The Background of Spain

Spain is one of the largest countries of Western Europe. It is part of the Iberian Peninsula, and stretches from the Pyrenees Mountains to the Strait of Gibraltar, which separates Spain from Africa. To the east lies the Mediterranean Sea, including Spain's Balearic Islands.

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Government and economy

In Spain, there is a monarchy and the king and the elected president share the power. Spain is divided into 17 regions,the regions manage its own schools, hospitals, and other public services.

One of the main industries in Spain is tourism. Spain attracts more tourists than any other European country except France.

Other important industries are textiles and clothing, food and beverages, metals, chemicals, shipbuilding, automobiles, machine tools, clay products, footwear, pharmaceuticals and medical equipment.

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FAST FACTS

Official Name: Kingdom of Spain

Spanish Name: España.

Capital: Madrid

Population: 47,737,941

Official languages: Castilian Spanish, Basque, Catalan, and Galician

Currency: Euro

Area: 195,363 square miles (505,988 square kilometers)

Major mountain ranges: Pyrenees, Sierra de Guadarrama, Sierra de Gredos, Sierra Nevada

Major rivers: Guadalquivir, Ebro, Duero, Miño, Tajo, and Guadiana

Sport: Football (soccer) is the most popular sport in Spain.

Geography and climate

The interior of Spain is a high, dry plateau surrounded and crisscrossed by mountain ranges. Rivers run to the coasts, creating good farmland. A large part of the interior of the country has semiarid climate, with temperatures that range from extremely cold in the winter to scorching hot in the summer. Droughts are common.  

Plants and trees grow so well on the northwestern coast, in Galicia and along the Bay of Biscay, that the area is called Green Spain. Rain, trapped by the mountains farther inland, is frequent. Beech and oak trees flourish here. Numerous coves and inlets break up the coastline.

The southern and eastern coasts of Spain, from the fertile Andalusian plain up to the Pyrenees, are often swept by warm winds called sirocco winds. These winds originate in northern Africa and keep temperatures along the Mediterranean coast milder than the interior.

Agriculture

Spain has about 50.5 million hectares of land but only 20.6 million, or about 40%, are suitable for cultivation. Even where there is cultivation the soil is generally of poor quality, and only about 10% of the land can be considered excellent.

In the north and northwest of the country there is a relatively mild, humid climate and the land is irrigated by rainfall. These are the principal corn producing and cattle-raising areas. Apples and pears were the main orchard crops in these area, and potatoes were also grown.

But large parts of the country are dry and irrigation systems are needed and those areas that have good irrigation syetems (only about 17% of the land) produce lots of fruit and vegetables for the home market and for export. Where the land has been irrigated the crops grown include corn, fruit trees, and vegetables. Agricultural products that have been helped by  irrigation include grapes, cotton, sugar beets, potatoes, legumes, olive trees, strawberries, tomatoes, and fodder grasses.

In the 1980’ s agriculture mainly involved the growing of fruit, vegetables, cereals and olives. Citrus fruits and vegetables were Spain’s main export as the growing conditions were ideal. But as the country became wealthy meat and poultry became popular in farming and became more important agriculturally than fruit and vegetables.