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Spain (Spanish Espaņa), republic in southwestern Europe, occupying the greater part of the Iberian Peninsula, and bounded on the north by the Bay of Biscay, France, and Andorra; on the east by the Mediterranean Sea; on the south by the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean; and on the west by Portugal and the Atlantic Ocean. The British dependency of Gibraltar is situated at the southern extremity of Spain. The Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean and the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa are governed as provinces of Spain. Also, Spain administers two small excluvos in Morocco—Ceuta and Melilla—as well as three island groups near Africa—and the Alhucemas and Chafarinas islands. The area of Spain, including the African and insular territories, is 504,750 sq km (194,885 sq mi). Madrid is the capital and largest city.
Climate
The climate of Spain is marked by extremes
of temperature and, except in the north, generally low rainfall,
and the variegated physical features of the country ensure pronounced
climatic differences. The climate is most equable along the Biscayan
and Atlantic coasts, which are generally damp and cool. The central
plateau has summers so arid that nearly all the streams dry up,
the earth parches, and drought is common. Most of Spain receives
less than 600 mm (less than 24 in) of precipitation per year;
the northern mountains get considerably more moisture. At Madrid,
winter cold is sufficient to freeze surrounding streams, while
summer temperatures in Seville rise as high as 49 C (120 F). By
contrast the southern Mediterranean coast has a subtropical climate.
M·laga, in the extreme south, has an average winter temperature
of 14 C (57 F).
Population
The Spanish people are essentially a mixture of the indigenous
peoples of the Iberian Peninsula with the successive peoples who
conquered the peninsula and occupied it for extended periods.
These added ethnologic elements include the Romans, a Mediterranean
people, and the Suevi, Vandals, and Visigoth, Teutonic peoples.
Semitic elements are also present. Several ethnic groups in Spain
have kept a separate identity, culturally and linguistically.
These include the Catalans (16 percent of the population), who
live principally in the northeast and on the eastern islands;
the Galicians (8 percent), who live in northwestern Spain; the
Basques, or Euskal-dun (2 percent), who live chiefly around the
Bay of Biscay; and the nomadic Spanish Roma (Gypsies), also called
Gitanos.
Population
Characteristics
The population of Spain at the 1991 census
was 38,872,268. The estimate for 1996 is 39,181,114, giving the
country an overall density of about 78 persons per sq km (about
201 per sq mi). Spain is increasingly urban, with more than 80
percent of the population in towns and cities.
Religion
Roman Catholicism is
professed by about 97 percent of the population. The country is
divided into 11 metropolitan and 52 suffragan seas. In addition,
the archdioceses of Barcelona and Madrid are directly responsible
to the Holy Roman Catholicism was the established church, but
the 1978 constitution decreed that Spain shall have no state religion,
while recognizing the role of the Roman Catholic church in Spanish
society. There are small communities of Protestants, Jews, and
Muslims.
Language
Most of the people of Spain speak Castilian
Spanish. In addition, Catalan is spoken in the northeast, Galician
(Gallego, akin to Portuguese) is spoken in the northwest, and
Basque (Euskara, a pre-Indo-European language) is spoken in the
north. See Spanish Language, Catalan Language, Basque Language.