12/15/2014 Spain ­ Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Spain From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia i Spain ( /ˈspeɪn/; Kingdom of Spain Spanish: España [es ˈpaɲa] ( )), Reino de España [a][b] officially the Kingdom of Spain (Spanish: Reino de España),[a][b] is a sovereign state Flag Coat of arms located on the Motto: "Plus Ultra" (Latin) Iberian Peninsula in "Further Beyond" southwestern Europe. Its Anthem: "Marcha Real" 0:00 MENU mainland is bordered to the south and east by the Mediterranean Sea except for a small land boundary with Gibraltar; to the north and northeast by France, Location of Spain (dark green) Andorra, and the – in Europe (green & dark grey) – in the European Union (green) – [Legend] Bay of Biscay; and to the west and northwest by Portugal and the Atlantic Ocean. Along with France and Morocco, it is one of only three countries to have both Atlantic and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spain 1/89 12/15/2014 Spain ­ Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Mediterranean coastlines. Spain's 1,214 km (754 mi) border with Portugal is the longest uninterrupted border within the European Union. Spanish territory also includes the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean, the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean off the African coast, three exclaves in North Africa, Ceuta, Melilla, and Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera that border Morocco, and the Capital Madrid islands and peñones and largest city 40°26′N 3°42′W (rocks) of Alborán, National language Spanish[c] Chafarinas, Recognised regional Aragonese · Asturian · Alhucemas, and languages Perejil. (The Basque · Catalan · Spanish Empire Galician · Occitan with its peak in the 1600s had included Ethnic groups (2011) 87.8% Spanish much more territory 12.2% others ­ see world map.) With an area of Demonym Spanish · Spaniard 2 505,992 km Government Unitary parliamentary (195,365 sq mi), constitutional monarchy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spain 2/89 12/15/2014 Spain ­ Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Spain is the second ­ Monarch Felipe VI largest country in ­ Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy Western Europe and Legislature General Courts the European Union, and the fifth largest ­ Upper house Senate country in Europe. ­ Lower house Congress of Deputies Formation Modern humans ­ Dynastic 1479 first arrived in the ­ De facto 1516 Iberian Peninsula ­ De jure 1715 around 35,000 years ago. It came under ­ Nation state 1812 Roman rule around ­ Constitutional democracy 1931 200 BCE, after ­ Current democracy 1978 which the region ­ Joined the EEC (now 1986 was named the EU) Hispania. In the Area Middle Ages, the area was conquered ­ Total 504,645[2] km2 (52nd) by Germanic tribes 195,364 sq mi and later by the ­ Water (%) 1.04 Moors. Spain Population emerged as a unified ­ 2013 estimate 46,704,314[3] (28th) country in the 15th ­ 2011 census 46,815,916[4] century, following the marriage of the ­ Density 92/km2 (106th) Catholic Monarchs 240/sq mi and the completion GDP (PPP) 2014 estimate of the centuries­long ­ Total [5] ( ) reconquest, or $1.534 trillion 16th Reconquista, of the ­ Per capita $32,975[5] (33rd) peninsula from the GDP (nominal) 2014 estimate Moors in 1492. In ­ Total [5] ( ) the early modern $1.400 trillion 14th period, Spain ­ Per capita $30,113[5] (28th) became one of history's first global Gini (2013) 33.7[6] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spain 3/89 12/15/2014 Spain ­ Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia colonial empires, medium · high leaving a vast HDI (2013) 0.869[7] cultural and very high · 27th linguistic legacy that includes over Currency Euro (€) (EUR) 500 million Spanish Time zone CET (UTC+1) speakers, making Spanish the world's ­ Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2a) second most spoken Date format dd.mm.yyyy (Spanish; first language. CE) Modern Spain is a Drives on the right democracy Calling code +34 organized in the form of a ISO 3166 code ES parliamentary Internet TLD [d] government under a .es constitutional a. Except the Canary Islands, which observe UTC+0 (WET) and UTC+1 during monarchy. It is a summer time. developed country with the 14th largest economy in the world. It is a member of the United Nations, NATO, OECD, WTO and many other international organizations. Contents 1 Etymology 2 History 2.1 Prehistory and pre­Roman peoples 2.2 Roman Empire and the Gothic Kingdom 2.3 Middle Ages 2.4 Imperial Spain 2.5 Liberalism and nation state http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spain 4/89 12/15/2014 Spain ­ Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 2.6 Spanish Civil War and dictatorship 2.7 Democratic restoration 3 Geography 3.1 Islands 3.2 Mountains and rivers 3.3 Climate 4 Governance 4.1 Branches of government 4.2 Human Rights 4.3 Administrative divisions 4.3.1 Autonomous communities and autonomous cities 4.3.2 Provinces and municipalities 4.4 Foreign relations 4.4.1 Territorial disputes 4.5 Military 5 Economy 5.1 Recent background 5.2 Property boom and bust 5.3 Quality of life 5.4 Agriculture 5.5 Tourism 5.6 Energy 5.7 Transport 6 Demographics 6.1 Urbanization 6.1.1 Metropolitan areas 6.2 Peoples http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spain 5/89 12/15/2014 Spain ­ Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 6.3 Minority groups 6.4 Immigration 6.5 Languages 6.6 Education 6.7 Religion 7 Culture 7.1 Monuments and World Heritage Sites 7.2 Literature 7.3 Art 7.4 Cinema 7.5 Architecture 7.6 Music and dance 7.7 Cuisine 7.8 Science and technology 7.9 Sport 7.10 Public holidays and festivals 8 See also 9 Notes 10 References 11 External links Etymology The origins of the Roman name Hispania, from which the modern name España was derived, are uncertain and are possibly unknown due to inadequate evidence. Down the centuries there have been a number of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spain 6/89 12/15/2014 Spain ­ Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia accounts and hypotheses: The Renaissance scholar Antonio de Nebrija proposed that the word Hispania evolved from the Iberian word Hispalis, meaning "city of the western world". Jesús Luis Cunchillos argues that the root of the term span is the Phoenecian word spy, meaning "to forge metals". Therefore i­spn­ya Treasure of Villena, a would mean "the land where metals are Bronze Age treasure forged".[9] It may be a derivation of the hoard. Phoenician I­Shpania, meaning "island of rabbits", "land of rabbits" or "edge", a reference to Spain's location at the end of the Mediterranean; Roman coins struck in the region from the reign of Hadrian show a female figure with a coney at her feet,[10] and Strabo called it the "land of the rabbits".[11] Hispania may derive from the poetic use of the term Hesperia, reflecting the Greek perception of Italy as a "western land" or "land of the setting sun" (Hesperia, Ἑσπερία in Greek) and Spain, being still further west, as Hesperia ultima.[12] There is the claim that "Hispania" derives from the Basque word Ezpanna meaning "edge" or "border", another reference to the fact that the Iberian Peninsula constitutes the southwest corner of the European continent.[12] Two 15th­century Spanish Jewish scholars, Don Isaac Abrabanel and Solomon ibn Verga, gave an explanation now considered folkloric. Both men wrote in two different published works that the first Jews to reach Spain were brought by ship by Phiros who was confederate with the king of Babylon when he laid siege to Jerusalem. This man was a Grecian by birth, but who had been given a kingdom in Spain. He became related by marriage to Espan, the nephew of king Heracles, who also ruled over a kingdom in Spain. Heracles later renounced his throne in preference for his native Greece, leaving his kingdom to his nephew, Espan, from whom http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spain 7/89 12/15/2014 Spain ­ Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia the country of España (Spain) took its name. Based upon their testimonies, this eponym would have already been in use in Spain by c. 350 BCE.[13] History Iberia enters written records as a land populated largely by the Iberians, Basques and Celts. After an arduous conquest, the peninsula came under the rule of the Roman Empire. During the early Middle Ages it came under Germanic rule but later, much of it was conquered by Moorish invaders from North Africa. In a process that took centuries, the Altamira Cave small Christian kingdoms in the north paintings,[14] in gradually regained control of the peninsula. Cantabria. The last Moorish kingdom fell in the same year Columbus reached the Americas. A global empire began which saw Spain become the strongest kingdom in Europe, the leading world power for a century and a half, and the largest overseas empire for three centuries. Continued wars and other problems eventually led to a diminished status. The Napoleonic invasions of Spain led to chaos, triggering independence movements that tore apart most of the empire and left the country politically unstable. Prior to the Second World War, Spain suffered a devastating civil war and came under the rule of an authoritarian government, whose rule oversaw a period of stagnation but that finished with a powerful economic surge. Eventually democracy was peacefully restored in the form of a parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Spain joined the European Union, experiencing a cultural renaissance and steady economic growth. Prehistory and pre­Roman peoples http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spain 8/89 12/15/2014 Spain ­ Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Archaeological research at Atapuerca indicates the Iberian Peninsula was populated by hominids 1.2 million years ago.[15] In Atapuerca there have been found fossils of the earliest known hominins in Europe, the Homo antecessor.