Spain

Geography

Location: South-western Europe, bor­dering the Bay of Biscay, Mediterranean Sea, North Atlantic Ocean, and Pyrenees Mountains, south-west of France. Area: 504,782 sq. km. Principal cities: Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Zaragoza, and Bilbao. Tourist attractions: Alcazar, Alhambra, Castillo de Santa Barbara, Cordoba Mezquita, La Sagrada Famflia, Museo del Prado, Pare Nacjonal d'Aigiiestortes i Estany de Sant Maurici, and Toledo. Time zone: GMT+1 hours.

People

Population: 40,448,191 (July 2007 est.). Population growth rate: 0.116% (2007 est.). Sex ratio: 0.956 male(s)/female (2007 est.). Religions: Roman Catholic, others. Languages: Castilian Spanish, Catalan, Galician, Basque. Literacy rate: Total 97.9%, Male 98.7%, Female 97.2% (2003 est.). Infant mortality rate: 4.31 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.). Life expectancy: Total 79.78 years, Male 76,46 years, Female 83.32 years (2007 est.).

Government 

 Capital: Madrid. National anthem: Marcha Real. Government type: Par­liamentary monarchy. Independence:
1492 (Date of seizure of Granada lead­ing to the unification of several king­doms. This is traditionally considered to be the creation of present-day Spain). Legal system: Civil law system, with regional applications. Executive branch: Chief of state: King Juan Carlos I (since 22 November 1975). Heir Apparent Prince Felipe, son of the monarch, born 30 January 1968. Head of government: President Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero (since 17 April 2004). Elections and election results: The monarchy is hereditary. After legislative elections are held, the monarch proposes the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition as the president. The National Assembly then elects the president. Legislative branch: Bicam­eral; General Courts or National As­sembly or Las Cortes General es consists of the Senate or Senado (259 seats; 208 members directly elected by popular vote and the other 51 ap­pointed by the regional legislatures; to serve four-year terms) and the Con­gress of Deputies or Congreso de los Diputados (350 seats; members are elected by popular vote on block lists by proportional representation to serve four-year terms). Judicial branch: Su­preme court or Tribunal Supremo.

Economy

Currency: Euro/Spanish peseta. Cur­rency conversion: Euro per Indian ru­pee—0.0182; Spanish peseta per Indian rupee—3.0192 (June 2007 est.). GDP: Purchasing power parity—$ 1. 109 trillion (2006 est.). GDP—real growth rate: 3.9% (2006 est.). GDP—per capita: Purchasing power parity—$27,400 (2006 est.). Inflation rate: 3.5% (2006 est.). Exports: $222.1 billion f.o.b. {2006 est.). Imports: $324.4 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.). External debt:
$1,591 trillion (2006 est.).

Transport and Communications

Railways: 14,873 km. Roads: 664,852 km. Airports: Madrid Barajas and Barcelona International Airports. Telephones: 18.322 million (2005). Mobile cellular: 41.328 million (2005). Internet users: 19.205 million (2005). Internet country code: es. ISD code: 34.