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The Kingdom of Spain is a country located in the extreme southwest of Europe. It shares the Iberian Peninsula with Portugal. In the northeast it borders France and the tiny principality of Andorra, along the Pyrenees mountain range. It includes the Canary Islands off the Atlantic coast of Morocco, and the enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla in northern Morocco. The "rock of Gibraltar" has been held by Great Britain since the end of the War of the Spanish Succession in 1714.
Spain is a parliamentary monarchy with a constitution dating from 1978. Spain joined NATO in 1981 and is a member of the European Union since 1986. The Euro became Spain's currency on January 1, 1999.
Administratively, Spain is divided into 17 autonomous communities with various levels of self-government. The capital is Madrid.
Four major languages are spoken in Spain, each is official in certain regions:
- Spanish (Castellano), official language throughout Spain, as mandated by the current Constitution of 1978
- Catalan (Català or Valencià) in Catalonia (Catalunya), the Balearic Islands (Illes Balears), and part of Valencia (València, where the language is officialy called Valencian).
- Basque (Euskara) in Basque Country (Euskadi), and part of Navarre.
- Galician (Galego) in Galicia (Galiza).
Catalan, Galician and Spanish are all descenced from Latin and have their own dialects; there are also some surviving dialects of Latin such as Asturian or Bable in Asturias and part of León, Aragonese in part of Aragón, and Aranese (a Gascon Occitan variant) in the Val d'Aran on the northwest tip of Catalonia. The Spanish spoken in America is descended from the dialect of Spanish spoken in southwestern Spain.
Spain was the most powerful country in the 16th century. The Spanish Empire extended all over the world.
National Parks
See also: History of Spain, Spanish euro coins
From the CIA World Factbook 2000. Not Wikified.
- Geography
- Demographics of Spain
- Government
- Economy
- Communications
- Transportation
- Military
- Transnational issues
Spanish Cities
European Union:
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