peninsula was peopled more than a million years ago.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6256356.stm|title='First west Europe tooth' found|publisher=BBC News|date=30 June 2007|accessdate=2007-10-10}}</ref> Modern humans in the form of [[Cro-Magnon]]s began arriving in the [[Iberian Peninsula]] through the [[Pyrenees]] some 35,000 years ago. The best known artifacts of these prehistoric human settlements are the famous paintings in the [[Altamira (cave)|Altamira cave]] of Cantabria in northern Spain, which were created about 15,000 [[BCE]]. Furthermore, archeological evidence in places like [[Los Millares]] in [[Almería]] and in [[El Argar]] in [[Murcia]] suggests that developed cultures existed in the eastern part of the Iberian Peninsula during the late [[Neolithic]] and the [[Bronze Age]].
The two main historical peoples of the peninsula were the [[Iberians]] and the [[Celts]], the former inhabiting the Mediterranean side from the northeast to the southwest, the latter inhabiting the Atlantic side, in the north and northwest part of the peninsula. In the inner part of the peninsula, where both groups were in contact, a mixed, distinctive culture—known as [[Celtiberians|Celtiberian]]—was present. In addition, [[Basques]] occupied the western area of the Pyrenees mountains. Other ethnic groups existed along the southern coastal areas of present day [[Andalusia]]. Among these southern groups there grew the earliest urban culture in the Iberian Peninsula, that of the semi-mythical southern city of [[Tartessos]] (perhaps pre-1100 BC) near the location of present-day [[Cádiz]]. The flourishing trade in gold and silver between the people of Tartessos and [[Phoenicia]]ns and [[Greeks]] is documented in the history of [[Strabo]] and in the biblical book of king Solomon. Between about 500 BC and 300 BC, the seafaring Phoenicians and Greeks founded trading colonies all along the Spanish Mediterranean coast. [[Carthaginian]]s briefly took control of much of the Mediterranean coast in the course of the [[Punic Wars]], until they were eventually defeated and replaced by the Romans.<ref name="country"/>
===Roman Empire and Germanic invasions===
[[Image:Merida 6127.JPG|thumb|[[Roman Republic|Roman]] theater in Mérida.]]
{{main|Hispania}}
During the [[Second Punic War]], an expanding [[Roman Empire]] captured Carthaginian trading colonies along the Mediterranean coast (from roughly 210 BC to 205 BC), leading to eventual Roman control of nearly the entire Iberian Peninsula—a control which lasted over 500 years, bound together by law, language, and the [[Roman road]].<ref name="hispania">{{cite web |last=Payne |first=Stanley G. | title = A History of Spain and Portugal; Ch. 1 Ancient Hispania |publisher=The Library of Iberian Resources Online |date=1973 |url=http://libro.uca.edu/payne1/spainport1.htm |accessdate=2007-03-08}}</ref> The base Celt and Iberian population remained in various stages of [[Romanization (cultural)|Romanisation]],<ref>The ''[[latifundia]]'' (sing., ''latifundium''), large estates controlled by the aristocracy, were superimposed on the existing Iberian landholding system.</ref> and local leaders were admitted into the Roman aristocratic class.<ref name="country">{{cite web |last=Rinehart |first=Robert |coauthors=Seeley, Jo Ann Browning | title = A Country Study: Spain - Hispania |publisher=Library of Congress Country Series |date=1998 |url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/estoc.html |accessdate=2007-03-08}}</ref>
The Romans improved existing cities, such as [[Tarragona]] (''Tarraco''), and established others like [[Zaragoza]] (''Caesaraugusta''), [[Mérida, Spain|Mérida]] (''Augusta Emerita''), [[Valencia, Spain|Valencia]] (''Valentia''), [[León, Spain|León]] ("Legio Septima"), [[Badajoz]] ("Pax Augusta"), and [[Palencia]].<ref>The Roman provinces of Hispania included ''Provincia Hispania Ulterior Baetica ([[Hispania Baetica]])'', whose capital was [[Córdoba, Spain|Corduba, presently Córdoba]], ''Provincia Hispania Ulterior Lusitania'' ([[Hispania Lusitania]]), whose capital was Emerita Augusta (now [[Mérida, Spain|Mérida]]), ''Provincia Hispania Citerior'', whose capital was [[Tarraco]] (Tarragona), ''Provincia Hispania Nova'', whose capital was [[Tingis]] (Tánger in present Morocco), ''Provincia Hispania Nova Citerior'' and ''Asturiae-Calleciae'' (these latter two provinces were created and then dissolved in the 3rd century CE).</ref> The peninsula's economy expanded under Roman tutelage. Hispania served as a granary for the Roman market, and its harbors exported [[gold]], [[wool]], [[olive oil]], and [[wine]]. Agricultural production increased with the introduction of irrigation projects, some of which remain in use. Emperors [[Trajan]], [[Theodosius I]], and the philosopher [[Seneca the Younger|Seneca]] were born in Hispania.<ref>The poets [[Martial]], Quintilian and [[Lucan (poet)|Lucan]] were also born in Hispania.</ref> [[Christianity]] was introduced into Hispania in the 1st century CE and it became popular in the cities in the 2nd century CE.<ref name="country"/> Most of Spain's present languages and religion, and the basis of its laws, originate from this period.<ref name="hispania"/>
The first [[Germanic peoples|Germanic tribes]] to invade Hispania arrived in the 5th century, as the [[Decline of the Roman Empire|Roman Empire decayed]].<ref name="hispania"/> The [[Visigoths]], [[Suebi]], [[Vandals]] and [[Alans]] arrived in Spain by crossing the Pyrenees mountain range.<ref>This led to the establishment of the [[Suebi#Kingdom in Gallaecia|Suebi Kingdom]] in [[Gallaecia]], in the northwest, the [[Vandals#In Iberia|Vandal Kingdom]] of Vandalusia (Andalusia) and the [[Visigoths#Kingdom of Toledo|Visigothic Kingdom]] in Toledo.</ref> The [[Romanization (cultural)|Romanized]] Visigoths entered Hispania in 415. After the conversion of their monarchy to [[Roman Catholicism]], the Visigothic Kingdom eventually encompassed a great part of the Iberian Peninsula after conquering the disordered Suebic territories in the northwest and [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] territories in the southeast.<ref name="country" />
===Muslim Iberia===
{{main|Al-Andalus}}
In the 8th century, nearly all of the [[Iberian Peninsula]] was [[Umayyad conquest of Hispania|conquered]] (711-718) by mainly [[Muslim]]s (see [[Moors]]) from North Africa. These conquests were part of the expansion of the [[Umayyad]] [[Caliphate|Islamic Empire]].<ref>The Moorish armies continued northwards until they were defeated in central France at the [[Battle of Tours]] in 732.</ref> Only a number of areas in the mountains to the north of the Iberian Peninsula managed to cling to their independence, occupying the areas roughly corresponding to modern [[Asturias]], [[Navarre]] and [[Aragon]].
[[Image:Mosque of Cordoba Spain.jpg|thumb|Interior of the [[Mezquita]] in [[Córdoba, Spain|Córdoba]], a Muslim [[mosque]] until the Reconquest, after which it became a Christian cathedral.]]
Under [[Islam in Spain|Islam]], Christians and Jews were recognised as [[People of the Book|"peoples of the book"]], and were free to practice their religion, but faced a number of mandatory discriminations and penalties as [[dhimmis]].<ref>[http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/anti-semitism/Jews_in_Arab_lands_(gen).html The Treatment of Jews in Arab/Islamic Countries]</ref><ref>[http://www.theforgottenrefugees.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=66&Itemid=39 The Forgotten Refugees]</ref><ref>[http://www.myjewishlearning.com/history_community/Medieval/IntergroupTO/JewishMuslim/Almohads.htm The Almohads]</ref> Conversion to [[Islam]] proceeded at a steadily increasing pace. Following the mass conversions in the 10th and 11th centuries it is believed that Muslims came to outnumber Christians in the remaining Muslim controlled areas.<ref name="chap2">{{cite web |last=Payne |first=Stanley G. | title = A History of Spain and Portugal; Ch. 2 Al-Andalus |publisher=The Library of Iberian Resources Online |date=1973 |url=http://libro.uca.edu/payne1/spainport1.htm |accessdate=2007-03-09}}</ref>
The Muslim community in the Iberian peninsula was itself diverse and beset by social tensions. The [[Berber people]] of North Africa, who had provided the bulk of the invading armies, [[Berber Revolt|clashed with the Arab leadership]] from the [[Middle East]].<ref>The Berbers soon gave up attempting to settle the harsh lands in the north of the [[Geography of Spain#Meseta Central|Meseta Central]] handed to them by the Arab rulers.</ref> Over time, large [[Moorish]] populations became established, especially in the [[Guadalquivir River]] valley, the coastal plain of [[Valencian Community|Valencia]], and (towards the end of this period) in the mountainous region of [[Granada]].<ref name="chap2"/>
[[Córdoba, Spain|Córdoba]], the capital of the [[caliphate]], was the largest, richest and most sophisticated city of [[medieval Europe|medieval western Europe]].<ref>It was not until the 12th century that western [[High Middle Ages|medieval Christendom]] began reaching comparable levels of sophistication, and this was due in to a great extent to the stimulus coming from Muslim Al-Andalus.</ref> Mediterranean trade and cultural exchange flourished. Muslims imported a rich intellectual tradition from the Middle East and North Africa. Muslim and Jewish scholars played a great part in reviving and expanding classical [[Greek culture|Greek learning]] in Western Europe. The [[Romanization (cultural)|Romanized]] cultures of the Iberian peninsula interacted with Muslim and Jewish cultures in complex ways, thus giving the region a distinctive culture.<ref name="chap2"/> Outside the cities, where the vast majority lived, the land ownership system from Roman times remained largely intact as Muslim leaders rarely dispossessed landowners, and the introduction of new crops and techniques led to a remarkable expansion of agriculture.
However, by the 11th century, Muslim holdings had fractured into rival [[Taifa]] kingdoms, allowing the small Christian states the opportunity to greatly enlarge their territories and consolidate their positions.<ref name="chap2"/> The arrival of the [[North Africa]]n Muslim ruling sects of the [[Almoravids]] and the [[Almohads]] restored unity upon Muslim holdings, with a stricter, less tolerant application of [[Islam]], but ultimately, after some successes in invading the north, proved unable to resist the increasing military strength of the Christian states.<ref name="country"/>
===Fall of Muslim rule and unification===
{{main|Reconquista}}
{{See also|Medieval demography}}
[[Image:IsabellaofCastile05.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Tanto monta, monta tanto, Isabel como Fernando|Equal partners]]: King [[Ferdinand II of Aragon]] and Queen [[Isabella I of Castile]], the [[Catholic Monarchs]].]]
The ''Reconquista'' ("Reconquest") is the centuries-long period of expansion of Spain's Christian kingdoms; the ''Reconquista'' is viewed as beginning after the battle of [[Covadonga]] in 722. The Christian army victory over the Muslim forces led to the creation of the Christian [[Kingdom of Asturias]]. Muslim armies had also moved north of the Pyrenees, but they were defeated at the [[Battle of Tours|Battle of Poitiers]] in France. Subsequently, they retreated to more secure positions south of the Pyrenees with a frontier marked by the [[Ebro]] and [[Duero]] rivers in Spain. As early as 739 Muslim forces were driven from [[Galicia (Spain)|Galicia]], which was to host one of medieval Europe's holiest sites, [[Santiago de Compostela]]. A little later [[Frankish]] forces established Christian counties south of the Pyrenees; these areas were to grow into kingdoms, in the north-east and the western part of the Pyrenees. These territories included Navarre, Aragon and Catalonia.<ref>{{cite web |last=Rinehart |first=Robert |coauthors=Seeley, Jo Ann Browning | title = A Country Study: Spain - Castile and Aragon |publisher=Library of Congress Country Series |date=1998 |url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/estoc.html |accessdate=2007-03-11}}</ref>
The breakup of Al-Andalus into the competing Taifa kingdoms helped the expanding Christian kingdoms. The capture of the central city of [[Toledo, Spain|Toledo]] in 1085 largely completed the reconquest of the northern half of Spain.<ref>Initially, as the ''Reconquista'' advanced south, different religions were respected and several Castilian kings in subsequent years ([[Ferdinand III of Castile|Ferdinand III]], [[Alfonso X of Castile|Alfonso X]], [[Peter of Castile|Peter I]]) named themselves 'king of the three peoples' or 'king of the three religions'. Only rarely mosques and synagogues were converted into churches before 1492, and some areas of Christian Spain had large Muslim and Jewish populations that were a substantial component in the economic activity. Indeed they brought many of the Moorish influences in art, architecture and food with them.</ref> After a Muslim resurgence in the 12th century,<ref>[http://libro.uca.edu/rc/rc1.htm Ransoming Captives in Crusader Spain: The Order of Merced on the Christian-Islamic Frontier]</ref> the great Moorish strongholds in the south fell to Christian Spain in the 13th century—[[Córdoba, Spain|Córdoba]] in 1236 and [[Seville]] in 1248—leaving only the Muslim enclave of [[Granada]] as a [[Tributary (political)|tributary state]] in the south.<ref>{{cite web |last=Payne |first=Stanley G. | title = A History of Spain and Portugal; Ch. 4 Castile-León in the Era of the Great Reconquest |publisher=The Library of Iberian Resources Online |date=1973 |url=http://libro.uca.edu/payne1/spainport1.htm |accessdate=2007-03-11}}</ref> [[Marinid]] invasions from north Africa in the 13th and 14th centuries failed to re-establish Muslim rule. Also in the 13th century, the kingdom of [[Aragon]], still ruled by the Catalan count of Barcelona, [[Crown of Aragon|expanded its reach]] across the Mediterranean to [[Sicily]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Payne |first=Stanley G. | title = A History of Spain and Portugal; Ch. 5 The Rise of Aragón-Catalonia |publisher=The Library of Iberian Resources Online |date=1973 |url=http://libro.uca.edu/payne1/spainport1.htm |accessdate=2007-03-11}}</ref> Around this time the universities of [[University of Palencia|Palencia]] (1212/1263) and [[University of Salamanca|Salamanca]] (1218/1254) were established; among the earliest in Europe. The [[Black Death]] of 1348 and 1349 devastated Spain.<ref>[http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/a-b/blackdeath.html Channel 4 - History - The Black Death]</ref>
In 1469, the crowns of the Christian kingdoms of [[Crown of Castile|Castile]] and [[Crown of Aragon|Aragon]] were united (even though both kingdoms kept a high degree of political and economical independence) by the [[Catholic Monarchs|marriage]] of [[Isabella I of Castile|Isabella]] and [[Ferdinand II of Aragon|Ferdinand]]. In 1478 began the final stage of the conquest of [[Canary Islands]] and in 1492, these united kingdoms captured Granada, ending the last remnant of a 781-year [[Timeline of the Muslim presence in the Iberian peninsula|presence of Islamic rule in the Iberian Peninsula]].<ref>The [[Treaty of Granada]] (''see'' [http://www.cyberistan.org/islamic/treaty1492.html The Treaty of Granada, 1492]) guaranteed religious tolerance toward [[Muslim]]s.</ref> The year 1492 also marked the arrival in the [[New World]] of [[Christopher Columbus]], during a voyage funded by Isabella. That same year, [[Sephardi Jews|Spain's Jews]] were ordered to [[converso|convert]] to [[Catholicism]] or face [[Alhambra Decree|expulsion]] from Spanish territories during the [[Spanish Inquisition]].<ref>[[Morisco|Muslims]] were [[Philip III of Spain#Expulsion of the Moors (1609–1610)|expelled]] in a lengthier process beginning in 1502, and ending as late as 1609-1614.</ref><ref name="cong">{{cite web |last=Rinehart |first=Robert |coauthors=Seeley, Jo Ann Browning | title = A Country Study: Spain - The Golden Age |publisher=Library of Congress Country Series |date=1998 |url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/estoc.html |accessdate=2007-03-11}}</ref>
As [[Renaissance]] [[New Monarchs]], Isabella and Ferdinand centralized royal power at the expense of local nobility, and the word ''España'' - whose root is the ancient name "Hispania" - began to be used to designate the whole of the two kingdoms.<ref name="cong"/>
With their wide-ranging political, legal, religious and military reforms, Spain emerged as the first [[historical powers#Spain|world power]].
===Imperial Spain===
{{main|Habsburg Spain|Enlightenment Spain}}
The unification of the kingdoms of Aragon, Castile, [[Kingdom of León|León]], and [[Navarre]] laid the basis for modern Spain and the [[Spanish Empire]].<ref>[http://www.ucalgary.ca/applied_history/tutor/eurvoya/Imperial.html European Voyages of Exploration: Imperial Spain]</ref> Spain became Europe's leading power throughout the [[16th century|16th century]] and most of the [[17th century|17th century]], a position reinforced by trade and wealth from colonial possessions. Spain reached its apogee during the reigns of the first two Spanish Habsburgs, [[Charles I of Spain|Charles I]] (1516–1556) and [[Philip II of Spain|Philip II]] (1556–1598). Included in this period are the [[Italian Wars]], the [[Dutch revolt]], clashes with the [[Ottoman-Habsburg wars|Ottomans]], the [[Anglo-Spanish War (1585)|Anglo-Spanish war]] and war with [[Early Modern France#The French Renaissance|France]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Payne |first=Stanley G. | title = A History of Spain and Portugal; Ch. 13 The [[Spanish Empire]] |publisher=The Library of Iberian Resources Online |date=1973 |url=http://libro.uca.edu/payne1/spainport1.htm |accessdate=2007-03-12}}</ref>
[[Image:Spanish Galleon.jpg|thumb|The [[galleon]] became synonymous with the riches of the [[Spanish Empire]].]]
The Spanish Empire expanded to include most part of [[South America|South]] and [[Central America]], [[Mexico]], southern and western portions of today's [[United States]], the [[Philippines]], [[Guam]] and the [[Mariana Islands]] in [[Maritime Southeast Asia|Eastern Asia]], the Iberian peninsula (including the [[Portuguese Empire]] (from 1580), southern [[Italy]], [[Sicily]], cities in Northern Africa, as well as parts of modern [[Germany]], [[Belgium]], [[Luxembourg]], and the [[Netherlands]]. It was the first empire about which it was said that [[The empire on which the sun never sets|the sun did not set]]. This was an [[age of discovery]], with daring explorations by sea and by land, the opening up of new trade routes across oceans, conquests and the beginnings of European [[colonialism]]. Along with the arrival of precious metals, spices, luxuries, and new agricultural plants, Spanish [[List of explorers|explorers]] and others brought back knowledge, playing a leading part in transforming the European understanding of the world.<ref>{{cite book |last=Thomas |first=Hugh |authorlink=Hugh Thomas | title = Rivers of gold: the rise of the Spanish Empire |publisher=George Weidenfeld & Nicholson |date=2003 |location=London |pages=''passim'' }} </ref>
Of note was the cultural efflorescence now known as the [[Spanish Golden Age]] and the intellectual movement known as the [[School of Salamanca]].
In the 16th and 17th centuries, Spain was confronted by unrelenting challenges from all sides. [[Barbary pirates]] under the aegis of the rapidly growing [[Ottoman empire]], disrupted life in many coastal areas through their [[slave]] raids and renewed the threat of an [[Muslim conquests|Islamic invasion]].<ref>The coastal villages and towns of Spain and [[List of islands in the Mediterranean|Mediterranean islands]] were frequently attacked by [[Barbary pirates]] from North Africa, who were under the aegis of the [[Ottoman empire]]. The [[Formentera]] was even temporarily left by its population and long stretches of the Spanish and Italian coasts were almost completely abandoned by their inhabitants. In 1514, 1515 and 1521 coasts of the [[Balearic Islands]] and the Spanish mainland were raided by the [[Turkish people|Turkish]] [[privateer]] and [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] admiral [[Hayreddin Barbarossa]]. According to Robert Davis between 1 million and 1.25 million Europeans were captured by [[North African]] pirates and sold as slaves during the 16th and 17th centuries. These [[Arab slave trade|slaves]] were captured mainly from seaside villages in Spain, [[Italy]] and [[Portugal]].</ref> This at a time when Spain was often at war with France in Italy and elsewhere. Later the Protestant [[Reformation]] schism from the Catholic Church dragged the kingdom ever more deeply into the mire of religiously charged wars. The result was a country forced into ever expanding military efforts across Europe and in the Mediterranean.<ref>[http://libro.uca.edu/payne1/payne15.htm The Seventeenth-Century Decline]</ref>
By the middle decades of a [[war]] and [[Great Plague of Seville|plague]] ridden 17th century Europe, the effects of the strain began to show. The Spanish Habsburgs had enmeshed the country in the continent wide religious-political conflicts. These conflicts drained it of resources and undermined the European economy generally. Spain managed to hold on to most of the scattered [[Habsburg]] empire, and help the imperial forces of the [[Holy Roman Empire]] reverse a large part of the advances made by Protestant forces, but it was finally forced to recognise the independence of Portugal—within its empire—and the [[Netherlands]], and eventually surrendered Toulouse to France after the immensely destructive, Europe-wide [[Thirty Years War]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Payne |first=Stanley G. | title = A History of Spain and Portugal; Ch. 14 Spanish Society and Economics in the Imperial Age |publisher=The Library of Iberian Resources Online |date=1973 |url=http://libro.uca.edu/payne1/spainport1.htm |accessdate=2007-03-12}}</ref>
During the latter half of the 17th century, Spain went into a gradual decline, however it maintained and enlarged its vast overseas empire, which remained intact until the 19th century.
The decline culminated in a controversy over succession to the throne which consumed the first years of the 18th century. The [[War of Spanish Succession]] (1701–1714), a wide ranging international conflict combined with a civil war, cost Spain its European possessions and its position as one of the leading powers on the Continent.<ref>{{cite web |last=Rinehart |first=Robert |coauthors=Seeley, Jo Ann Browning | title = A Country Study: Spain - Spain in Decline |publisher=Library of Congress Country Series |date=1998 |url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/estoc.html |accessdate=2007-03-12}}</ref>
During this war, a new dynasty—the [[House of Bourbon|French Bourbons]]—was installed. Long united only by the Crown, a true ''Spanish'' state was established when the first Bourbon king [[Philip V of Spain]] united Castile and Aragon into a single state, abolishing many of the regional privileges (''[[fueros]]'').<ref>{{cite web |last=Rinehart |first=Robert |coauthors=Seeley, Jo Ann Browning | title = A Country Study: Spain - Bourbon Spain |publisher=Library of Congress Country Series |date=1998 |url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/estoc.html |accessdate=2007-03-12}}</ref>
The 18th century saw a gradual recovery and an increase in prosperity through much of the empire. The new [[House of Bourbon|Bourbon]] monarchy drew on the French system of modernising the administration and the economy. [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]] ideas began to gain ground among some of the kingdom's elite and monarchy. Towards the end of the century trade finally began growing strongly. Military assistance for the rebellious British colonies in the [[American Revolutionary War|American War of Independence]] improved Spain's international standing.<ref>{{cite web |last=Gascoigne |first=Bamber | title = History of Spain: Bourbon dynasty: from AD 1700 |publisher=Library of Congress Country Series |date=1998 |url=http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?HistoryID=ab50&ParagraphID=iss#iss |accessdate=2007-03-12}} </ref>
===Napoleonic rule and its consequences===
{{Main|Mid-nineteenth century Spain}}
[[Image:Goya - Second of May 1808.jpg|thumb|right|260px|"[[The Second of May 1808|The Second of May, 1808: The Charge of the Mamelukes]]", by [[Francisco Goya]], 1814.]]
In 1793, Spain went to war against the new [[First French Republic|French Republic]], which had overthrown and executed its Bourbon king, [[Louis XVI of France|Louis XVI]]. The war polarised the country in an apparent reaction against the [[Francization|gallicised]] elites. Defeated in the field, Spain made peace with France in 1795 and effectively became a [[client state]] of that country; the following year, it declared war against Britain and Portugal. A disastrous economic situation, along with other factors, led to the [[abdication]] of the Spanish king in favour of [[Napoleon I of France|Napoleon's]] brother, [[Joseph Bonaparte]].
This new foreign monarch was regarded with scorn. On [[May 2]], [[1808]], the people of Madrid began a [[nationalism|nationalist]] [[Dos de Mayo Uprising|uprising against the French army]], marking the beginning of what is known to the Spanish as the War of Independence, and to the English as the [[Peninsular War]]. Napoleon was forced to intervene personally, defeating several badly-coordinated Spanish armies and forcing a British Army to retreat to Corunna. However, further military action by Spanish guerrillas and [[Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington|Wellington's]] Anglo-Portuguese army, combined with Napoleon's disastrous [[Napoleon's Invasion of Russia|invasion of Russia]], led to the ousting of the French from Spain in 1814, and the return of [[Ferdinand VII of Spain|King Ferdinand VII]].
The French [[invasion]] proved disastrous for Spain's economy, and left a deeply divided country that was prone to political instability for more than a century. The power struggles of the early 19th century led to the loss of all of Spain's colonies in [[Latin America]], with the exception of Cuba and Puerto Rico.
===Spanish-American War===
{{main|Spanish–American War}}
Amid the instability and economic crisis that afflicted Spain in the 19th century there arose nationalist movements in the Philippines and Cuba. Wars of independence ensued in those colonies and eventually<!--for whatever reasons; it is not for here to go into contentious explanations!--> the [[United States]] became involved. Despite the commitment and ability shown by some military units, they were so mismanaged by the highest levels of command that the Spanish-American war of 1898 was soon over. "El Desastre" (The Disaster), as the war became known in Spain, helped give impetus to the [[Generation of 98]] who were already conducting much critical analysis concerning the country. It also weakened the stability that had been established during Alfonso XII's reign.
===20th century===
The 20th century brought little peace; Spain played a minor part in the [[scramble for Africa]], with the colonisation of [[Western Sahara]], [[Spanish Morocco]] and [[Equatorial Guinea]]. The heavy losses suffered during the [[Rif War (1920)|Rif war]] in Morocco helped to undermine the monarchy. A period of authoritarian rule under General [[Miguel Primo de Rivera]] (1923-1931) ended with the establishment of the [[Second Spanish Republic]]. The Republic offered political autonomy to the [[Basque Country (autonomous community)|Basque Country]], [[Catalonia]] and [[Galicia (Spain)|Galicia]] and gave voting rights to women. [[Image:PicassoGuernica.jpg|thumb|right|350px| "[[Guernica (painting)|Guernica]]" by [[Pablo Picasso]], 1937.]]
The bitterly fought [[Spanish Civil War]] (1936-39) ensued. Three years later the Nationalist forces, led by General [[Francisco Franco]], emerged victorious with the support of [[Nazi Germany]] and [[Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946)|Fascist Italy]]. The Republican side was supported by the Soviet Union and Mexico, but it was not supported by the Western powers due to the British-led policy of [[Non-Intervention]]. The Spanish Civil War has been called the [[European Civil War|first battle]] of the [[Second World War]]; [[Spain under Franco|under Franco, Spain]] was neutral in the Second World War though [[Spain in World War II|sympathetic]] to [[the Axis]].<ref>Over a hundred thousand highly motivated Spanish Civil War veterans were to give both sides the benefit of their experience throughout the Second World War in Europe, the Eastern Front and North Africa. Many in the [[French Resistance]] and [[French Foreign Legion]] were Spanish as was the [[French 9th Armoured Company (World War II)|9th Armoured Company]] that spearheaded [[Général Leclerc]]'s [[2nd Armored Division (France)|2nd Armoured Division's]] liberation of Paris. On the other side, some 47,000 Spaniards fought against the [[Soviet Union]] in the [[Wehrmacht]]'s [[Blue Division]] (''División Azul'').</ref>
The only legal party under [[Spain under Franco#Franco's regime|Franco's regime]] was the [[Falange|''Falange española tradicionalista y de las JONS'']], formed in 1937; the party emphasised anti-Communism, [[Roman Catholic Church|Catholicism]] and [[nationalism]]. Nonetheless, since Franco's anti-democratic ideology was opposed to the idea of political parties, the new party was renamed officially a National Movement (''[[Movimiento Nacional]]'') in 1949.
After World War II, Spain was politically and economically isolated, and was kept out of the [[United Nations]] until 1955, when due to the Cold War it became strategically important for the U.S. to foment a military presence on the Iberian peninsula, next to the Mediterranean Sea and the [[Strait of Gibraltar]], in order to protect southern Europe. In the 1960s, Spain registered an unprecedented economic growth in what was called the [[Spanish miracle]], which rapidly resumed the long interrupted transition towards a modern industrial economy with a thriving tourism sector and a high degree of human development.
Upon the death of General Franco in November 1975, [[Juan Carlos I of Spain|Prince Juan Carlos]] assumed the position of king and [[head of state]]. With the approval of the new [[Spanish Constitution of 1978]] and the arrival of democracy, the State [[devolution|devolved]] autonomy to the regions and created an internal organization based on [[autonomous communities of Spain|autonomous communities]]. In the Basque Country, moderate [[Basque nationalism]] coexisted with a radical nationalism supportive of the terrorist group [[ETA]].
On [[February 23]] [[1981]], rebel elements among the security forces seized the Cortes and [[23-F|tried to impose a military-backed government]]. However, the great majority of the military forces remained loyal to King Juan Carlos, who used his personal authority and addressed the usurpers via national TV as commander in chief to put down the bloodless coup attempt.
In 1982, the [[Spanish Socialist Workers Party]] (PSOE) came to power, which represented the return to power of a leftist party after 43 years. In 1986, Spain joined the [[European Community]] (which was to become the [[European Union]]). The PSOE was replaced in government by the [[Partido Popular]] (PP) after the latter won the 1996 General Elections; at that point the PSOE had served almost 14 consecutive years in office.
The Government of Spain has been involved in a long-running campaign against the terrorist organization [[ETA]] ("Basque Homeland and Freedom"), founded in 1959 in opposition to Franco and dedicated to promoting Basque independence through [[violence|violent]] means. They consider themselves a [[guerrilla warfare|guerrilla]] organization while they are listed as a [[terrorist]] organization by both the European Union and the United States on their respective watchlists. The current nationalist-led Basque Autonomous government does not endorse ETA's nationalist violence, which has caused over 800 deaths in the past 40 years.
===21st century===
On [[January 1]], [[2002]], Spain terminated its historic [[Spanish peseta|peseta]] currency and replaced it with the [[euro]], which has become its national currency shared with 15 other countries from the [[Eurozone]]. This culminated the first phase of a period of economic growth,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.iht.com/articles/2002/07/11/a10_18.php|title=Economy reaps benefits of entry to the 'club' : Spain's euro bonanza|publisher=[[International Herald Tribune]]|accessdate=2007-10-10|date=July 11, 2002|author=Pfanner, Eric}}</ref> which has kept the Spanish economy growing well over the EU average, but concerns are growing that the extraordinary property boom and high foreign trade deficits of recent years may bring this to an end.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.economist.com/displayStory.cfm?story_id=9118701|title=Spain's economy / Plain sailing no longer / Economist.com|date=May 3, 2007|accessdate=2007-10-10}}</ref>
On [[March 11]], [[2004]], a [[2004 Madrid train bombings|series of bombs exploded]] in commuter trains in Madrid, Spain. The bombings were claimed by [[al Qaeda]]<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3509426.stm BBC NEWS World | Europe | Al-Qaeda 'claims Madrid bombings'<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>, whereas after a five months trial in 2007 it was concluded that the bombings were perpetrated by a local Islamist militant group inspired by al-Qaeda, but without direct links to that organisation<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7070827.stm BBC NEWS World | Europe | Madrid bombers get long sentences<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>. The bombings killed 191 people and wounded more than 1800, and it has been claimed that the intention of the perpetrators was to influence the outcome of the [[Spanish general election, 2004|Spanish general election]], held three days later on [[March 14]].<ref>[http://www.realinstitutoelcano.org/wps/portal/rielcano/contenido?WCM_GLOBAL_CONTEXT=/Elcano_es/Zonas_es/Imagen+de+Espana/ARI+132-2004 Del 11-M al 14-M: estrategia yihadista, elecciones generales y opinión pública<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Although initial suspicions of responsibility for the bombings focused on the Basque group ETA, evidence soon emerged indicating possible [[Islamist]] involvement. Because of the proximity of the election, the issue of responsibility quickly became a source of political controversy, with the main competing parties PP and PSOE crossing accusations over the handling of the aftermath.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3509744.stm BBC NEWS World | Europe | Spain votes under a shadow]</ref>
A couple of days later, at the [[March 14]] elections, [[PSOE]], led by [[José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero]], obtained a [[relative majority]], enough to form the new cabinet with Rodríguez Zapatero as the new ''Presidente del Gobierno'' or prime minister of Spain, thus succeeding the former [[People's Party (Spain)|PP]] administration.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3512222.stm BBC NEWS World | Europe | Spain awakes to socialist reality]</ref>
==Politics==
===Spanish Government===
[[Image:Juan Carlos 2004.jpg|thumb|upright|King [[Juan Carlos I of Spain|Juan Carlos I]] [[King of Spain|of Spain]] and Queen [[Queen Sofía of Spain|Sofía of Spain]].]]
{{main|Politics of Spain}}
Spain is a [[constitutional monarchy]], with a hereditary [[monarch]] and a [[bicameral parliament]], the ''[[Cortes Generales]]''. The [[executive branch]] consists of a [[Council of Ministers of Spain (9th Legislature)|Council of Ministers]] presided over by the President of Government (comparable to a [[prime minister]]), proposed by the monarch and elected by the National Assembly following legislative elections.
The [[legislative branch]] is made up of the [[Congress of Deputies (Spain)|Congress of Deputies]] (''Congreso de los Diputados'') with 350 members, elected by popular vote on block lists by proportional representation to serve four-year terms, and a [[Spanish Senate|Senate]] (''Senado'') with 259 seats of which 208 are directly elected by popular vote and the other 51 appointed by the regional legislatures to also serve four-year terms.
* '''Chief of State'''
** King [[Juan Carlos I of Spain|Juan Carlos I]], since [[November 22]] [[1975]]
* '''Head of Government'''
** [[Prime Minister of Spain|President of the Government]]: [[José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero]], elected [[14 March]] [[2004]].
*** [[First Vice President (Spain)|First Vice President]] and [[Minister of Presidency (Spain)|Minister of Presidency]]: [[María Teresa Fernández de la Vega]].
*** [[Second Vice President (Spain)|Second Vice President]] and [[Minister of Economy and Finance (Spain)|Minister of Economy and Finance]]: [[Pedro Solbes]].
* '''Cabinet'''
** [[Council of Ministers of Spain (9th Legislature)|Council of Ministers]] (Spanish ''Consejo de Ministros'') designated by the president.
[[Image:PsoeZapatero.jpg|thumb|[[José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero]], Prime Minister of Spain.]]
The Spanish nation is organizationally composed in the form of called ''Estado de las Autonomías'' ("[[Autonomous Communities|State of Autonomies]]"); it is one of the most [[decentralization|decentralized]] countries in Europe, along with Switzerland, Germany and Belgium;<ref>[http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/06/18/catalonia.vote/index.html CNN.com - Catalonians vote for more autonomy - Jun 18, 2006<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oecd.org/document/57/0,2340,en_2649_201185_34578361_1_1_1_1,00.html |title= Economic Survey: Spain 2005|accessdate=2007-10-10|work=Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.economist.com/countries/Spain/profile.cfm?folder=Profile-FactSheet|title=Economist.com / Country Briefings: Spain|accessdate=2007-10-10}}</ref><ref>[http://www1.worldbank.org/wbiep/decentralization/Swiss%20Expertise/Muralt.pdf The World Bank: Swiss Experience With Decentralized Government]</ref> for example, all Autonomous Communities have their own elected parliaments, governments, public administrations, budgets, and resources; therefore, health and education systems among others are managed regionally, besides, the Basque Country and Navarre also manage their own public finances based on [[fuero|foral]] provisions. In Catalonia and the Basque Country, a full fledged autonomous police corps replaces some of the State police functions (see [[Mossos d'Esquadra]] and [[Ertzaintza]]).
{{seealso|List of Spanish monarchs|Monarchs of Spain family tree}}
===Spanish Constitution===
{{Main|Spanish Constitution of 1978}}
The '''Spanish Constitution of 1978''' is the culmination of the [[Spanish transition to democracy]].
The constitutional history of Spain dates back to the constitution of 1812. After the death of [[Francisco Franco]] in 1975, a [[Spanish general election, 1977|general election in 1977]] convened the ''[[Constituent Cortes]]'' (the Spanish Parliament, in its capacity as a constitutional assembly) for the purpose of drafting and approving the constitution of 1978.
As a result, Spain is now composed of 17 [[Autonomous communities of Spain|autonomous communities]] and two [[Autonomous Communities#Autonomous Cities and "plazas de soberanía"|autonomous cities]] with varying degrees of autonomy thanks to its Constitution, which nevertheless explicitly states the indivisible unity of the Spanish nation as well as that Spain has today no official religion but all are free to practice and believe as they wish.<ref>[http://www.constitucion.es/constitucion/castellano/titulo_preliminar.html Spanish Constitution]</ref>
===Foreign relations of Spain===
{{Main|Foreign relations of Spain}}
After the return of [[democracy]] following the death of [[Francisco Franco|Franco]] in 1975, Spain's [[foreign policy]] priorities were to break out of the diplomatic isolation of the [[Spain under Franco|Franco years]] and expand [[diplomatic relations]], enter the [[European Union|European Community]], and define security relations with the West.
As a member of [[NATO]] since 1982, Spain has established itself as a major participant in multilateral international security activities. Spain's EU membership represents an important part of its foreign policy. Even on many international issues beyond [[western Europe]], Spain prefers to coordinate its efforts with its EU partners through the European political cooperation mechanisms.
With the normalization of diplomatic relations with [[North Korea]] in 2001, Spain completed the process of universalizing its diplomatic relations.
Spain has maintained its special identification with [[Latin America]]. Its policy emphasizes the concept of an [[Iberoamerican]] community, essentially the renewal of the historically liberal concept of hispanoamericanismo (or hispanism as it is often referred to in English), which has sought to link the Iberian peninsula with Latin America through language, commerce, history and culture. Spain has been an effective example of transition from dictatorship to democracy for formerly non-democratic South American states, as shown in the many trips that [[King of Spain|Spain's King]] and [[Politics of Spain|Prime Ministers]] have made to the region.
====Territorial disputes====
===== Territory claimed by Spain =====
There is a territorial dispute with the United Kingdom over [[Gibraltar]], a 6 square km [[British overseas territories|Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom]] in the southernmost part of the [[Iberian Peninsula]] which was conquered by Britain from Spain in 1704 during the [[War of the Spanish Succession]], along with the Spanish island of [[Minorca]] (which had also been invaded but was reconquered in 1782 and finally ceded back to Spain in 1802 by the [[Treaty of Amiens]]).
The legal situation concerning Gibraltar was settled in 1713 by the [[Treaty of Utrecht]], in which Spain ceded the territory in perpetuity to the British Crown<ref>[http://www.mgar.net/docs/utrech.htm Tratado de Utretch - Gibraltar (Spanish)]</ref> stating that, should the British abandon this post, it would return to Spanish sovereignty.
Ever since the 1940s Spain has called for the return of [[Gibraltar]]. The overwhelming majority of [[Gibraltarians]] strongly oppose this, along with any proposal of shared sovereignty.<ref>[http://www.gibnet.com/texts/ref2.htm Gibraltar rejects Spain]</ref> UN resolutions call on the United Kingdom and Spain, both EU members, to reach an agreement over the status of Gibraltar.<ref>[http://www.gibnet.com/texts/un_cres2.htm UN Consensus Resolution]</ref>
===== Spanish territories claimed by other countries =====
[[Morocco]] claims the Spanish cities of [[Ceuta]] and [[Melilla]] and the [[plazas de soberanía]] islets off the northern coast of Africa. [[Portugal]] does not recognise Spain's sovereignty over the territory of [[Olivenza]].
==Administrative divisions==
{{Autonomous communities of Spain|float=right}}
{{main|Autonomous communities of Spain|Provinces of Spain}}
Spain is politically organized into 17 [[Autonomous Communities]] (''comunidades autónomas'') and 2 [[Autonomous Communities#Autonomous Cities and "plazas de soberanía"|autonomous cities]] (''ciudades autónomas'') - [[Ceuta]] and [[Melilla]].
Administratively Spain also comprises fifty '''[[province]]s'''. Seven autonomous communities are composed of only one province: [[Asturias]], [[Balearic Islands]], [[Cantabria]], [[La Rioja (Spain)|La Rioja]], [[Community of Madrid|Madrid]], [[Region of Murcia|Murcia]], and [[Navarre]].
Historically, some provinces are also divided into ''[[comarca]]s'' (roughly equivalent to a [[United States|US]] "[[county]]" or an [[England|English]] [[Districts of England|district]]). The lowest administrative division of Spain is the [[List of municipalities of Spain|municipality]] (''municipio'').
{{see also|Comarcas of Spain|List of municipalities of Spain}}
==Geography==
{{main|Geography of Spain}}
At 194,884 [[square miles|mi²]] (504,782 km²), Spain is the world's 51st-largest country. It is some 47,000 km² smaller than [[France]] and 81,000 km² larger than the [[U.S. state]] of [[California]].
On the west, Spain borders [[Portugal]], on the south, it borders [[Gibraltar]] (a [[British overseas territory]]) and [[Morocco]], through its cities in North Africa ([[Ceuta]] and [[Melilla]]). On the northeast, along the [[Pyrenees]] mountain range, it borders [[France]] and the tiny [[principality]] of [[Andorra]]. Spain also includes the [[Balearic Islands]] in the [[Mediterranean Sea]], the [[Canary Islands]] in the [[Atlantic Ocean]] and a number of uninhabited islands on the Mediterranean side of the [[strait of Gibraltar]], known as {{lang|es|''[[Plazas de soberanía]]''}}, such as the [[Islas Chafarinas|Chafarine]] islands, the [[Isla de Alborán|isle of Alborán]], the "rocks" ({{lang|es|''peñones''}}) of [[Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera|Vélez]] and [[Peñón de Alhucemas|Alhucemas]], and the tiny [[Isla Perejil]]. Along the [[Pyrenees]] in [[Catalonia]], a small [[exclave]] town called [[Llívia]] is surrounded by [[France]].
Mainland Spain is dominated by high [[plateau]]s and mountain ranges, such as the [[Sierra Nevada (Spain)|Sierra Nevada]]. Running from these heights are several major rivers such as the [[Tagus]], the [[Ebro]], the [[Duero]], the [[Guadiana]] and the [[Guadalquivir]]. [[Alluvial plain]]s are found along the coast, the largest of which is that of the Guadalquivir in [[Andalusia]].
===Climate===
[[Image:Spain-climate.png|300px|right|thumb|Spanish climatic areas]]
Due to Spain's geographical situation and [[Orography|orographic]] conditions, the [[Geography of Spain#Climate|climate]] is extremely diverse; it can be roughly divided into three areas:
* A [[Continental Mediterranean climate]] in the inland areas of the Peninsula (largest city, [[Madrid]]).
* A [[Mediterranean climate]] region extends from the Andalusian plain along the southern and eastern coasts up to the Pyrenees, on the seaward side of the mountain ranges that run near the coast (largest city, [[Barcelona]]).
* An [[Oceanic climate]] in Galicia and the coastal strip near the [[Bay of Biscay]] (largest city, [[Bilbao]]). This area is often called [[Green Spain]].
==Military of Spain==
{{main|Spanish Armed Forces}}
The [[armed forces]] of Spain are known as the Spanish Armed Forces ([[Spanish language|Spanish]]: ''Fuerzas Armadas Españolas''). Their [[Commander-in-Chief]] is the [[King of Spain]], [[Juan Carlos I of Spain|Juan Carlos I]].
The [[Spanish Armed Forces]] are divided into four branches:
* [[Spanish Army|Army (''Ejército de Tierra'')]]
* [[Spanish Navy|Navy (''Armada'')]]
* [[Spanish Air Force|Air Force (''Ejército del Aire'')]]
* [[Civil Guard (Spain)|''Guardia Civil'' (Military police)]] which serves for the most part as a rural and general purpose police force.
==Economy==
<!-- Image with unknown copyright status removed: [[Image:Castellana.jpg|thumb|right|Paseo de la Castellama, the heart of Spanish economy]] -->
{{main|Economy of Spain}}
According to the [[World Bank]], Spain's economy is the eighth largest worldwide and the fifth largest in Europe. As of 2007, absolute [[GDP]] was valued at $1.362 trillion according to the [[CIA Factbook]], (see [[List of countries by GDP (nominal)]]). The per capita PPP is estimated at $33,700 (2007), ahead of G7 countries like Italy and placing Spain at a similar per capita basis as France or Japan (both with an 2007 estimated at $33,800). The Spanish economy grew 3.8% in 2007 outpacing all G7 members and all the big EU economies for the 3rd consecutive year.
The centre-right government of former prime minister [[José María Aznar]] worked successfully to gain admission to the group of countries launching the [[euro]] in 1999. [[Unemployment]] stood at 7.6% in October 2006, a rate that compares favorably to many other European countries, and which is a marked improvement over rates that exceeded 20% in the early 1990s. Perennial weak points of Spain's economy include high inflation,<ref>"[http://www.oecdobserver.org/news/fullstory.php/aid/1592/Spain%92s_economy_.html Spain's Economy: Closing the Gap]," in the ''[[OECD]] Observer,'' May 2005. Retrieved July 8, 2007.</ref> a large [[underground economy]],<ref>[http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=16532 Going Underground: America's Shadow Economy], FrontPage magazine, January 2005</ref> and an education system which OECD reports place among the poorest for developed countries, together with the United States and UK.<ref>[http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/51/21/37392840.pdf OECD report for 2006]</ref> Nevertheless, it is expected that the Spanish economy will continue growing above the EU average based on the strengthening of industry, the growth of the global economy and increasing trade with Latin America and Asia.
The Spanish economy is credited for having avoided the virtual zero growth rate of some of its largest partners in the EU.<ref>[http://stats.oecd.org/WBOS/ViewHTML.aspx?QueryName=198&QueryType=View&Lang=en OECD figures]</ref> In fact, the country's economy has created more than half of all the new jobs in the European Union over the five years ending 2005.<ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/spain/article/0,,1830838,00.html Economic statistics]</ref> The Spanish economy has thus been regarded lately as one of the most dynamic within the EU, attracting significant amounts of foreign investment.<ref>[http://www.la-moncloa.es/NR/rdonlyres/2E85E75E-E2D9-4148-B1DF-950B06696A6C/74823/Chapter_2.PDF Official report on Spanish recent Macroeconomics, including tables and graphics]</ref>
During the last four decades the Spanish tourism industry has grown to become the second biggest in the world,<ref name="guru">[http://www.theglobalguru.com/article.php?id=60&offer=GURU001 "Global Guru" analysis]</ref> worth approximately 40 billion Euros (approx. 5% of GDP) in 2006<ref>[http://www.bde.es/informes/be/boleco/coye.pdf Bank of Spain economic report].</ref> More recently, the Spanish economy has benefited greatly from the [[Real estate bubble|global real estate boom]], with construction representing 16% of GDP and 12% of employment.<ref name="guru"/> According to calculations by the German newspaper ''[[Die Welt]]'', Spain is on pace to overtake countries like Germany in per capita income by 2011.<ref>http://www.europeanfoundation.org/docs/id210.pdf</ref> However, the downside of the real estate boom has been a corresponding rise in the levels of personal debt; as prospective homeowners struggle to meet asking prices, the average level of household debt has tripled in less than a decade. Among lower income groups, the median ratio of indebtedness to income was 125% in 2005.<ref>[http://www.bde.es/informes/be/boleco/2005/be0507e.pdf Bank of Spain Economic Bulletin 07/2005]</ref>
==Demographics==
{{main|Demographics of Spain}}
[[Image:Population densities in Spain (2007).svg|thumb|rigth|375px|Geographical distribution of the Spanish population in 2007.]]
In 2008 Spain officially reached 46.06 million people<ref>http://www.ine.es/jaxi/menu.do?type=pcaxis&path=%2Ft20/e260&file=inebase&L=1</ref> registered at the ''Padrón municipal'', an official record analogous to the British [[Register office]]. Spain's population density, at 89.6/km² (231/sq. mile), is lower than that of most Western European countries and its distribution along the country is very unequal. With the exception of the region surrounding the capital, [[Madrid]], the most populated areas lie around the coast.
The population of Spain doubled during the 20th century, due to the spectacular demographic boom by the 1960s and early 1970s. The pattern of growth was extremely uneven due to large-scale internal migration from the rural interior to the industrial cities during the 60s and 70s. No fewer than eleven of Spain's fifty provinces saw an absolute decline in population over the century. Then, after the [[List of countries and territories by fertility rate|birth rate]] plunged in the 80s and Spain's population became stalled, a new population increase started based initially in the return of many [[Spaniards|Spanish]] who emigrated to other European countries during the 70s and, more recently, it has been boosted by the large figures of foreign [[immigrants]], mostly from [[Latin America]] (38.75%), [[Eastern Europe]] (16.33%), [[North Africa]] (14.99%) and [[Sub-Saharan Africa]] (4.08%).<ref>[http://www.ine.es/inebase/cgi/axi?AXIS_PATH=/inebase/temas/t20/e245/p04/a2005/l0/&FILE_AXIS=00000010.px&CGI_DEFAULT=/inebase/temas/cgi.opt&COMANDO=SELECCION&CGI_URL=/inebase/cgi/ Instituto Nacional de Estadística]</ref> In 2005, Spain instituted a 3-month amnesty program through which certain hitherto undocumented aliens were granted legal residency. Also some important pockets of population coming from other countries in the European Union are found (20.77% of the foreign residents), specially along the Mediterranean ''costas'' and Balearic islands, where many choose to live their retirement or even [[telework]]. These are mostly English, French, German, and Dutch from fellow EU countries and, from outside the EU, Norwegian.
===Immigration in Spain===
{{main|Immigration to Spain}}
According to the Spanish government there were 4.5 million foreign residents in Spain in 2007; independent estimates put the figure at 4.8 million people, or 11% of the total population (Red Cross, World Disasters Report 2006). According to residence permit data for 2005, about 500,000 were [[Morocco|Moroccan]], another 500,000 were [[Ecuador]]ian, more than 200,000 were [[Romania]]n, and 260,000 were [[Colombia]]n. Other important foreign communities are [[United Kingdom|British]] (8.09%), [[France|French]] (8.03%), [[Argentina|Argentine]] (6.10%), [[Germany|German]] (5.58%) and [[Bolivia]]n (2.63%). In 2005, a regularisation programme increased the legal immigrant population by 700,000 people. Since 2000, Spain has experienced high [[population growth]] as a result of immigration flows, despite a birth rate that is only half the replacement level. This sudden and ongoing inflow of immigrants, particularly those arriving clandestinely by sea, has caused noticeable social tension.<ref>[http://www.ine.es/prodyser/pubweb/anuario06/anu06_02demog.pdf Instituto Nacional de Estadística: Avance del Padrón Municipal a 1 de enero de 2006. Datos provisionales]</ref><ref>[http://www.imdiversity.com/villages/hispanic/world_international/pns_immigration_shift_1204.asp Immigration Shift: Many Latin Americans Choosing Spain Over U.S.]</ref><ref>[http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_21/b4035066.htm Spain: Immigrants Welcome]</ref><ref>[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14628564/site/newsweek/page/0/ Immigrants Fuel Europe's Civilization Clash]</ref><ref>[http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/01/22/news/spain.php Spanish youth clash with immigrant gangs]</ref>
Based on 2004 figures,<ref>[http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_OFFPUB/KS-NK-06-001/EN/KS-NK-06-001-EN.PDF Eurostat - Population in Europe in 2005]</ref> within the EU Spain has the second highest immigration rate in ''percentage'' terms (after [[Cyprus]]), but by a great margin the highest in actual numbers of immigrants.
There are a number of reasons to explain the high level of immigration, including Spain's cultural ties with [[Latin America]], its geographical position, the porosity of its borders, the large size of its underground economy and the strength of the agricultural and construction sectors which demand more low cost labour than can be offered by the national workforce. Another statistically significant factor is the large number of residents of the EU origin typically retiring to Spain's Mediterranean coast. In fact, Spain has been Europe's largest absorber of migrants for the past six years, with its immigrant population increasing fourfold as 2.8 million people have arrived. According to the Financial Times, Spain is the most favoured destination for West Europeans considering a move from their own country and seeking jobs elsewhere in the EU. [http://international.ibox.bg/news/id_1406161495] (see [[Immigration to Spain]]).
===Minority groups===
Spain has a number of descendants of populations from former colonies (especially [[Equatorial Guinea]]) and immigrants from several [[Sub-Saharan]] and [[Caribbean]] countries have been recently settling in Spain. There are also sizeable numbers of [[Asia]]n immigrants, most of whom are of [[People's Republic of China|Chinese]], [[Filipino people|Filipino]], [[Middle East]]ern, [[Pakistan]]i and [[India]]n origins; the population of Spaniards of Latin American descent is sizeable as well and a fast growing segment. Other growing groups are [[British people|Britons]] (761,000 in 2006), [[Germans]] and other immigrants from western and Eastern Europe.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6161705.stm Immigration statistics].</ref>
Jewish emigration to Spain is primarily the result of three events: after the 19th century, some Jews established themselves in Spain as a result of migration from what was formerly [[Spanish Morocco]], the flight of Jews escaping from Nazi repression, and [[immigration]] from Argentina. Spanish law allows [[Sephardi Jews]] [[right to return#Spain|to claim Spanish citizenship]].
The arrival of the ''[[Roma in Spain|Gitanos]]'' (Gypsies), a [[Roma people]] group, began in the 16th century.
===Most populous urban regions===
# [[Madrid]] 5,943,041
# [[Urban Region of Barcelona|Barcelona]] 5,327,872
# [[Valencia, Spain|Valencia]] 1,623,724
# [[Seville]] 1,317,098
# [[Málaga]] 1,074,074
# [[Bilbao]] 946,829
{{seealso|List of cities in Spain}}
==Identities==
===Peoples===
{{Main|Spanish people|Nationalisms and regionalisms of Spain}}
The [[Spanish Constitution of 1978]], in its second article, recognises historic entities ("nationalities", a carefully chosen word in order to avoid the more politically charged "nations") and regions, within the context of the Spanish nation. For some people, Spain's identity consists more of an overlap of different regional identities than of a sole Spanish identity. Indeed, some of the regional identities may even conflict with the Spanish one. Distinct ethnic groups within Spain include the [[Basque people|Basques]], [[Catalan people|Catalans]], and [[Galician people|Galicians]].<ref>[http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2878.htm Kingdom of Spain: People]</ref>
It is this last feature of "shared identity" between the more local level or Autonomous Community and the Spanish level which makes the identity question in Spain complex and far from univocal.
===Languages===
{{Main|Languages of Spain}}
[[Image:Spain languages.PNG|thumb|right|250px|'''The languages of Spain''' (simplified)
{|width="100%" style="background:none;"
| align = top |{{legend|#FF0000|'''[[Spanish language|Spanish]]''' (74%),<ref>[https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/sp.html#People Spain: People], CIA World Factbook.</ref> official, spoken in all the territory}}
{{legend|#FF33FF|'''[[Catalan language|Catalan]]''' (17%), co-official, except in La Franja and Carxe}}
{{legend|#339999|'''[[Basque language|Basque]]''' (2%), co-official, in Basque Country and Navarre}}
{{legend|#FFFF99|'''[[Galician language|Galician]]''' (7%), co-official, except in Asturias and Castile and Leon}}
| align = top |{{legend|#009900|[[Astur-Leonese language|'''Asturian''']], unofficial, but adopted as co-official in some municipalities of Asturias<ref>[http://www.etsimo.uniovi.es/bopa/2006/10/19022_02.htm# BOPA N° 229 - Martes, 3 de octubre de 2006<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>}}
{{legend|#3a713a|'''[[:en:Extremaduran language|Extremaduran]]''', unofficial}}
{{legend|#9999FF|'''[[Aragonese language|Aragonese]]''', unofficial}}
{{legend|#33FF66|'''[[Aranese language|Aranese]]''', co-official (dialect of [[Occitan language|Occitan]])}}
|}.]]
[[Spanish language|Spanish]] ({{lang|es|''español''}} or {{lang|es|''castellano''}}), also known as ''Castilian'', is the only language with official status nationwide. Other languages have been declared co-official, along with Spanish, in (some of) their constituent communities where they are spoken:
* [[Aranese language|Aranese]] ({{lang|ar|''aranés''}}) (a variant of [[Occitan language|Occitan]]), in [[Catalonia]];
* [[Basque language|Basque]] ({{lang|eu|''euskera''}}) in the [[Basque Country (autonomous community)|Basque Country]] and [[Navarre]];
* [[Catalan language|Catalan]] ({{lang|eu|''català''}}) in [[Catalonia]], the [[Balearic Islands]] and in the [[Valencian Community]], known in the latter officially as ''[[Valencian]]'';
* [[Galician language|Galician]] ({{lang|gl|''galego''}}) in [[Galicia (Spain)|Galicia]].
[[Image:Map-Hispanophone World.png|thumb|left|350px|Spain's legacy: a map of the [[Spanish language|Hispanophone]] world.]]
There are also some other surviving [[Romance languages|Romance]] [[minority language]]s such as [[Astur-Leonese language|Astur-Leonese]] (which includes [[Asturian language|Asturian]], [[Leonese language|Leonese]], [[Extremaduran language|Extremaduran]] and [[Cantabrian language|Cantabrian]]) and [[Aragonese language|Aragonese]]. Asturian ({{lang|ast|''asturianu''}}) is "protected" in [[Asturias]]<ref>[http://www.jgpa.es/portal.do?TR=C&IDR=45 Junta General del Principado de Asturias<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> and Aragonese is vaguely recognized in [[Aragon]]. But unlike Aranese, Basque, Catalan/Valencian and Galician, they do not have any official status. This might be due to their very small number of speakers, a less significant written tradition (in comparison to Catalan or Galician) and lower self-awareness of their speakers which traditionally meant lack of strong popular demand for their recognition in the regions in which they are spoken.<ref>[http://www.ethnologue.com/14/show_country.asp?name=Spain Ethnologue report of Spain] and [http://www.proel.org/lenguas2.html map from Proel.org]</ref> In the [[North Africa]]n Spanish city of [[Melilla]], [[Tarifit]] is spoken by an important part of the population.
In the tourist areas of the Mediterranean coast and the islands, English and German are widely spoken by tourists, foreign residents, and tourism workers.
==Religion==
{{main|Religion in Spain}}
{{bar box
|title=Spain religiosity
|titlebar=#ddd
|left1=religion
|right1=percent
|float=left
|bars=
{{bar percent|Christianity|blue|76}}
{{bar percent|Irreligion / others|gray|19}}
{{bar percent|Islam|green|2.3}}
{{bar percent|Judaism|purple|0.1}}
{{bar percent|Others|pink|1.7}}
}}
Although Chapter 2 of the Constitution states that no religion shall have a state character, [[Roman Catholic]]ism is the main religion in the country. About 76% of Spaniards identify themselves as Catholics, about 2% identify with another religious faith, and about 19% identify themselves as non-religious. A study conducted in October 2006 by the Spanish Centre of Sociological Investigations<ref>[http://mas.lne.es/documentos/archivos/20-11-06-cis.pdf Centre of Sociological Investigations, questions 32 and 32a]</ref> shows that of the 76% of Spaniards who identify themselves as Catholics or with another religious faith, 54% hardly ever or never go to church, 15% go to church a few times per year, 10% a few times per month and 19% attend church every Sunday or multiple times per week. About 22% of the entire Spanish population attends religious services at least once per month.
[[Image:Sta-eulalia.jpg|right|200px|thumb|A view of the [[Barcelona Cathedral]].]]
Evidence of the secular nature of contemporary Spain can be seen in the widespread support for the legalisation of [[same-sex marriage in Spain]] — over 66% of Spaniards support gay marriage according to a 2004 study by the Centre of Sociological Investigations.<ref>[http://www.cis.es/ Centre of Sociological Investigations]</ref> Indeed, in June 2005 a bill was passed by 187 votes to 147 to allow gay marriage, making Spain the third country in the European Union to allow same-sex couples to marry after [[Belgium]] and the [[Netherlands]].
Protestant denominations are also present, all of them with less than 50,000 members. [[Evangelism]] has been better received among [[Roma people|Gypsies]] than among the general population; pastors have integrated [[flamenco]] music in their liturgy. Taken together, all self-described "Evangelicals" slightly surpass [[Jehovah's Witnesses]] (105,000) in number. While not Protestants, about 35,000 residents of Spain are members of the [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] ([[Mormons]]).
The recent waves of [[immigration]] have led to an increasing number of [[Muslim]]s, who have about 1 million members. [[Islam by country|Muslims]] had not lived in Spain for centuries; however, colonial expansion in Northern and Western Africa gave some number of residents in the [[Spanish Morocco]] and the [[Western Sahara]] full citizenship. Presently, [[Islam]] is the second largest religion in Spain, accounting for approximately 2.5% of the total population.
Along with these waves of immigration, a significant number of Latin American people, who tend to be strong Catholic practitioners, have helped the Catholic Church to recover.
[[Judaism]] was practically non-existent until the 19th century, when Jews were again permitted to enter the country. Currently there are around 62,000 Jews in Spain, most arrivals in the past century and some descendants of Spanish Jews and accounting for less than 1% of the total number of inhabitants. Spain is believed to have been about 8% [[Judaism|Jewish]] on the eve of the [[Spanish Inquisition]].{{Fact|date=November 2007}}{{see|History of the Jews in Spain}}
==Culture==
[[Image:ValenciaHemisphere2corr.jpg|thumb|The Hemispheric at the [[Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències]], Valencia.]]
{{Main|Culture of Spain|UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Spain}}
Spain is known for its culturally diverse heritage, having been influenced by many nations and peoples throughout its history.
Spanish culture has its origins in the [[Iberians|Iberian]], [[Celtiberians|Celtiberian]], [[Roman Empire|Latin]], [[Visigothic]], [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]], and [[Islam]]ic cultures. The definition of a national Spanish culture has been characterized by tension between the centralized state (dominated in recent centuries by [[Castile (historical region)|Castile]]) and numerous regions and minority peoples. In addition, the history of the nation and its Mediterranean and Atlantic environment have played strong roles in shaping its culture.
After [[Italy]], Spain is the country with the second highest number of [[UNESCO World Heritage Sites]] in the world, with a total of 40.
===Education in Spain===
{{Main|Education in Spain}}
State Education in Spain is free and compulsory from the age of 6 to 16. The current education system is called LOGSE (''Ley de Ordenación General del Sistema Educativo'').
===Spanish Academy===
{{Main|Real Academia Española}}
The '''''Real Academia Española''''' ([[Spanish language|Spanish]] for "Royal Spanish Academy"; '''RAE''') is the institution responsible for regulating the [[Spanish language]]. It is based in [[Madrid]], but is affiliated with national language academies in 21 [[Hispanophone|Spanish-speaking nations]] through the [[Association of Spanish Language Academies]]. Its emblem is a fiery crucible, and its [[motto]] is ''Limpia, fija y da esplendor'' ("It cleans, sets, and gives splendor").
===Spanish art===
[[Image:Velazquez-Meninas.jpg|thumb|upright|"[[Las Meninas]]" by [[Diego Velázquez]], 1656–1657.]]
{{Main|Spanish art}}
'''Spanish art''' is an important and influential type of art in Europe. Spanish art is the name given to the artistic disciplines and works developed in Spain throughout time, and those by Spanish authors world-wide. Due to historical, geographical and generational diversity, Spanish art has known a great number of influences. The Moorish heritage in Spain, especially in [[Andalusia]], is still evident today in cities like [[Córdoba, Spain|Córdoba]], [[Seville]], and [[Granada]]. European influences include [[Italy]], [[Germany]] and [[France]], especially during the [[Baroque]] and [[Neoclassicism|Neoclassical]] periods.
===Spanish literature===
{{Main|Spanish literature}}
[[Image:Page of Lay of the Cid.jpg|left|thumb|upright|The [[Cantar de Mio Cid]] is the oldest preserved [[Spanish language|Spanish]] literature known as "[[cantar de gesta]]".]]
Spanish literature is the name given to the literary works written in Spain throughout time, and those by Spanish authors world-wide. Due to historic, geographic and generational diversity, Spanish literature has known a great number of influences and it is very diverse. Some major movements can be identified within it.
===Spanish architecture===
{{Main|Spanish architecture}}
[[Image:PalacioRealMadrid.JPG|thumb|right|200px|A view of the [[Baroque]] architecture of the [[Royal Palace of Madrid]].]]
Spanish architecture refers to [[architecture]] carried out during any era in what is now modern-day Spain, and by Spanish architects worldwide. The term includes buildings within the current geographical limits of Spain before this name was given to those territories (whether they were called [[Hispania]], [[Al-Andalus]], or were formed of several Christian kingdoms). Due to its historical and geographical diversity, Spanish architecture has drawn from a host of influences.
For example, [[Córdoba, Spain|Córdoba]] was established as the cultural Capital of its time under the [[Umayyad dynasty]]. Simultaneously, the Christian kingdoms gradually emerged and developed their own styles, at first mostly isolated from European architectural influences, and later integrated into [[Romanesque architecture|Romanesque]] and [[Gothic architecture|Gothic]] streams, they reached an extraordinary peak with numerous samples along the whole territory. The [[Mudéjar]] style, from the 12th to 17th centuries, was characterised by the blending of cultural European and Arabic influences.
The arrival of [[Modernism]] in the academic arena produced figures such as [[Gaudí]] and much of the architecture of the 20th century. The [[International style (architecture)|International style]] was led by groups like [[GATEPAC]]. Spain is currently experiencing a revolution in [[contemporary architecture]] and [[:Category:Spanish architects|Spanish architects]] like [[Rafael Moneo]], [[Santiago Calatrava]], [[Ricardo Bofill]] as well as many others have gained worldwide renown.
===Music of Spain===
{{Main|Music of Spain}}
'''Spanish music''' is often considered abroad to be synonymous with [[flamenco]], an Andalusian musical genre, which, contrary to popular belief, is not widespread outside that region. Various regional styles of folk music abound in Aragon, Catalonia, Valencia, [[Castile (historical region)|Castile]], the Basque Country, Galicia and Asturias. Pop, rock, hip hop and heavy metal are also popular.
===Cinema of Spain===
{{Main|Cinema of Spain}}
In recent years, Spanish cinema has achieved high marks of recognition as a result of its creative and technical excellence. In the long history of Spanish cinema, the great filmmaker [[Luis Buñuel]] was the first to achieve universal recognition, followed by [[Pedro Almodóvar]] in the 1980s. Spanish cinema has also seen international success over the years with films by [[film director|directors]] like [[Segundo de Chomón]], [[Florián Rey]], [[Luis García Berlanga]], [[Carlos Saura]], [[Julio Medem]] and [[Alejandro Amenábar]].
[[Image:Calamares tapas.jpg|thumb|A type of Spanish cuisine known as "Tapa de [[calamares]]".]]
===Spanish cuisine===
{{Main|Spanish cuisine}}
Spanish cuisine consists of a great variety of dishes which stem from differences in geography, culture and climate. It is heavily influenced by seafood available from the waters that surround the country, and reflects the country's deep [[Mediterranean]] roots. Spain's extensive history with many cultural influences has led to a unique cuisine.
===Sports in Spain===
{{Main|Sport in Spain}}
Sport in Spain has been dominated by [[football (soccer)|football]] since the early 20th century. [[Basketball]], [[tennis]], [[cycling]], [[handball]], [[motorcycling]] and, lately, [[Formula 1]] are also important due to presence of Spanish champions in all these disciplines. Today, Spain is a major world sports power, especially since the [[1992 Summer Olympics]] that were hosted in [[Barcelona]] and promoted a great variety of sports in the country. The tourism industry has led to an improvement in sports infrastructure, especially for [[water sports]], [[golf]] and [[skiing]].
===Public holidays in Spain===
{{Main|Public holidays in Spain}}
Public holidays celebrated in Spain include a mix of religious ([[Roman Catholic]]), national and regional observances. Each municipality is allowed to declare a maximum of 14 [[public holiday]]s per year; up to nine of these are chosen by the national government and at least two are chosen locally.
==International rankings==
* [[Reporters Without Borders]] world-wide press freedom index 2007: Rank 33 out of 169 countries.<ref>[http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=24025/ Annual Worldwide Press Freedom Index, 2007]</ref>
* ''[[The Economist]]'' Intelligence Units: Rank 10 out of 111 countries (ahead of countries like the [[United States of America]], the [[United Kingdom]], and [[France]])<ref>[http://www.economist.com/media/pdf/QUALITY_OF_LIFE.pdf Worldwide Quality-of-Life Index, 2005] ''The Economist''.</ref>
* Nation Master's list by economic importance: Rank 9 of 25 countries, only surpassed by [[G-8]] members.<ref>[http://www.nationmaster.com/graph-T/eco_eco_imp Nation Master's country ranking by economic importance].</ref>
* Nation Master's list by technological achievement: Rank 18 of 68 countries.<ref>[http://www.nationmaster.com/graph-T/eco_tec_ach Nation Master's country ranking by technological achievement].</ref>
<gallery caption="Gallery of Images" perrow="5">
Image:Sagrada familia by night 2006.jpg|The [[Sagrada Família]] by night, [[Barcelona]]
Image:Burgos Cathedral.jpg|[[Burgos Cathedral]]
Image:SevillaGiralda.jpg|[[The Cathedral of Seville]]
Image:Alhambradesdegeneralife.jpg|The [[Alhambra]], [[Granada]]
Image:Segovia Aqueduct.JPG|[[Aqueduct of Segovia|Roman Aqueduct of Segovia]]
Image:Santuario Novelda.jpg|The Sanctuary of Santa María Magdalena in [[Novelda]]
Image:Ventana2.jpg|[[El Escorial|Monasterio de El Escorial]]
Image:Guggenheim-bilbao-jan05.jpg|[[Guggenheim Museum Bilbao|Guggenheim Museum]], [[Bilbao]]
Image:Antequera pena de los enamorados.JPG|[[Antequera]], in [[Málaga province]]
Image:Düne4.jpg|The [[Maspalomas]] Dunes, [[Gran Canaria]], [[Canary Islands]]
Image:Val d'Aran.jpg|[[Val d'Aran|Arán valley]], [[Lleida (province)|Lleida]]
Image:Central pyrenees.jpg|The [[Pyrenees]]
<!-- Unsourced image removed: Image:Glories.jpg|[[Plaça de les Glòries Catalanes, Barcelona|Plaça Glòries]], [[Barcelona]] -->
</gallery>
==See also==
{{Spain topics}}
==References==
{{reflist|2}}
==Further reading==
* {{cite book |last=Thomas |first=Hugh |authorlink=Hugh Thomas | title = Rivers of gold: the rise of the Spanish Empire |publisher=George Weidenfeld & Nicholson |date=2003 |location=London |id=ISBN 978-0297645634}}
* John Hickman and Chris Little, "Seat/Vote Proportionality in Romanian and Spanish Parliamentary Elections", ''Journal of Southern Europe and the Balkans'' Volume 2, Number 2, November 2000.
* Harold Raley, "The Spirit of Spain", Houston: Halcyon Press 2001. (ISBN 0-9706054-9-8)
* [[George Orwell]]'s ''[[Homage to Catalonia]]''.
==External links==
<!--Do not add a link to your or your friend's website. Do not add a link to a website that contains less information than this article. Before adding any links read Wikipedia:External links to make sure your link is appropriate-->
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===Overviews===
<!--Do not add a link to your or your friend's website. Do not add a link to a website that contains less information than this article. Before adding any links read Wikipedia:External links to make sure your link is appropriate-->
{{sisterlinks|Spain}}
* [https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/sp.html Spain]: [[CIA World Factbook]] entry (Updated on [[May 16]] [[2006]]; info as available on [[January 1]] [[2005]])
* [http://www.britannica.com/nations/Spain Encyclopaedia Britannica's Spain Portal site]
* [http://www.maps.data-spain.com/ Maps of Spain:] satellite images, relief maps, outlines and themed maps of Spanish autonomous communities, provinces and municipalities
* [http://www.iberianature.com/ IberiaNature] a guide to the environment, geography, climate, wildlife, natural history and landscape of Spain
* [http://www.expatica.com/es/main.html Local Spanish news and features], ''Expatica''
* [http://www.economist.com/countries/Spain/ Spain]: [[The Economist]] Country Briefings entry
* {{wikiatlas|Spain}}
* {{loc}} ([http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/estoc.html Link to Library of Congress Spain Country Series site] (1988))
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===Government===
<!--Do not add a link to your or your friend's website. Do not add a link to a website that contains less information than this article. Before adding any links read Wikipedia:External links to make sure your link is appropriate-->
* [http://www.constitucion.es/constitucion/lenguas/ingles.html La Constitucion] — Spanish Constitution
* [http://www.casareal.es/index-iden-idweb.html Casa Real.es] - Official site of the Spanish Royal Family
* [http://www.la-moncloa.es/default?idioma=en-GB La Moncloa.es] — Prime Minister's official site
* [http://www.administracion.es administracion.es] e-government Portal {{es icon}}
* [http://www.congreso.es/portal/page/portal/Congreso/Congreso Congreso de los Diputados] — Official site of the Congress of Deputies
* [http://www.senado.es/home_i.html El Senado] - Official site of the Senate
* [http://www.mae.es Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores] Ministry of Foreign Affairs
* [http://www.ine.es/inebase/cgi/um?L=0 INEBase] — National Institute of Statistics {{es icon}}
* [http://www.aeat.es Agencia Estatal de Administración Tributaria] — State Tax Administration Agency
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===Tourism===
<!--Do not add a link to your or your friend's website. Do not add a link to a website that contains less information than this article. Before adding any links read Wikipedia:External links to make sure your link is appropriate-->
* {{wikitravel}}
* [http://www.spain.info/TourSpain/?Language=en Official Website of Tourism in Spain]
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===Other===
<!--Do not add a link to your or your friend's website. Do not add a link to a website that contains less information than this article. Before adding any links read Wikipedia:External links to make sure your link is appropriate-->
* [http://eudocs.lib.byu.edu/index.php/History_of_Spain:_Primary_Documents History of Spain: Primary Documents]
* [http://www.datesofhistory.com/Spain.index.html Chronology Spain]
* [http://www.proel.org/lenguas.html Proel.org] — Languages of Spain
{{Countries of Europe}}
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[[Category:Spain| ]]
[[Category:Spanish-speaking countries]]
[[Category:Constitutional monarchies]]
[[Category:Liberal democracies]]
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