Location
Southwestern Europe
Total area
505 370 sq. km
Population
46 934 632 (2021)
Conditional reduction of currency
EUR
Climate, average max and min t°
Temperate; hot summers in interior, more moderate along coast; cold winters in interior; summer avg. max. day temperature in central Spain +30°C; avg. minimum winter temperature 5°C
Time difference from Moscow
- 1 hour
State language
Castilian Spanish
Ethnic groups
Composite of Mediterranean and Nordic types; aboriginal population - spanish (castilian), catalan, basque and galician
History
Spanish history traces back to the ancient times. Celts, Visigoths, and Arabs controlled the territory of the country. In the 16th century Spain turns into one of the most powerful colonial empires due to its successful expeditions to the New World. Subsequent failure to embrace the mercantile and industrial revolutions caused the country to fall behind Britain, France, and Germany in economic and political power. Spain remained neutral in World Wars I and II but suffered through a devastating civil war (1936-39). A peaceful transition to democracy following the death of dictator Francisco FRANCO in 1975, and rapid economic modernization (Spain joined the EU in 1986) gave Spain a dynamic and rapidly growing economy and made it a global champion of freedom and human rights. At the beginning of 2004 he new socialist government of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero reversed a foreign policy of the country – now it is mainly about coordination of its activities with the countries of the EU.
Government type
Constitutional monarchy
Executive branch
Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister
Legislative branch
Bicameral General Courts consists of the Senate (257 seats as of 2013) and the Congress of Deputies (350 seats)
Judicial branch
Supreme Court, National Court , High Courts of Justice, provincial courts, courts of first instance
Unemployment
13,65% (2022)
GDP per capita rank
43 (2020)
Corruption perceptions index rank
61 (2021)
