Spain

• スペイン

関

Spanish

　 　

WordNet

1. a parliamentary monarchy in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula; a former colonial power (同)Kingdom of Spain, Espana
2. of or relating to or characteristic of Spain or the people of Spain; "Spanish music"
3. the people of Spain (同)Spanish people
4. the Romance language spoken in most of Spain and the countries colonized by Spain
5. the capital and largest city of Trinidad and Tobago on the west coast of the island of Trinidad (同)Port-of-Spain, capital of Trinidad and Tobago

PrepTutorEJDIC

1. 『スペイン』(ヨーロッパ南西部の王国;首都はMadrid)
2. 《the ~》《集合的に》『スペイン人』 / 『スペイン語』 / 『スペイン』[人]『の』;スペイン語の
3. ポートオブスペイン(西インド諸島トリニダード・トバゴの港市で首都)

Wikipedia preview

出典(authority):フリー百科事典『ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』「2016/05/18 04:04:12」(JST)

wiki ja

[Wiki ja表示]

スペイン

España

（国旗）	（国章）

国の標語：Plus Ultra
（ラテン語: 更なる前進）

国歌：国王行進曲

公用語	スペイン語
首都	マドリード
最大の都市	マドリード
政府 国王 フェリペ6世 首相 マリアーノ・ラホイ・ブレイ 面積 総計 504,782km2（50位） 水面積率 1.0% 人口 総計（2008年） 45,989,016人（29位） 人口密度 85人/km2 GDP（自国通貨表示） 合計（2008年） 1兆0,951億ユーロ (€) GDP (MER) 合計（2008年） 1兆6,117億ドル（8位） GDP (PPP) 合計（2008年） 1兆3,968億ドル（11位） 1人あたり 30,620ドル
王政復古	1975年11月22日
通貨	ユーロ (€) (EUR)
時間帯	UTC +1（DST：+2）
ISO 3166-1	ES / ESP
ccTLD	.es
国際電話番号	34

スペイン（España）、スペイン国（スペイン語: Estado Español）またはスペイン王国（スペイン語: Reino de España）は、ヨーロッパ南西部のイベリア半島に位置し、同半島の大部分を占める立憲君主制国家。西にポルトガル、南にイギリス領ジブラルタル、北東にフランス、アンドラと国境を接し、飛地のセウタ、メリリャではモロッコと陸上国境を接する。本土以外に、西地中海のバレアレス諸島や、大西洋のカナリア諸島、北アフリカのセウタとメリリャ、アルボラン海のアルボラン島を領有している。首都はマドリード（マドリッドと表記されることもある）。

国名

正式名称は特に定められていないが、1978年憲法ではスペイン語で、España（[esˈpaɲa] ( 聞く) エスパーニャ）、Estado Español（エスタード・エスパニョール）などが用いられている。Reino de España（レイノ・デ・エスパーニャ）も用いられることがある。

日本語の表記はそれぞれ、スペイン、スペイン国、スペイン王国。これは英語の Spain に基づく。漢字による表記は西班牙で、西と略す。ただし、江戸時代以前の日本においては、よりスペイン語の発音に近いイスパニアという呼称が用いられていた。語源は古代ローマ人のイベリア半島の呼び名ヒスパニアである。

España（「スペイン」）という名称は長らく同地を指す俗称だった。1492年の王国統合以降でも国王はあくまで連合王国の共通君主に過ぎず、宮廷や議会・政府は各構成国毎に置かれている複合王政だった。1624年宰相オリバーレスは国王に「スペイン国王」となるよう提案したが実現しなかった。1707年発布の新組織王令により複合王政は廃止され、単一の中央集権国となった。しかしこの時もスペインは国号とはならず、1808年ナポレオンの兄ホセ・ボナパルトの即位時に正式に「スペイン国王」が誕生した。

現在のスペインは、国王を元首とする王国であるが、スペイン1978年憲法では、それまでの憲法では明記されていた国号は特に定められていない。憲法で国号が定められなかったのは、君主制は維持するものの、その位置付けは象徴的な存在に変わり、国を動かすのは国民によって選ばれた議会が中心になることを明確化するために採られた措置であった。

歴史

詳細は「スペインの歴史」を参照

先史時代から前ローマ時代

アルタミラ洞窟壁画のレプリカ

アタプエルカ遺跡の考古学的研究から120万年前にはイベリア半島に人類が居住していたことが分かっている。3万5000年前にはクロマニョン人がピレネー山脈を越えて半島へ進出し始めている。有史以前の最もよく知られた遺物が北部カンタブリア州のアルタミラ洞窟壁画で、これは紀元前1万5000年の物である。

この時期の半島には北東部から南西部の地中海側にイベリア人が、北部から北西部の大西洋側にはケルト人が住んでいた。半島の内部では2つの民族が交わりケルティベリア文化が生まれている。またピレネー山脈西部にはバスク人がいた。アンダルシア地方には幾つものその他の民族が居住している。南部の現在のカディス近くにはストラボンの『地理誌』に記述されるタルテッソス王国（紀元前1100年頃）が存在していたとされる。

紀元前500年から紀元前300年頃にフェニキア人とギリシャ人が地中海沿岸部に植民都市を築いた。ポエニ戦争の過程でカルタゴが一時的に地中海沿岸部の大半を支配したものの、彼らは戦争に敗れ、ローマ人の支配に代わった。

ローマ帝国とゲルマン系諸王国

詳細は「ヒスパニア」を参照

メリダのローマ劇場

紀元前202年、第二次ポエニ戦争の和平でローマは沿岸部のカルタゴ植民都市を占領し、その後、支配を半島のほぼ全域へと広げ属州ヒスパニアとし、法と言語とローマ街道によって結びつけ、その支配はその後500年以上続くことになる。原住民のケルト人やイベリア人はローマ化されてゆき、部族長たちはローマの貴族階級に加わった。ヒスパニア州はローマの穀倉地帯となり、港からは金、毛織物、オリーブオイルそしてワインが輸出された。キリスト教は1世紀に伝えられ、2世紀には都市部に普及した。現在のスペインの言語、宗教、法原則のほとんどはこの時期が原型となっている。

ローマの支配は409年にゲルマン系のスエビ族、ヴァンダル族、アラン族が、それに続いて西ゴート族が侵入して終わりを告げた。410年頃、スエビ族はガリシアと北部ルシタニア（現ポルトガル）の地にスエビ王国（ガリシア王国）を建て、その同盟者のヴァンダル族もガリシアからその南方のドウロ川にかけて王国を建てている。415年頃、西ゴート族が南ガリアに西ゴート王国を建国し、418年頃に最終的にヒスパニア全域を支配した。552年には東ローマ帝国もジブラルタル海峡の制海権を求めて南部に飛び地のスパニアを確保し、ローマ帝国再建の手がかりにしようとした。西ゴート王国治下の589年にトレド教会会議が開催され、国王レカレド1世がそれまで西ゴート族の主流宗旨だったアリウス派からカトリック教会に改宗し、以後イベリア半島のキリスト教の主流はカトリックとなった。

イスラームの支配

詳細は「アンダルス」を参照

ナスル朝の首都グラナダに建設されたアランブラ宮殿

711年に北アフリカからターリク・イブン＝ズィヤード率いるイスラーム勢力のウマイヤ朝が侵入し、西ゴート王国はグアダレーテの戦いで敗れて718年に滅亡した。この征服の結果イベリア半島の大部分がイスラーム治下に置かれ、イスラームに征服された半島はアラビア語でアル・アンダルスと呼ばれようになった。他方、キリスト教勢力はイベリア半島北部の一部（現在のアストゥリアス州、カンタブリア州、ナバーラ州そして 北部アラゴン州）に逃れてアストゥリアス王国を築き、やがてレコンキスタ（再征服運動）を始めることになる。

イスラームの支配下ではキリスト教徒とユダヤ教徒は啓典の民として信仰を続けることが許されたが、ズィンミー（庇護民）として一定の制限を受けた。

後ウマイヤ朝の首都コルドバに建設されたメスキータ（モスク）の内部

シリアのダマスカスにその中心があったウマイヤ朝はアッバース革命により750年に滅ぼされたが、アッバース朝の捕縛を逃れたウマイヤ朝の王族アブド・アッラフマーン1世はアンダルスに辿り着き、756年に後ウマイヤ朝を建国した。後ウマイヤ朝のカリフが住まう首都コルドバは当時西ヨーロッパ最大の都市であり、最も豊かかつ文化的に洗練されていた。後ウマイヤ朝下では地中海貿易と文化交流が盛んに行われ、ムスリムは中東や北アフリカから先進知識を輸入している。更に、新たな農業技術や農産物の導入により、農業生産が著しく拡大した。後ウマイヤ朝の下で、既にキリスト教化していた住民のイスラームへの改宗が進み、10世紀頃のアンダルスではムデハル（イベリア半島出身のムスリム）が住民の大半を占めていたと考えられている。イベリア半島のイスラーム社会自体が緊張に取り巻かれており、度々北アフリカのベルベル人が侵入してアラブ人と戦い、多くのムーア人がグアダルキビール川周辺を中心に沿岸部のバレンシア州、山岳地域のグラナダに居住するようになっている。

11世紀に入ると1031年に後ウマイヤ朝は滅亡し、イスラームの領域は互いに対立するタイファ諸王国に分裂した。イスラーム勢力の分裂は、それまで小規模だったナバラ王国やカスティーリャ王国、アラゴン王国などのキリスト教諸国が大きく領域を広げる契機となった。キリスト教勢力の伸張に対し、北アフリカから侵入したムラービト朝とムワッヒド朝が統一を取り戻し、北部へ侵攻したもののキリスト教諸国の勢力拡大を食い止めることはできなかった。

イスラーム支配の終焉と統一

詳細は「レコンキスタ」を参照

マンサナーレス・エル・レアルの城

レコンキスタ（再征服運動：Reconquista）は数百年にわたるスペイン・キリスト教諸国の拡大であった。レコンキスタはアストゥリアス王国のペラーヨが722年のコバドンガの戦いに勝利したことに始まると考えられ、イスラームの支配時期と同時に進行していた。キリスト教勢力の勝利によって北部沿岸山岳地域にアストゥリアス王国が建国された。イスラーム勢力はピレネー山脈を越えて北方へ進軍を続けたが、トゥール・ポワティエ間の戦いでフランク王国に敗れた。その後、イスラーム勢力はより安全なピレネー山脈南方へ後退し、エブロ川とドウロ川を境界とする。739年にはイスラーム勢力はガリシアから追われた。しばらくのちにフランク軍はピレネー山脈南方にキリスト教伯領（スペイン辺境領）を設置し、後にこれらは王国へ成長した。これらの領域はバスク地方、アラゴンそしてカタルーニャを含んでいる。

1212年のラス・ナバス・デ・トローサの戦い

アンダルスが相争うタイファ諸王国に分裂してしまったことによって、キリスト教諸王国は大きく勢力を広げることになった。1085年にトレドを奪取し、その後、キリスト教諸国の勢力は半島の北半分に及ぶようになった。12世紀にイスラーム勢力は一旦は再興したものの、13世紀に入り、1212年のラス・ナバス・デ・トローサの戦いでキリスト教連合軍がムワッヒド朝のムハンマド・ナースィルに大勝すると、イスラーム勢力の南部主要部がキリスト教勢力の手に落ちることになった。1236年にコルドバが、1248年にセビリアが陥落し、ナスル朝グラナダ王国がカスティーリャ王国の朝貢国として残るのみとなった。

カトリック両王、フェルナンド2世とイサベル1世

13世紀と14世紀に北アフリカからマリーン朝が侵攻したが、イスラームの支配を再建することはできなかった。13世紀にはアラゴン王国の勢力は地中海を越えてシチリアに及んでいた。この頃にヨーロッパ最初期の大学であるバレンシア大学（1212年/1263年）とサラマンカ大学（1218年/1254年）が創立されている。1348年から1349年の黒死病大流行によってスペインは荒廃した。

1469年、イサベル女王とフェルナンド国王の結婚により、カスティーリャ王国とアラゴン王国が統合される。再征服の最終段階となり、1478年にカナリア諸島が、そして1492年にグラナダが陥落した。これによって、781年に亘ったイスラーム支配が終了した。グラナダ条約ではムスリムの信仰が保障されている。この年、イサベル女王が資金を出したクリストファー・コロンブスがアメリカ大陸に到達している。またこの年にスペイン異端審問が始まり、ユダヤ人に対してキリスト教に改宗せねば追放することが命ぜられた。その後同じ条件でムスリムも追放された。

「グラナダ王国」、「フェズ王国」、および「シナン・レイース」も参照

イサベル女王とフェルナンド国王は貴族層の権力を抑制して中央集権化を進め、またローマ時代のヒスパニア (Hispania) を語源とするエスパーニャ (España) が王国の総称として用いられるようになった。政治、法律、宗教そして軍事の大規模な改革が行われ、スペインは史上初の世界覇権国家として台頭することになる。

スペイン帝国

詳細は「スペイン帝国」を参照

スペイン・ポルトガル同君連合（1580年–1640年）時代のスペイン帝国の版図（赤がスペイン領、青がポルトガル領）

1516年、ハプスブルク家のカール大公がスペイン王カルロス1世として即位し、スペイン・ハプスブルク朝が始まる。カルロス1世は1519年に神聖ローマ皇帝カール5世としても即位し、ドイツで始まったプロテスタントの宗教改革に対するカトリック教会の擁護者となった。

16世紀前半にエルナン・コルテス、ペドロ・デ・アルバラード、フランシスコ・ピサロをはじめとするコンキスタドーレスがアステカ文明、マヤ文明、インカ文明などアメリカ大陸の文明を滅ぼす。アメリカ大陸の住民はインディオと呼ばれ、奴隷労働によって金や銀を採掘させられ、ポトシやグアナフアトの銀山から流出した富はオスマン帝国やイギリスとの戦争によってイギリスやオランダに流出し、ブラジルの富と共に西ヨーロッパ先進国の資本の本源的蓄積の原初を担うことになった。これにより、以降5世紀に及ぶラテンアメリカの従属と低開発が規定された。

スペイン帝国はその最盛期には南アメリカ、中央アメリカの大半、メキシコ、北アメリカの南部と西部、フィリピン、グアム、マリアナ諸島、北イタリアの一部、南イタリア、シチリア島、北アフリカのいくつかの都市、現代のフランスとドイツの一部、ベルギー、ルクセンブルク、オランダを領有していた。また、1580年にポルトガル王国のエンリケ1世が死去しアヴィシュ王朝が断絶すると、以後スペイン王がポルトガル王を兼ねている。植民地からもたらされた富によってスペインは16世紀から17世紀のヨーロッパにおける覇権国的地位を得た。

フェリペ2世

このハプスブルク朝のカルロス1世（1516年 - 1556年）とフェリペ2世（1556年 - 1598年）の治世が最盛期であり、スペインは初めての「太陽の没することなき帝国」となった。海上と陸上の探検が行われた大航海時代であり、大洋を越える新たな貿易路が開かれ、ヨーロッパの植民地主義が始まった。探検者たちは貴金属、香料、嗜好品、新たな農作物とともに新世界に関する新たな知識をもたらした。この時期はスペイン黄金世紀と呼ばれる。なお、1561年、フェリペ2世は宮廷をマドリードに移し、以後マドリードは今日に至るまでスペインの首都となっている。

この時期にはイタリア戦争（1494年 - 1559年）、コムニダーデスの反乱（1520年 - 1521年）、ネーデルラントの反乱（八十年戦争）（1568年 - 1648年）、モリスコの反乱（1568年）、オスマン帝国との衝突(レパントの海戦, 1571年)、英西戦争（1585年 - 1604年）、モリスコ追放（1609年）、そしてフランス・スペイン戦争（1635年 - 1659年）が起こっている。

16世紀末から17世紀にかけて、スペインはあらゆる方面からの攻撃を受けた。急速に勃興したオスマン帝国と海上で戦い、イタリアやその他の地域でフランスと戦火を交えた。さらに、プロテスタントの宗教改革運動との宗教戦争の泥沼にはまり込む。その結果、スペインはヨーロッパと地中海全域に広がる戦場で戦うことになった。

16世紀のスペインのガレオン船

1588年のアルマダの海戦で無敵艦隊が英国に敗れて弱体化を開始する。三十年戦争（1618年 - 1648年）にも部隊を派遣。白山の戦いの勝利に貢献し、ネルトリンゲンの戦いでは戦勝の立役者となるなど神聖ローマ皇帝軍をよく支えた（莫大な財政援助も行っていた）。しかしその見返りにスペインが期待していた皇帝軍の八十年戦争参戦やマントヴァ公国継承戦争への参戦は実現しなかった。戦争の終盤にはフランスに手痛い敗北を受けている。これらの戦争はスペインの国力を消耗させ、衰退を加速させた。

1640年にはポルトガル王政復古戦争によりブラガンサ朝ポルトガルが独立し、1648年にはオランダ共和国独立を承認、1659年にはフランス・スペイン戦争を終結させるフランスとのピレネー条約を不利な条件で締結するなど、スペインの黄金時代は終わりを告げた。

18世紀の初頭のスペイン継承戦争（1701年 - 1713年）が衰退の極みとなった。この戦争は広範囲の国際紛争になったとともに内戦でもあり、ヨーロッパにおける領土の一部と覇権国としての地位を失わせることとなる。しかしながら、スペインは広大な海外領土を19世紀初めまで維持拡大し続けた。

この戦争によって新たにブルボン家が王位に就き、フェリペ5世がカスティーリャ王国とアラゴン王国を統合させ、それまでの地域的な特権を廃止し、二国で王位を共有していたスペインを真に一つの国家としている。

1713年、1714年のユトレヒト条約とラシュタット条約によるスペイン・ブルボン朝の成立後、18世紀には帝国全域において再建と繁栄が見られた。1759年に国王に即位した啓蒙専制君主カルロス3世治下でのフランスの制度の導入は、行政と経済の効率を上げ、スペインは中興を遂げた。またイギリス、フランス発の啓蒙思想がホベジャーノスや、フェイホーによって導入され、一部の貴族や王家の中で地歩を築くようになっていた。18世紀後半には貿易が急速に成長し、1776年に勃発したアメリカ独立戦争ではアメリカ独立派に軍事援助を行い、国際的地位を向上させている。

斜陽の帝国

詳細は「スペイン独立戦争」および「米西戦争」を参照

フランシスコ・デ・ゴヤ画「マドリード、1808年5月3日」。スペイン独立戦争の一局面を描いている。

1789年にフランス革命が勃発すると、1793年にスペインは革命によって成立したフランス共和国との戦争（フランス革命戦争）に参戦したが、戦場で敗れて1796年にサン・イルデフォンソ条約を結び、講和した。その後スペインはイギリス、ポルトガルに宣戦布告し、ナポレオン率いるフランス帝国と結んだスペインは、フランス海軍と共に1805年にイギリス海軍とトラファルガーの海戦を戦ったものの惨敗し、スペイン海軍は壊滅した。

19世紀初頭にはナポレオン戦争とその他の要因が重なって経済が崩壊状態になり、1808年3月にスペインの直接支配を目論んだフランスによってブルボン朝のフェルナンド7世が退位させられ、ナポレオンの兄のジョゼフがホセ1世としてスペイン国王に即位した。この外国の傀儡国王はスペイン人にとっては恥辱とみなされ、即座にマドリードで反乱が発生した。これが全土へ広がり、1808年からいわゆるスペイン独立戦争に突入する。ナポレオンは自ら兵を率いて介入し、連携の悪いスペイン軍とイギリス軍を相手に幾つかの戦勝を収めるものの、スペイン軍のゲリラ戦術とウェリントン率いるイギリス・ポルトガル軍を相手に泥沼にはまり込んでしまう。その後のナポレオンのロシア遠征の破滅的な失敗により、1814年にフランス勢力はスペインから駆逐され、フェルナンド7世が復位した。フェルナンド7世は復位後絶対主義への反動政策を採ったため、自由主義を求めるスペイン人の支持を受けて1820年にラファエル・デル・リエゴ将軍が率いるスペイン立憲革命が達成され、戦争中にカディスで制定されたスペイン1812年憲法が復活したが、ウィーン体制の崩壊を恐れる神聖同盟の干渉によって1823年にリエゴ将軍は処刑され、以後1世紀に及ぶ政治的不安定と分裂を決定付けた。また、挫折した立憲革命の成果もあって、1825年にシモン・ボリーバルをはじめとするリベルタドーレスの活躍によって南米最後の植民地ボリビアが独立し、キューバとプエルトリコ以外の全てのアメリカ大陸の植民地を失った。

立憲革命挫折後の19世紀スペインは、王統の正統性を巡って三次に亘るカルリスタ戦争が勃発するなどの政治的不安定と、イギリスやベルギー、ドイツ帝国、アメリカ合衆国で進行する産業革命に乗り遅れるなどの経済的危機にあった。1873年にはスペイン史上初の共和制移行（スペイン第一共和政）も起こったが、翌1874年には王政復古した。また、19世紀後半には植民地として残っていたフィリピンとキューバで独立運動が発生し、1898年にハバナでアメリカ海軍のメイン号が爆沈したことをきっかけに、これらの植民地の独立戦争にアメリカ合衆国が介入した。この米西戦争に於いて、スペイン軍の幾つかの部隊は善戦したものの、高級司令部の指揮が拙劣で短期間で敗退してしまった。この戦争は "El Desastre"（「大惨事」）の言葉で知られており、敗戦の衝撃から「98年の世代」と呼ばれる知識人の一群が生まれた。

スペイン内戦終結まで

国王アルフォンソ13世とミゲル・プリモ・デ・リベラ将軍（1930年）

スペイン内戦に参戦した国際旅団のポーランド人義勇兵

スペインはアフリカ分割では僅かな役割しか果たさず、スペイン領サハラ（西サハラ）とスペイン領モロッコ（モロッコ）、スペイン領ギニア（赤道ギニア）を獲得しただけだった。スペインは1914年に勃発した第一次世界大戦を中立で乗り切り、アメリカ合衆国発のインフルエンザのパンデミックが中立国スペインからの情報を経て世界に伝わったため、「スペインかぜ」と呼ばれた。第一次世界大戦後、1920年にスペイン領モロッコで始まった第3次リーフ戦争では大損害を出し、フランス軍の援軍を得て1926年に鎮圧したものの、国王の権威は更に低下した。内政ではミゲル・プリモ・デ・リベラ将軍の愛国同盟(後にファランヘ党に吸収)による軍事独裁政権（1923年 - 1930年）を経て、1930年にプリモ・デ・リベーラ将軍が死去すると、スペイン国民の軍政と軍政を支えた国王への不満の高揚により、翌1931年にアルフォンソ13世が国外脱出し、君主制は崩壊した。君主制崩壊によりスペイン1931年憲法が制定され、スペイン第二共和政が成立した。第二共和国はバスク、カタルーニャそしてガリシアに自治権を与え、また女性参政権も認められた。

しかしながら、左派と右派との対立は激しく、政治は混迷を続け、1936年の選挙にて左翼共和党 (IR)、社会労働党 (PSOE)、共産党 (PCE) ら左派連合のマヌエル・アサーニャスペイン人民戦線政府が成立すると軍部が反乱を起こしスペイン内戦が勃発した。3年に及ぶ内戦はソビエト連邦の支援を受けた共和国政府をナチス・ドイツとイタリア王国の支援を受けたフランシスコ・フランコ将軍が率いる反乱軍が打倒することで終結した。第二次世界大戦の前哨戦となったこの内戦によってスペインは甚大な物的人的損害を被り、50万人が死亡 、50万人が国を捨てて亡命し、社会基盤は破壊され国力は疲弊しきってしまっていた。

フランコ独裁体制

詳細は「フランコ体制下のスペイン」、「第二次世界大戦下のスペイン」、および「フランキスモ」を参照

フランシスコ・フランコ総統。1939年から1975年までスペインの事実上の元首として君臨した。

1939年4月1日から1975年11月22日まで、スペイン内戦の終結からフランシスコ・フランコの死去までの36年間は、フランコ独裁下のフランコ体制下のスペインの時代であった。フランコが結成したファランヘ党（1949年に国民運動に改称）の一党制となり、ファランヘ党は反共主義、カトリック主義、ナショナリズムを掲げた。

第二次世界大戦ではフランコ政権は枢軸国寄りであり、ソ連と戦うための義勇兵としてナチス・ドイツに青師団を派遣したが、正式な参戦はせずに中立を守った。

第二次世界大戦終結後、ファシズム体制のスペインは政治的、経済的に孤立し、1955年まで国際連合にも加入できなかった。しかし、東西冷戦の進展とともにアメリカはイベリア半島への軍事プレゼンスの必要性からスペインに接近するようになり、スペインの国際的孤立は緩和した。また、フランコは1957年にモロッコとの間で勃発したイフニ戦争（Ifni War）などの衝突を経た後、国際的な脱植民地化の潮流に合わせて徐々にそれまで保持していた植民地を解放し、1968年10月12日には赤道ギニアの独立を認めた。フランコ主義下のスペイン・ナショナリズムの高揚は、カタルーニャやバスクの言語や文化への弾圧を伴っており、フランコ体制の弾圧に対抗して1959年に結成されたバスク祖国と自由（ETA）はバスク民族主義の立場からテロリズムを繰り広げ、1973年にフランコの後継者だと目されていたルイス・カレーロ・ブランコ首相を暗殺した。

王政復古から現在

首都マドリードのクアトロ・トーレス・ビジネス・エリア

1975年11月22日にフランコ将軍が死ぬと、その遺言により フアン・カルロス王子（アルフォンソ13世の孫）が王座に就き、王政復古がなされた。フアン・カルロス国王は専制支配を継続せず、スペイン1978年憲法の制定により民主化が達成され、スペイン王国は制限君主制国家となった。1981年2月23日には軍政復帰を目論むアントニオ・テヘーロ中佐ら一部軍人によるクーデター未遂事件が発生したものの、毅然とした態度で民主主義を守ると宣言した国王に軍部の大半は忠誠を誓い、この事件は無血で鎮圧された (23-F)。

民主化されたスペインは1982年に北大西洋条約機構（NATO）に加入、同年の1982年スペイン議会総選挙により、スペイン社会労働党 (PSOE) からフェリペ・ゴンサレス首相が政権に就き43年ぶりの左派政権が誕生した。1986年にはヨーロッパ共同体（現在の欧州連合）に加入。1992年にはバルセロナオリンピックを開催した。一方、国内問題も抱えており、スペインはバスク地域分離運動のETAによるテロ活動に長年悩まされている。1982年に首相に就任したゴンサレスは14年に亘る長期政権を実現していたが、1996年スペイン議会総選挙にて右派の国民党 (PP) に敗れ、ホセ・マリア・アスナールが首相に就任した。

21世紀に入ってもスペインは欧州連合の平均を上回る経済成長を続けているが、住宅価格の高騰と貿易赤字が問題となっている。

2002年7月18日、ペレヒル島危機が起こり、モロッコとの間で緊張が高まったが、アメリカの仲裁で戦争には至らなかった。同年9月、アスナール首相がイラク戦争を非常任理事国として支持、2003年3月のイラク戦争開戦後は有志連合の一員として、米英軍と共にイラクにスペイン軍1400人を派遣した。2004年3月11日にスペイン列車爆破事件が起き、多数の死傷者を出した。選挙を3日後に控えていた右派のアスナール首相はこれを政治利用し、バスク祖国と自由 (ETA) の犯行だと発表したが、3月14日に実施された2004年スペイン議会総選挙では左派の社会労働党が勝利し、サパテロ政権が誕生した。サパテロ首相は就任後、2004年5月にイラク戦争に派遣されていたスペイン軍を撤退させた。また、後に2004年の列車爆破事件はアルカーイダの犯行と CIAからの発表があると、この対応を巡って政治問題となった。サパテロ政権は2008年スペイン議会総選挙でも勝利したが、同年9月のリーマン・ショック勃発により、スペインの経済は壊滅的な打撃を受けた。

2011年スペイン議会総選挙では国民党が勝利し、マリアーノ・ラホイが首相に就任した。

政治

詳細は「スペインの政治」および「:en:Politics of Spain」を参照

衆議院（下院）議事堂

スペイン最高裁判所

政体は議会君主制。1975年のフアン・カルロス1世の即位による王政復古により成立した現在の政体では、国王は存在するものの、象徴君主という位置づけであり、主権は国民に在する。国王は国家元首であり、国家の統一と永続の象徴と規定されており、国軍の名目上の最高指揮官である。国王は議会の推薦を受けて首相の指名を行うほか、首相の推薦を受けて閣僚の任命を行う。現行憲法はスペイン1978年憲法である。

「スペイン君主一覧」および「スペインの首相」も参照

国会は両院制であり、衆議院（下院）は定数350議席で4年ごとの直接選挙で選ばれ、元老院（上院）は定数264議席で208議席が選挙によって選出され、残り56議席が自治州の推薦で選ばれる。

2011年12月現在の与党は国民党で、スペイン社会労働党と共に二大政党制を構成する。その他には、スペイン共産党を中心に左翼少数政党によって構成される政党連合統一左翼や連合・進歩・民主主義などの全国政党のほかに、集中と統一 (CiU)、カタルーニャ共和主義左翼、バスク民族主義党、ガリシア民族主義ブロックなどカタルーニャやバスク、ガリシアの民族主義地域政党が存在する。

「スペインの政党」も参照

軍事

詳細は「スペイン軍」を参照

空母プリンシペ・デ・アストゥリアス

スペイン軍は陸軍、海軍、空軍、グアルディア・シビルの4つの組織から構成されている。国王は憲法によって国軍の最高指揮官であると規定されている。2001年末に徴兵制が廃止され、志願制に移行した。2007年の時点で総兵力は147,000人、予備役は319,000人である。

軍事費（防衛費）の対GDP比は日本と同程度の約1%内外にとどまり、NATO諸国の中で比較しても低率な方ではあるが、イージス艦や軽空母・強襲揚陸艦、マルチロール機のユーロファイター タイフーン、旧西ドイツ製の傑作戦車レオパルト2EA6等、他の主要先進国にも引けを取らない最新鋭の兵器を配備している。

国際関係

詳細は「スペインの国際関係」および「:en:Foreign relations of Spain」を参照

1986年のEC加盟以降、EUの一員として他のEU諸国との関係が密接になっている。

旧植民地であったラテンアメリカ諸国との伝統的友好関係も非常に重要となっており、毎年スペイン・ポルトガルとラテンアメリカ諸国の間で持ち回りで開催されるイベロアメリカ首脳会議にも参加しているが、ラテンアメリカにスペイン企業が進出し過ぎていることから一部には、ラテンアメリカに対するレコンキスタ（本来はイスラームに征服された国土の回復運動だが、ここでは文字通り「再征服」）であるという批判もある。

また、特に南部アンダルシア地方にイスラーム文化の影響が非常に強く残っていることなどもあり、他のEU諸国と比べるとイスラーム諸国との友好関係の構築に比較的積極的であるといえる。

スペインはアフリカ大陸に位置するスペイン領のセウタとメリリャの帰属を巡り、モロッコと領土問題を抱えている。また、スペインが1801年以来実効支配しているオリベンサに対してポルトガルが返還を求めているが、ポルトガルとの間には両国を統一すべきであるとのイベリスモ思想も存在する。

日本との関係

詳細は「日西関係史」を参照

岩倉使節団の記録である『米欧回覧実記』（1878年（明治11年）発行）には、その当時のスペインの地理・歴史について記述した個所がある。

地方行政区画

詳細は「スペインの地方行政区画」および「スペインの県」を参照

Galicia Navarra Madrid La Rioja Aragón Cataluña Comunidad Valenciana Castilla- La Mancha Extremadura Portugal Castilla y León Asturias Cantabria País Vasco Región de Murcia Andalucía Gibraltar (R. U.) Ceuta Melilla Francia Islas Baleares Islas Canarias Mar Mediterráneo Mar Cantábrico Océano Atlántico Andorra Océano Atlántico

スペインの自治州

自治州と県

スペインは、17の自治州 (comunidad autónoma) から構成される。また、自治州の下に50の県 (provincia) が存在する。

• アンダルシア州 (Andalucía)
• アラゴン州 (Aragón)
• アストゥリアス州 (Asturias)
• バレアレス諸島州 (Las Islas Baleares)
• バスク州 (El País Vasco)
• カナリアス諸島州 (Las Islas Canarias)
• カンタブリア州 (Cantabria)
• カスティーリャ＝ラ・マンチャ州 (Castilla-La Mancha)
• カスティーリャ・イ・レオン州 (Castilla y León)
• カタルーニャ州 (Cataluña)
• エストレマドゥーラ州 (Extremadura)
• ガリシア州 (Galicia)
• ラ・リオハ州 (La Rioja)
• マドリード州 (La Comunidad de Madrid)
• ムルシア州 (La Region de Murcia)
• ナバラ州 (Navarra)
• バレンシア州 (Valencia)

また、アフリカ沿岸にも5つの領土がある。セウタとメリリャの諸都市は、都市と地域の中間的な規模の自治権を付与された都市として統治されている。チャファリナス諸島、ペニョン・デ・アルセマス島、ペニョン・デ・ベレス・デ・ラ・ゴメラは、スペインが直轄統治している。

主要都市

首都マドリードはビジネス、文化、政治などを総合評価した世界都市格付けで15位の都市と評価された。

詳細は「スペインの都市の一覧」を参照

人口の多い上位10都市は次の通り（2006年1月、スペイン統計局の2007年1月発表のデータによる）。

順位	都市	州	人口
1	マドリード	マドリード州	3,128,600
2	バルセロナ	カタルーニャ州	1,605,602
3	バレンシア	バレンシア州	805,304
4	セビリア	アンダルシア州	704,414
5	サラゴサ	アラゴン州	649,181
6	マラガ	アンダルシア州	560,631
7	ムルシア	ムルシア州	416,996
8	ラス・パルマス・デ・グラン・カナリア	カナリア諸島自治州	377,056
9	パルマ・デ・マヨルカ	バレアレス諸島自治州	375,048
10	ビルバオ	バスク州	354,145

このほかに、歴史上有名な都市としては、サンティアゴ・デ・コンポステーラ、バリャドリード、ブルゴス、コルドバ、グラナダ、トレドなどが挙げられる。

地理

詳細は「スペインの地理」および「:en:Geography of Spain」を参照

地形

スペインの地形

スペインの地図

スペイン本土は高原や山地（ピレネー山脈やシエラ・ネバダ山脈）に覆われている。高地からはいくつかの主要な河川（タホ川、エブロ川、ドゥエロ川、グアディアナ川、グアダルキビール川）が流れている。沖積平野は沿岸部に見られ、最大のものはアンダルシア州のグアダルキビール川の平野である。東部の海岸にも中規模な河川（セグラ川、フカール川、トゥリア川）による平野が見られる。

南部と東部は地中海に面し、バレアレス諸島が東部の海岸沖にある。北と西は大西洋に面し、北部で面している海域はカンタブリア海（ビスケー湾）と呼ばれる。カナリア諸島はアフリカ大陸の大西洋沖にある。

スペインが接する国境の長さは、アンドラ63.7km、フランス623km、ジブラルタル1.2km、ポルトガル1,214km、モロッコ6.3kmである。

気候

全国的には地中海性気候に属する地域が多いが、北部（バスク州からガリシア州にかけて）は西岸海洋性気候で、雨が多い。また、本土から南西に離れたカナリア諸島は亜熱帯気候に属する。

標準時

スペインはイギリス同様、国土の大部分が本初子午線よりも西に位置しているが、標準時としてはイギリスよりも1時間早い中央ヨーロッパ時間を採用している（西経13度から18度にかけて存在するカナリア諸島は、イギリス本土と同じ西ヨーロッパ時間）。このため、西経3度42分に位置するマドリッドにおける太陽の南中時刻は午後1時15分頃（冬時間）、午後2時15分頃（夏時間）となり、日の出や日の入りの時刻が大幅に遅れる（カナリア諸島についても同様）。スペインでは諸外国と比べて昼食（午後2時頃開始）や夕食（午後9時頃開始）の時刻が遅いことで有名だが、これは太陽の南中や日没に時間を合わせているためである。

経済

詳細は「スペインの経済」、「:en:Economy of Spain」、および「スペイン経済危機 (2012年)」を参照

IMFによると、2013年のスペインのGDPは1兆3586億ドルであり、世界第13位である。韓国よりやや大きな経済規模であり、EU加盟国では5位である。

1960年代以来、「スペインの年」と一部では呼ばれていた1992年頃までの高度成長期が過ぎ去り、低迷していたが、ヨーロッパの経済的な統合と、通貨のユーロへの切替えとともに経済的な発展が急速に進んでいる（2003年現在）。アスナール国民党政権の新自由主義的な雇用の流動化政策や土地法の改正による土地開発制限の緩和、大規模な公共投資の実地などによって、ドイツ・フランス・イタリアなど欧州の経済大国を上回る勢いの経済成長を達成した。市場為替相場を基とした国内総生産は2008年は世界9位で カナダを超えた（主要国首脳会議には参加していない）。企業は自動車会社のセアトやペガソ、通信関連企業のテレフォニカ、アパレルのザラ、金融のサンタンデール銀行などが著名な企業として挙げられる。

しかしスペイン人の労働時間はEU内で第1位である一方、平均給与はイギリスの4万ユーロに対して2万ユーロに留まっており、経済が労働者に還元されない状態になっており、特に高騰する土地家屋の取得はスペイン国民にとって重荷になりつつあった。打開策として多くの国民は銀行と土地取得のローン契約を試み、土地価格上昇を見込んでいた銀行側も給与が下げ止まっているにも関わらず、安易なローン審査で次々と契約を結んでいった。世界金融危機の影響で経営難に陥った銀行は融資を行わなくなり、さらに外国人投資家もスペインから資金を引き上げ、スペイン国債を購入する投資家は激減した。また雇用の多くを支えていた建設企業も不況や公共投資の中断によって倒産が相次ぎ、生き残った企業も労働権が後退していた事から大規模な労働者の解雇を実行した。

解雇や倒産により失業者となった国民は、債権回収として銀行から家屋を没収されて家すら失い、政府による有効な手立ても無く街中に職も家も無いホームレスが溢れ返る状態となった。国際産業の衰退と外国資本の撤退により、土地法改正から7年後となる2005年にはそれまでの約2.5倍に高騰していた土地価格も暴落し、スペインの実体経済からすれば見合わない程に膨れ上がっていた不動産バブルは完全に崩壊した。2011年1月から3月までの失業率21.29%、失業者は490万人と過去13年間で最悪の数字となっている。2012年でも失業率は回復せず、さらに悪化した。2012年10月5日、スペインの月次の失業率はスペインの近代史上初めて25%を突破した。若年失業率は現在52%を超えており、先進国全体の平均の3倍以上に上っている。

2014年、ベーシックインカム（最低限所得保障）を政治主張に掲げる政治団体ポデモスが結党され、国民党に次ぐ2番目の党員数を集めるなど急速に支持を拡大している。

鉱業

スペインの鉱業資源は種類に富み主要な鉱物のほとんどが存在するとも言われる。しかし歴史的に長期に亘る開発の結果21世紀以降、採掘量は減少傾向にある。

有機鉱物資源では、世界の市場占有率の1.4%（2003年時点）を占める亜炭（1228万トン）が有力。品質の高い石炭（975万トン）、原油（32万トン）、天然ガス（22千兆ジュール）も採掘されている。主な炭鉱はアストゥリアス州とカスティーリャ・イ・レオン州にある。石炭の埋蔵量は5億トンであり、スペインで最も有力な鉱物である。

金属鉱物資源では、世界第4位（占有率9.8%）の水銀（150トン）のほか、2.1%の占有率のマグネシウム鉱（2.1万トン）の産出が目立つ。そのほか、金、銀、亜鉛、銅、鉛、わずかながら錫も対象となっている。鉱山はプレート境界に近い南部地中海岸のシエラネバダ山脈とシエラモリナ山脈に集中している。水銀はシエラモリナ山脈が伸びるカスティーリャ地方のシウダ・レアル県に分布する。アルマデン鉱山は2300年以上に亘って、スペインの水銀を支えてきた。鉄は北部バスク地方に分布し、ビルバオが著名である。しかしながらスペイン全体の埋蔵量は600万トンを下回り、枯渇が近い。

その他の鉱物資源では、世界第10位（市場占有率1.5%）のカリ塩、イオウ（同1.1%）、塩（同1.5%）を産出する。

交通

詳細は「スペインの交通」および「:en:Transport in Spain」を参照

道路

鉄道

詳細は「スペインの鉄道」を参照

スペインの鉄道は主にレンフェ (RENFE) によって経営されており、標準軌（狭軌）路線など一部の路線はスペイン狭軌鉄道 (FEVE) によって経営されている。一般の地上鉄道の他、高速鉄道AVEが国内各地を結んでいる。

地上路線の他にも、マドリード地下鉄をはじめ、バルセロナ地下鉄、メトロバレンシアなど、主要都市には地下鉄網が存在する。

海運

空運

国民

詳細は「スペインの人口統計」および「:en:Demographics of Spain」を参照

ガリシア州のサンティアゴ・デ・コンポステーラ大聖堂。カトリック教会の聖地の一つであり、古くから多くの巡礼者が訪れている。

民族

詳細は「スペイン人」を参照

ラテン系を中核とするスペイン人が多数を占める。一方で統一以前の地方意識が根強く、特にカタルーニャ、バスクなどの住人はスペイン人としてのアイデンティティを否定する傾向にあり、ガリシアやカナリア諸島の住民も前二者に比べると、穏健ではあるが、民族としての意識を強く抱いており、それぞれの地方で大なり小なり独立運動がある。それ以外の地方でも地域主義、民族主義の傾向が存在し、運動としては非常に弱いものの独立を主張するものまで存在する。一般に「スペイン人」もしくはその中核とされる旧カスティーリャ王国圏内の住民の間でも、イスラーム文化の浸透程度や歴史の違いなどから、アラゴン、アンダルシアの住人とその他のスペイン人とでは大きな違いがあり、それぞれの地方で、風俗、文化、習慣が大きく異なっている。

近年は、世界屈指の移民受け入れ大国となっていて、不況が深刻化した現在では大きな社会問題となっている。外国人人口は全人口の11%に当たる522万人にも上る（2000年の外国人人口は92万人であった）。

言語

詳細は「スペインの言語」を参照

スペイン語（カスティーリャ語とも呼ばれる）がスペインの公用語であり全国で話されており、憲法にも規定されている。その他にも自治州憲章によってカタルーニャ語、バレンシア語、バスク語、ガリシア語、アラン語が地方公用語になっているほか、アストゥリアス語とアラゴン語もその該当地域の固有言語として認められている。バスク語以外は全てラテン語（俗ラテン語）に由来するロマンス語である。、また、ラテンアメリカで話されているスペイン語は、1492年以降スペイン人征服者や入植者が持ち込んだものがその起源である。ラテンアメリカで話されるスペイン語とは若干の違いがあるが、相互に意思疎通は問題なく可能である。

ローマ帝国の支配以前にスペインに居住していた人々はケルト系の言語を話しており、ケルト系の遺跡が散在する。現在はケルト系の言葉は廃れている。

北スペインのフランス寄りに、バスク語を話すバスク人が暮らしている。バスク民族の文化や言葉は、他のヨーロッパと共通することがなく、バスク人の起源は不明である。このことが、バスク人がスペインからの独立を望む遠因となっている。地域の学校ではバスク語も教えられているが、スペイン語との共通点はほとんどなく、学ぶのが困難である。

言語の一覧

現在、エスノローグはスペイン国内に以下の言語の存在を認めている。

• ガリシア語（ガリシア州）
• スペイン語（国家公用語）
• カタルーニャ語（カタルーニャ州、バレアレス諸島州）
• バレンシア語（バレンシア州）
• アストゥリアス語（アストゥリアス州、カスティーリャ・イ・レオン州）
• アラゴン語（アラゴン州北部）
• エストレマドゥーラ語（エストレマドゥーラ州の一部）
• バスク語（バスク州、ナバーラ州）

宗教

詳細は「スペインの宗教」を参照

中世末期のレコンキスタ完了以前はイスラム教が多数派を占める地域もあったが、現在ではカトリックが94%である。イベリア半島では近代に入って多様な宗教の公認とともに、隠れて暮らしていたユダヤ教徒が信仰を取り戻し始めている。戦争時など様々な折にスペインに「帰還」し、祖国のために闘ったセファルディムもいた。残りは、ムスリムなど。

なお、国民の大多数がカトリック教徒であるにも関わらず、近年ではローマ教皇庁が反対している避妊具の使用や同性婚を解禁するなど社会的には政教分離の思想が進んでいる点も特徴である。

教育

詳細は「スペインの教育」を参照

サラマンカ大学（1218年創立）の図書館

スペインの教育制度は初等教育が6歳から12歳までの6年制、前期中等教育が12歳から16歳までの4年制であり、以上10年間が義務教育機関となる。後期中等教育はバチジェラトと呼ばれる16歳から18歳までの2年制であり、このバチジェラト期に進路が決定する。2003年の推計によれば、15歳以上の国民の識字率は97.9%であり、これはアルゼンチン（97.2%）やウルグアイ (98%)、キューバ (99.8%) と並んでスペイン語圏最高水準である。

主な高等教育機関としては、サラマンカ大学（1218年）、マドリード・コンプルテンセ大学（1293年）、バリャドリード大学（13世紀）、バルセロナ大学（1450年）、サンティアゴ・デ・コンポステーラ大学（1526年）、デウスト大学（1886年）などが挙げられる。大学は4年制乃至6年制であり、学位取得が出来ずに中退する学生の多さが問題となっている。

結婚

結婚前の姓は、一般的には「名、父方の祖父の姓、母方の祖父の姓」であるが、1999年に「名、母方の祖父の姓、父方の祖父の姓」でもよい、と法律が改正された。婚姻によって名前を変える必要はないが、女性はその他の選択肢として「de+相手の父方の姓」を後置する、「母方の祖父の姓」を「相手の父方の姓」に置き換える、「母方の祖父の姓」を「de+相手の父方の姓」に置き換える、などの選択が可能である。

また、2005年より、同性婚が可能となった。

文化

詳細は「スペインの文化」および「:en:Culture of Spain」を参照

バルセロナのサグラダ・ファミリア

情熱的で明るい、気さくなスペイン人という印象が強いが、これはスペイン南部の人々の特徴で北側の人々は違った性格が強い。数百年の歴史を持つ闘牛は世界中に知られている。1991年に創設されたセルバンテス文化センターによって、世界各地にスペイン語やスペイン文化が伝達されている。

食文化

詳細は「スペイン料理」を参照

スペインでは日本と異なる時間帯に食事を摂り、一日に5回食事をすることで有名。

1. デサジュノ (Desayuno) ：朝食。起きがけに摂る食事。パンなどを食べる。
2. メリエンダ・メディア・マニャーナ (Merienda media Mañana) ：朝の軽食。午前11時頃、サンドイッチ、タパス（おつまみ）などを食べる。
3. アルムエルソ (Almuerzo) ：昼食。一日のメインの食事で、午後2時頃、フルコースを食べる。
4. メリエンダ (Merienda) ：夕方の軽食。午後6時頃、タパス、おやつなどを食べる。
5. セナ (Cena)：夕食。午後9時頃、スープ、サラダなどを食べる。

アルコール類

• スペイン・ワイン
• カバ (Cava) - シャンパーニュ地方産ではないのでシャンパンとは呼べないが、シャンパンと同じ製法で作られる発泡ワインである。主にカタルーニャ地方で造られている。
• シェリー酒 - シェリーは英名。スペイン名「ヘレス」。アンダルシア地方のヘレス・デ・ラ・フロンテーラ原産。
• サングリア - 赤ワインを基にしたカクテル。

スペイン料理

• スペイン料理
• トルティージャ（トルティージャ・エスパニョーラ、トルティージャ・デ・パタータ） - ジャガイモのオムレツ
• パエリア

文学

詳細は「スペイン文学」を参照

『ドン・キホーテ』の著者ミゲル・デ・セルバンテス

12世紀中盤から13世紀初頭までに書かれた『わがシッドの歌』はスペイン最古の叙事詩と呼ばれている。

スペイン文学においては、特に著名な作家として世界初の近代小説と呼ばれる『ドン・キホーテ』の著者ミゲル・デ・セルバンテスが挙げられる。

1492年から1681年までのスペイン黄金世紀の間には、スペインの政治を支配した強固にカトリック的なイデオロギーに文学も影響を受けた。この時代には修道士詩人サン・フアン・デ・ラ・クルスの神秘主義や、ホルヘ・デ・モンテマヨールの『ラ・ディアナの七つの書』(1559) に起源を持つ牧歌小説、マテオ・アレマンの『グスマン・デ・アルファラーチェ』(1599, 1602) を頂点とするピカレスク小説、『国王こそ無二の判官』(1635) のロペ・デ・ベガ、『セビーリャの色事師と色の招客』(1625) のティルソ・デ・モリーナなどの演劇が生まれた。

近代に入ると、1898年の米西戦争の敗戦をきっかけに自国の後進性を直視した「98年の世代」と呼ばれる一群の知識人が現れ、哲学者のミゲル・デ・ウナムーノやオルテガ・イ・ガセット、小説家のアンヘル・ガニベー、詩人のフアン・ラモン・ヒメネス（1956年ノーベル文学賞受賞）やアントニオ・マチャードなどが活躍した。

スペイン内戦の時代には内戦中に銃殺された詩人フェデリコ・ガルシア・ロルカなどが活躍し、内戦後にフランコ独裁体制が成立すると多くの文学者が国外に亡命して創作を続けた。フランコ体制期にはラモン・センデールやカルメン・ラフォレ、フアン・ゴイティソーロ、ミゲル・デリーベスらがスペイン内外で活躍した。

民主化以後はカミーロ・ホセ・セラが1989年にノーベル文学賞を受賞している。

セルバンテスに因み、1974年にスペイン語圏の優れた作家に対して贈られるセルバンテス賞が創設された。

哲学

「スペインの哲学」も参照

ホセ・オルテガ・イ・ガセット。20世紀の精神に多大な影響を与えた『大衆の反逆』（1929年）で知られる。

古代ローマ時代に活躍したストア派哲学者の小セネカはコルドバ出身だった。中世において、イスラーム勢力支配下のアル＝アンダルスでは学芸が栄え、イブン・スィーナー（アウィケンナ）などによるイスラーム哲学が流入し、12世紀のコルドバではアリストテレス派のイブン・ルシュド（アウェロエス）が活躍した。その他にも中世最大のユダヤ哲学者マイモニデスもコルドバの生まれだった。コルドバにもたらされたイブン・スィーナーやイブン・ルシュドのイスラーム哲学思想は、キリスト教徒の留学生によってアラビア語からラテン語に翻訳され、彼等によってもたらされたアリストテレス哲学はスコラ学に大きな影響を与えた。

16世紀にはフランシスコ・デ・ビトリアやドミンゴ・デ・ソトらのカトリック神学者によってサラマンカ学派が形成され、17世紀オランダのフーゴー・グローティウスに先んじて国際法の基礎を築いた。17世紀から18世紀にかけては強固なカトリックイデオロギーの下、フェイホーやホベジャーノスなどの例外を除いてスペインの思想界は旧態依然としたスコラ哲学に覆われた。19世紀後半に入るとドイツ観念論のクラウゼ (Krause) 哲学が影響力を持ち、フリアン・サンス・デル・リオと弟子のフランシスコ・ヒネル・デ・ロス・リオスを中心にクラウゼ哲学がスペインに受容された。

20世紀の哲学者としては、「98年の世代」のキルケゴールに影響を受けた実存主義者ミゲル・デ・ウナムーノや、同じく「98年の世代」の『大衆の反逆』（1929年）で知られるホセ・オルテガ・イ・ガセット、形而上学の再構築を目指したハビエル・スビリの名が挙げられる。

音楽

詳細は「スペインの音楽」および「:en:Music of Spain」を参照

マヌエル・デ・ファリャ

クラシック音楽においては声楽が発達しており、著名な歌手としてアルフレード・クラウス、プラシド・ドミンゴ、ホセ・カレーラス、モンセラート・カバリェ、テレサ・ベルガンサなどの名を挙げることができる。クラシック・ギターも盛んであり、『アランフエス協奏曲』を残した作曲家のホアキン・ロドリーゴや、ギター奏者のセレドニオ・ロメロ、ペペ・ロメロ、アンヘル・ロメロ一家、マリア・エステル・グスマンなどが活躍している。

その他にも特筆されるべきピアニストとしてアリシア・デ・ラローチャとホアキン・アチュカーロの名が挙げられる。

クラシック音楽史に名を残す作曲家としては、バロック音楽ではイタリア出身でスペイン王家に仕えたドメニコ・スカルラッティ、近代音楽ではスペインの民謡や民話をモチーフとして利用したマヌエル・デ・ファリャ（特にピアノと管弦楽のための『スペインの庭の夜』、バレエ『三角帽子』、同『恋は魔術師』が有名）をはじめ、エンリケ・グラナドス、イサーク・アルベニス、現代音楽ではホセ・マヌエル・ロペス・ロペスなどがいる。

隣国フランスの作曲家もスペインをモチーフにした音楽を作曲した例は多く、ジョルジュ・ビゼーのオペラ『カルメン』をはじめ、エドゥアール・ラロの『スペイン交響曲』、エマニュエル・シャブリエの狂詩曲『スペイン』、クロード・ドビュッシーの『管弦楽のための映像（第2曲・イベリア）』、モーリス・ラヴェルの『スペイン狂詩曲』やオペラ『スペインの時計』などがある。

日本では教育楽器として親しまれているカスタネットは元々スペインの民族楽器であり、またタンブリンもイスラム文化とともにスペインに伝来した経緯があるため、フランスでは特に「バスクのタンブリン」と呼ばれる。上記のスペインやその他の国の作曲家がスペイン風情緒を強調する手段として、これらの打楽器が多用される。

南部のアンダルシア地方のジプシー系の人々から発祥したとされるフラメンコという踊りと歌も有名である。

美術

詳細は「スペインの芸術」および「:en:Spanish art」を参照

イスラーム支配下のアンダルスでは、イスラーム式の壁画美術が技術的に導入された。ルネサンス絵画が定着しなかったスペインでは、16世紀に入るとマニエリズムに移行し、この時期にはエル・グレコが活躍している。バロック期にはフランシスコ・リバルタやホセ・デ・リベラ、フランシスコ・デ・スルバラン、アロンソ・カーノ、ディエゴ・ベラスケス、バルトロメ・エステバン・ムリーリョ、フアン・デ・バルデス・レアルなどが活躍した。18世紀から19世紀初めにかけてはフランシスコ・デ・ゴヤが活躍した。

19世紀末から20世紀半ばまでにかけてはバルセロナを中心に芸術家が創作活動を続け、キュビスムやシュルレアリズムなどの分野でサンティアゴ・ルシニョール、ラモン・カザス、パブロ・ピカソ、ジョアン・ミロ、サルバドール・ダリ、ジュリ・ゴンサレス、パブロ・ガルガーリョなどが活躍した。スペイン内戦後は芸術の古典回帰が進んだ。

映画

詳細は「スペインの映画」を参照

ペドロ・アルモドバルとペネロペ・クルス

スペイン初の映画は1897年に製作された。1932年にはルイス・ブニュエルによって『糧なき土地』(1932) が製作されている。スペイン内戦後は映画への検閲が行われたが、1950年代にはルイス・ガルシア・ベルランガやフアン・アントニオ・バルデムらの新世代の映像作家が活躍した。

民主化以後はホセ・ルイス・ボロウやカルロス・サウラ、マリオ・カムス、ペドロ・アルモドバル、アレハンドロ・アメナバルなどの映像作家らが活躍している。

世界遺産

詳細は「スペインの世界遺産」を参照

スペイン国内には、ユネスコの世界遺産一覧に登録された文化遺産が34件、自然遺産が2件、複合遺産が1件存在する。さらにフランスにまたがって1件の複合遺産が登録されている。

祝祭日

スペイン全国共通の祭日を以下に示す。この他に自治州の祝日や自治体単位での祝日がある。

日付	日本語表記	スペイン語表記	備考
1月1日	元日	Año Nuevo
移動祝祭日	聖金曜日	Viernes Santo	復活祭の2日前の金曜日
5月1日	メーデー	Día del Trabajador
8月15日	聖母被昇天の日	Asunción
10月12日	エスパーニャの祝日	Día de la Hispanidad または Fiesta Nacional de España
11月1日	諸聖人の日	Todos los Santos
12月6日	憲法記念日	Día de la Constitución
12月8日	無原罪の聖母の日	Inmaculada Concepción
12月25日	クリスマス	Navidad del Señor

スポーツ

詳細は「スペインのスポーツ」を参照

サッカー

詳細は「スペインのサッカー」を参照

スポーツにおいてスペインではサッカーが最も盛んである。スペイン代表はFIFAワールドカップに13回の出場を果たしている。1998年のフランス大会予選のときに「無敵艦隊」と呼ばれ、以後そのように呼ばれる事もある。最高成績は1950年のブラジル大会の4位を久しく上回れず、「永遠の優勝候補」などと言われてきたが、2010年の南アフリカ大会で初めて決勝に進出し、オランダ代表との延長戦の末、初めて優勝を手にした。一方欧州選手権では2012年までに3度の優勝を経験している。FIFAランキングでは2008年から2013年の6年間にかけて世界1位を記録している。

また、国内のリーグ戦であるリーガ・エスパニョーラは、世界各国の有力選手が集結しイングランド（プレミアリーグ）やイタリア（セリエA）のリーグと並んで注目を集めている。特にFCバルセロナ対レアル・マドリードの対戦カードはエル・クラシコと呼ばれ、スペイン国内では視聴率50%を記録、全世界で約三億人が生放送で視聴するとも言われる。

バスケットボール

詳細は「スペインのバスケットボール」および「:en:Basketball in Spain」を参照

バスケットボールもスペイン代表が2006年に世界選手権を制覇し注目を集めている。NBAで活躍する選手も2001-2002ルーキー・オブ・ザ・イヤーを受賞したパウ・ガソルやホセ・カルデロン、セルヒオ・ロドリゲスらがいる。

サイクルロードレース

自転車ロードレースも伝統的に盛んで、ツール・ド・フランス史上初の総合5連覇を達成したミゲル・インデュラインをはじめ、フェデリコ・バーモンテス、ルイス・オカーニャ、ペドロ・デルガド、オスカル・ペレイロ、アルベルト・コンタドール、カルロス・サストレといった歴代ツール・ド・フランス総合優勝者を筆頭に（2006年、2007年、2008年、2009年と4年連続でスペイン人による総合優勝）、著名な選手を数多く輩出している。また、例年8月末から9月中旬まで開催されるブエルタ・ア・エスパーニャはツール・ド・フランスやジロ・デ・イタリアとともに、グランツール（三大ツール）と呼ばれる自転車競技の最高峰的存在である。

モータースポーツ

近年はモータースポーツも人気を博しておりサッカーに次ぐ盛況ぶりである。ロードレース世界選手権 (MotoGP) の視聴率は40%を超えることもしばしば。世界ラリー選手権ではカルロス・サインツがスペイン人初のワールドチャンピオンに輝いた。フォーミュラ1 (F1) ではフェルナンド・アロンソが2005年（当時）F1 史上最年少世界王者に輝き、スペインのスポーツ選手人気ランキングでサッカー選手のラウル・ゴンサレス（レアル・マドリード）を抑え1位になるなど、その人気は過熱している。

テニス

テニスの水準も高く、近年注目度の高いラファエル・ナダルをはじめフアン・カルロス・フェレーロ、カルロス・モヤといった世界1位になったことのある選手等数多くの著名な選手を輩出し、男子の国別対抗戦であるデビスカップでも毎年好成績を収めている。

現在でも男子世界ランキングで100位以内の選手が一番多い国である。

その他

その他にも闘牛を行う伝統が存在する。近年ではシンクロナイズドスイミングにおいて独特の表現力で世界的に注目を集めている。

科学と技術

詳細は「スペインの科学と技術」を参照

医学

臓器移植大国である。

著名な出身者

詳細は「スペイン人の一覧」を参照

脚註

参考文献

• 岩根圀和 『物語スペインの歴史──海洋帝国の黄金時代』 中央公論社〈中公新書1635〉、東京、2002年2月。ISBN 4-12-101635-5。
• 牛島信明、川成洋、坂東省次編 『スペイン学を学ぶ人のために』 世界思想社、京都、1999年5月。ISBN 4-12-101564-8。
• エドゥアルド・ガレアーノ/大久保光夫訳 『収奪された大地──ラテンアメリカ五百年』 新評論、東京、1986年9月。
• 田沢耕 『物語カタルーニャの歴史──知られざる地中海帝国の興亡』 中央公論社〈中公新書1564〉、東京、2000年12月。ISBN 4-12-101564-8。
• 立石博高編 『スペイン・ポルトガル史』 山川出版社〈新版世界各国史16〉、東京、2000年6月。ISBN 4-634-41460-0。
• 野々山真輝帆 『スペインを知るための60章』 明石書店〈エリア・スタディーズ23〉、東京、2002年10月。ISBN 4-7503-1638-5。
• 坂東省次、戸門一衛、碇順治編 『現代スペイン情報ハンドブック[改訂版]』 三修社、東京、2007年10月。ISBN 4-7503-1638-5。
• 渡部哲郎 『バスクとバスク人』 平凡社〈平凡社新書〉、東京、2004年4月。ISBN 4-7503-1638-5。

関連項目

• スペイン関係記事の一覧
• スペインによるアメリカ大陸の植民地化
• セルバンテス文化センター

スペインに関する著書が多い作家・文化人

• 堀田善衛 - 小説家
• 天本英世 - 俳優
• 逢坂剛 - 推理作家
• 俵万智 - 歌人

外部リンク

• 政府
  • スペイン政府 （スペイン語）（英語）
  • スペイン王室 （スペイン語）（英語）
  • スペイン大使館経済商務部 （日本語）
  • スペイン情報誌 acueducto （日本語） （スペイン語）（英語）
• 日本政府
  • 日本外務省 - スペイン （日本語）
  • 在スペイン日本国大使館 （日本語）
• 観光
  • スペイン政府観光局 （日本語）
• その他
  • JETRO - スペイン （日本語）
  • Spain entry at The World Factbook （英語）
  • スペイン - Open Directory Project （英語）
  • スペインのウィキメディア地図 （英語）
  • オープンストリートマップには、スペインに関連する地理データがあります。

wiki en

[Wiki en表示]

For other uses, see Spain (disambiguation).

"España" redirects here. For other uses, see España (disambiguation).

For other uses of "Spanish" or "Español", see Spanish (disambiguation).

Kingdom of Spain Reino de España
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: "Plus Ultra" (Latin) "Further Beyond"
Anthem: "Marcha Real" (Spanish) "Royal March"
Location of  Spain  (dark green) – in Europe  (green & dark grey) – in the European Union  (green)  –  [Legend]
Capital and largest city		Madrid 40°26′N 3°42′W
Official language and national language		Spanish
Recognised regional languages		Aragonese Astur-Leonese Basque Catalan Galician Occitan
Ethnic groups (2015)		89.9% Spanish 10.1% others
Demonym		Spanish Spaniard
Government		Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy
•	Monarch	Felipe VI
•	Prime Minister	Mariano Rajoy
Legislature		Cortes Generales
•	Upper house	Senate
•	Lower house	Congress of Deputies
Formation
•	Dynastic	20 January 1479
•	De facto	23 January 1516
•	De jure	9 June 1715
•	First constitution	19 March 1812
•	Current democracy	29 December 1978
•	EEC accession	1 January 1986
Area
•	Total	505,990 km2 (51st) 195,364 sq mi
•	Water (%)	1.04
Population
•	2015 census	46,423,064 (30th)
•	Density	92/km2 (112th) 240/sq mi
GDP (PPP)		2015 estimate
•	Total	$1.636 trillion (16th)
•	Per capita	$35,269 (33rd)
GDP (nominal)		2016 estimate
•	Total	$1.242 trillion (12th)
•	Per capita	$26,326 (29th)
Gini (2013)		33.7 medium
HDI (2014)		0.876 very high · 26th
Currency		Euro (€) (EUR)
Time zone		CET (UTC+1) WET (UTC​)
•	Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2) WEST (UTC+1)
		Note: Spain observes CET/CEST, except the Canary Islands which observe WET/WEST
Date format		dd/mm/yyyy (CE)
Drives on the		right
Calling code		+34
ISO 3166 code		ES
Internet TLD		.es

Spain (ⁱ/ˈspeɪn/; Spanish: España [esˈpaɲa]), officially the Kingdom of Spain (Spanish: Reino de España), is a sovereign state largely located on the Iberian Peninsula in southwestern Europe, with archipelagos in the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea, and several small territories on and near the north African coast. Its 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, Andorra, and the 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 Mediterranean coastlines. Extending to 1,214 km (754 mi), the Portugal–Spain border is the longest uninterrupted border within the European Union.

Spanish territory includes two archipelagos: the Balearic Islands, in the Mediterranean Sea, and the Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean off the African coast. It also includes two major exclaves, Ceuta and Melilla, in continental North Africa; and the islands and peñones (rocks) of Alborán, Alhucemas, Chafarinas and Vélez de la Gomera. With an area of 505,990 km² (195,360 sq mi), Spain is the second largest country in Western Europe and the European Union, and the fourth largest country in Europe. By population, Spain is the sixth largest in Europe and the fifth in the European Union.

Modern humans first arrived in the Iberian Peninsula around 35,000 years ago. Iberian cultures along with ancient Phoenician, Greek and Carthaginian settlements developed on the peninsula until it came under Roman rule around 200 BCE, after which the region was named Hispania. In the Middle Ages, the area was conquered by Germanic tribes and later by the Moors. Spain emerged as a unified country in the 15th century, following the marriage of the Catholic Monarchs and the completion of the centuries-long reconquest, or Reconquista, of the peninsula from the Moors in 1492. In the early modern period, Spain became one of history's first global colonial empires, leaving a vast cultural and linguistic legacy that includes over 500 million Spanish speakers, making Spanish the world's second most spoken first language, after Chinese and before English.

Spain is a democracy organised in the form of a parliamentary government under a constitutional monarchy. It is a middle power and a developed country with the world's fourteenth largest economy by nominal GDP and sixteenth largest by purchasing power parity. It is a member of the United Nations (UN), the European Union (EU), the Council of Europe (CoE), the Organization of Ibero-American States (OEI), the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the World Trade Organization (WTO) and many other international organisations.

Etymology

The origins of the Roman name Hispania, from which the modern name España was derived, are uncertain due to inadequate evidence. Down the centuries there have been a number of accounts and hypotheses:

Lady of Elche

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 Phoenician word spy, meaning "to forge metals". Therefore, i-spn-ya would mean "the land where metals are forged". It may be a derivation of the Phoenician I-Shpania, 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 rabbit at her feet, and Strabo called it the "land of the rabbits".

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.

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.

Two 15th-century 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 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.

History

Main article: History of Spain

Reproduction of Altamira Cave paintings, in Cantabria.

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 small Christian kingdoms in the north gradually regained control of the peninsula. 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, which oversaw a period of stagnation that was followed by a surge in the growth of the economy. 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 pre-Roman peoples

Main article: Prehistoric Iberia

Celtic castro in A Guarda, Galicia.

Archaeological research at Atapuerca indicates the Iberian Peninsula was populated by hominids 1.2 million years ago. In Atapuerca fossils have been found of the earliest known hominins in Europe, the Homo antecessor. Modern humans first arrived in Iberia, from the north on foot, about 35,000 years ago. The best known artifacts of these prehistoric human settlements are the famous paintings in the Altamira cave of Cantabria in northern Iberia, which were created from 35,600 to 13,500 BCE by Cro-Magnon. Archaeological and genetic evidence suggests that the Iberian Peninsula acted as one of several major refugia from which northern Europe was repopulated following the end of the last ice age.

The largest groups inhabiting the Iberian Peninsula before the Roman conquest were the Iberians and the Celts. The Iberians inhabited the Mediterranean side of the peninsula, from the northeast to the southeast. The Celts inhabited much of the inner and Atlantic sides of the peninsula, from the northwest to the southwest. Basques occupied the western area of the Pyrenees mountain range and adjacent areas, the Tartessians were in the southwest and the Lusitanians and Vettones occupied areas in the central west. A number of trading settlements of Phoenicians, Greeks and Carthaginians developed on the Mediterranean coast.

Roman Empire and the Gothic Kingdom

Main articles: Hispania and Visigothic Kingdom

Roman Theatre, Mérida

During the Second Punic War, an expanding Roman Republic captured Carthaginian trading colonies along the Mediterranean coast from roughly 210 to 205 BCE. It took the Romans nearly two centuries to complete the conquest of the Iberian Peninsula, though they had control of it for over six centuries. Roman rule was bound together by law, language, and the Roman road.

The cultures of the Celtic and Iberian populations were gradually Romanised (Latinised) at differing rates in different parts of Hispania. Local leaders were admitted into the Roman aristocratic class. Hispania served as a granary for the Roman market, and its harbours exported gold, wool, olive oil, and wine. Agricultural production increased with the introduction of irrigation projects, some of which remain in use. Emperors Hadrian, Trajan, Theodosius I, and the philosopher Seneca were born in Hispania. Christianity was introduced into Hispania in the 1st century CE and it became popular in the cities in the 2nd century CE. Most of Spain's present languages and religion, and the basis of its laws, originate from this period.

Toledo, capital of the Visigothic Kingdom.

The weakening of the Western Roman Empire's jurisdiction in Hispania began in 409, when the Germanic Suebi and Vandals, together with the Sarmatian Alans, crossed the Rhine and ravaged Gaul until the Visigoths drove them into Iberia that same year. The Suebi established a kingdom in what is today modern Galicia and northern Portugal. As the western empire disintegrated, the social and economic base became greatly simplified: but even in modified form, the successor regimes maintained many of the institutions and laws of the late empire, including Christianity.

The Alans' allies, the Hasdingi Vandals, established a kingdom in Gallaecia, too, occupying largely the same region but extending farther south to the Douro river. The Silingi Vandals occupied the region that still bears a form of their name—Vandalusia, modern Andalusia, in Spain. The Byzantines established an enclave, Spania, in the south, with the intention of reviving the Roman empire throughout Iberia. Eventually, however, Hispania was reunited under Visigothic rule.

Isidore of Seville, archbishop of Seville, was an influential philosopher and was much studied in the Middle Ages in Europe. Also, his theories were vital to the conversion of the Visigothic Kingdom to a Catholic one, in the Councils of Toledo. This Gothic kingdom was the first Christian kingdom ruling in the Iberian Peninsula, and in the Reconquista it was the referent for the different kingdoms fighting against the Muslim rule.

Middle Ages: Muslim invasion and Reconquista

Main articles: Al-Andalus and Reconquista

The death of the Frankish leader Roland defeated by a Basque and Muslim-Muladi (Banu Qasi) alliance at the Battle of Roncevaux Pass (778) originated the Kingdom of Navarre led by Íñigo Arista.

In the 8th century, nearly all of the Iberian Peninsula was conquered (711–718) by largely Moorish Muslim armies from North Africa. These conquests were part of the expansion of the Umayyad Caliphate. Only a small area in the mountainous north-west of the peninsula managed to resist the initial invasion.

Under Islamic law, Christians and Jews were given the subordinate status of dhimmi. This status permitted Christians and Jews to practice their religions as People of the Book but they were required to pay a special tax and had legal and social rights inferior to those of Muslims.

Conversion to Islam proceeded at an increasing pace. The muladíes (Muslims of ethnic Iberian origin) are believed to have comprised the majority of the population of Al-Andalus by the end of the 10th century.

The Muslim community in the Iberian Peninsula was itself diverse and beset by social tensions. The Berber people of North Africa, who had provided the bulk of the invading armies, clashed with the Arab leadership from the Middle East. Over time, large Moorish populations became established, especially in the Guadalquivir River valley, the coastal plain of Valencia, the Ebro River valley and (towards the end of this period) in the mountainous region of Granada.

Hypostyle hall in the Great Mosque of Córdoba.

Córdoba, the capital of the caliphate since Abd-ar-Rahman III, was the largest, richest and most sophisticated city in western Europe. Mediterranean trade and cultural exchange flourished. Muslims imported a rich intellectual tradition from the Middle East and North Africa. Muslim and Jewish scholars played an important part in reviving and expanding classical Greek learning in Western Europe. Some important philosophers at the time were Averroes, Ibn Arabi and Maimonides. The Romanised cultures of the Iberian Peninsula interacted with Muslim and Jewish cultures in complex ways, giving the region a distinctive culture. Outside the cities, where the vast majority lived, the land ownership system from Roman times remained largely intact as Muslim leaders rarely dispossessed landowners and the introduction of new crops and techniques led to an expansion of agriculture.

Petronilla of Aragon and Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Barcelona, dynastic union of the Crown of Aragon.

In the 11th century, the Muslim holdings fractured into rival Taifa kingdoms, allowing the small Christian states the opportunity to greatly enlarge their territories. The arrival from North Africa of the Islamic ruling sects of the Almoravids and the Almohads restored unity upon the Muslim holdings, with a stricter, less tolerant application of Islam, and saw a revival in Muslim fortunes. This re-united Islamic state experienced more than a century of successes that partially reversed Christian gains.

The Reconquista (Reconquest) was the centuries-long period in which Christian rule was re-established over the Iberian Peninsula. The Reconquista is viewed as beginning with the Battle of Covadonga won by Don Pelayo in 722 and was concurrent with the period of Muslim rule on the Iberian Peninsula. The Christian army's victory over Muslim forces led to the creation of the Christian Kingdom of Asturias along the northwestern coastal mountains. Shortly after, in 739, Muslim forces were driven from Galicia, which was to eventually host one of medieval Europe's holiest sites, Santiago de Compostela and was incorporated into the new Christian kingdom. The Kingdom of León was the strongest Christian kingdom for centuries. In 1188 the first modern parliamentary session in Europe was held in León (Cortes of León). The Kingdom of Castile, formed from Leonese territory, was its successor as strongest kingdom. The kings and the nobility fought for power and influence in this period. The example of the Roman emperors influenced the political objective of the Crown, while the nobles benefited from feudalism.

Basilica of San Isidoro, León.

Muslim armies had also moved north of the Pyrenees but they were defeated by Frankish forces at the Battle of Poitiers, Frankia. Later, Frankish forces established Christian counties on the southern side of the Pyrenees. These areas were to grow into the kingdoms of Navarre and Aragon. For several centuries, the fluctuating frontier between the Muslim and Christian controlled areas of Iberia was along the Ebro and Douro valleys.

The break-up of Al-Andalus into the competing taifa kingdoms helped the long embattled Iberian Christian kingdoms gain the initiative. The capture of the strategically central city of Toledo in 1085 marked a significant shift in the balance of power in favour of the Christian kingdoms. Following a great Muslim resurgence in the 12th century, the great Moorish strongholds in the south fell to Christian Spain in the 13th century—Córdoba in 1236 and Seville in 1248. The last Nasrid sultanate of Granada, a Muslim tributary state would finally surrender in 1492 to the Catholic monarchs Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon.

From the mid 13th century, literature and philosophy started to flourish again in the Christian peninsular kingdoms, based on Roman and Gothic traditions. An important philosopher from this time is Ramon Llull. Abraham Cresques was a prominent Jewish cartographer. Roman law and its institutions were the model for the legislators. The king Alfonso X of Castile focused on strengthening this Roman and Gothic past, and also on linking the Iberian Christian kingdoms with the rest of medieval European Christendom. He worked for being elected emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and published the Siete Partidas code. The Toledo School of Translators is the name that commonly describes the group of scholars who worked together in the city of Toledo during the 12th and 13th centuries, to translate many of the philosophical and scientific works from Classical Arabic, Ancient Greek, and Ancient Hebrew. The Islamic transmission of the classics is the main Islamic contributions to Medieval Europe. The Castilian language—more commonly known (especially later in history and at present) as "Spanish" after becoming the national language and lingua franca of Spain—evolved from Vulgar Latin, as did other Romance languages of Spain like the Catalan, Asturian and Galician languages, as well as other Romance languages in Latin Europe. Basque, the only non-Romance language in Spain, continued evolving from Early Basque to Medieval. The Glosas Emilianenses founded in the monasteries of San Millán de la Cogolla contain the first written words in both Basque and Spanish, having the first become an influence in the formation of the second as an evolution of Latin.

Salamanca is one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The School of Salamanca was the intellectual origin of modern international law.

In the 13th and 14th centuries, the Marinid Muslim sect based in North Africa invaded and established some enclaves on the southern coast but failed in their attempt to re-establish Muslim rule in Iberia and were soon driven out. The 13th century also witnessed the Crown of Aragon, centred in Spain's north east, expand its reach across islands in the Mediterranean, to Sicily and even Athens. Around this time the universities of Palencia (1212/1263) and Salamanca (1218/1254) were established. The Black Death of 1348 and 1349 devastated Spain.

Imperial Spain

Main article: Spanish Empire

In 1469, the crowns of the Christian kingdoms of Castile and Aragon were united by the marriage of Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon. 1478 commenced the completion of the conquest of the Canary Islands and in 1492, the combined forces of Castile and Aragon captured the Emirate of Granada, ending the last remnant of a 781-year presence of Islamic rule in Iberia. That same year, Spain's Jews were ordered to convert to Catholicism or face expulsion from Spanish territories during the Spanish Inquisition. The Treaty of Granada guaranteed religious tolerance toward Muslims, and although the tolerance was only partial, it was not until the beginning of the 17th century, following the Revolt of the Alpujarras, that Muslims were finally expelled.

The year 1492 also marked the arrival of Christopher Columbus in the New World, during a voyage funded by Isabella. Columbus's first voyage crossed the Atlantic and reached the Caribbean Islands, beginning the European exploration and conquest of the Americas, although he remained convinced that he had reached the Orient. The colonisation of the Americas started, with conquistadores like Hernán Cortés and Francisco Pizarro. Miscegenation was the rule between the native and the European cultures and people.

Christopher Columbus meets the Catholic Monarchs in the Alhambra.

As Renaissance New Monarchs, Isabella and Ferdinand centralised royal power at the expense of local nobility, and the word España, whose root is the ancient name Hispania, began to be commonly used to designate the whole of the two kingdoms. With their wide-ranging political, legal, religious and military reforms, Spain emerged as the first world power.

The unification of the crowns of Aragon and Castile by the marriage of their sovereigns laid the basis for modern Spain and the Spanish Empire, although each kingdom of Spain remained a separate country, in social, political, laws, currency and language.

Spain was Europe's leading power throughout the 16th century and most of the 17th century, a position reinforced by trade and wealth from colonial possessions and became the world's leading maritime power. It reached its apogee during the reigns of the first two Spanish Habsburgs—Charles I (1516–1556) and Philip II (1556–1598). This period saw the Italian Wars, the Revolt of the Comuneros, the Dutch Revolt, the Morisco Revolt, clashes with the Ottomans, the Anglo-Spanish War and wars with France.

Anachronous map of the Spanish Empire including territorial claims.

Through exploration and conquest or royal marriage alliances and inheritance, the Spanish Empire expanded to include vast areas in the Americas, islands in the Asia-Pacific area, areas of Italy, cities in Northern Africa, as well as parts of what are now France, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands. The first circumnavigation of the world was carried out in 1519–1521. It was the first empire on which it was said that the sun never set. This was an Age of Discovery, with daring explorations by sea and by land, the opening-up of new trade routes across oceans, conquests and the beginnings of European colonialism. Spanish explorers brought back precious metals, spices, luxuries, and previously unknown plants, and played a leading part in transforming the European understanding of the globe. The cultural efflorescence witnessed during this period is now referred to as the Spanish Golden Age. The expansion of the empire caused immense upheaval in the Americas as the collapse of societies and empires and new diseases from Europe devastated American indigenous populations. The rise of humanism, the Counter-Reformation and new geographical discoveries and conquests raised issues that were addressed by the intellectual movement now known as the School of Salamanca, which developed the first modern theories of what are now known as international law and human rights.

Philip II and Charles V, Habsburg Spain. Charles was also Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.

In the late 16th century and first half of the 17th century, Spain was confronted by unrelenting challenges from all sides. Barbary pirates, under the aegis of the rapidly growing Ottoman Empire, disrupted life in many coastal areas through their slave raids and the renewed threat of an Islamic invasion. This was at a time when Spain was often at war with France.

The Protestant Reformation dragged the kingdom ever more deeply into the mire of religiously charged wars. The result was a country forced into ever expanding military efforts across Europe and in the Mediterranean.

By the middle decades of a war- and plague-ridden 17th-century Europe, the Spanish Habsburgs had enmeshed the country in continent-wide religious-political conflicts. These conflicts drained it of resources and undermined the economy generally. Spain managed to hold on to most of the scattered Habsburg empire, and help the imperial forces of the Holy Roman Empire reverse a large part of the advances made by Protestant forces, but it was finally forced to recognise the separation of Portugal (with whom it had been united in a personal union of the crowns from 1580 to 1640) and the Netherlands, and eventually suffered some serious military reverses to France in the latter stages of the immensely destructive, Europe-wide Thirty Years' War.

The Family of Philip V (1743). During the Enlightenment in Spain a new royal family reigned, the House of Bourbon.

In the latter half of the 17th century, Spain went into a gradual decline, during which it surrendered several small territories to France and the Netherlands; however, it maintained and enlarged its vast overseas empire, which remained intact until the beginning of the 19th century.

The decline culminated in a controversy over succession to the throne which consumed the first years of the 18th century. The War of the Spanish Succession was a wide-ranging international conflict combined with a civil war, and was to cost the kingdom its European possessions and its position as one of the leading powers on the Continent. During this war, a new dynasty originating in France, the Bourbons, was installed. Long united only by the Crown, a true Spanish state was established when the first Bourbon king, Philip V, united the crowns of Castile and Aragon into a single state, abolishing many of the old regional privileges and laws.

The 18th century saw a gradual recovery and an increase in prosperity through much of the empire. The new Bourbon monarchy drew on the French system of modernising the administration and the economy. Enlightenment ideas began to gain ground among some of the kingdom's elite and monarchy. Military assistance for the rebellious British colonies in the American War of Independence improved the kingdom's international standing.

Liberalism and nation state

Main articles: Mid-19th-century Spain, Spanish American wars of independence and Spanish–American War

The Third of May 1808 by Francisco de Goya depicts an episode of the Spanish Independence War.

In 1793, Spain went to war against the revolutionary new French Republic as a member of the first Coalition. The subsequent War of the Pyrenees polarised the country in a reaction against the gallicised elites and following defeat in the field, peace was made with France in 1795 at the Peace of Basel in which Spain lost control over two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola. The Prime Minister, Manuel Godoy, then ensured that Spain allied herself with France in the brief War of the Third Coalition which ended with the British victory at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. In 1807, a secret treaty between Napoleon and the unpopular prime minister led to a new declaration of war against Britain and Portugal. Napoleon's troops entered the country to invade Portugal but instead occupied Spain's major fortresses. The ridiculed Spanish king abdicated in favour of Napoleon's brother, Joseph Bonaparte.

Joseph Bonaparte was seen as a puppet monarch and was regarded with scorn by the Spanish. The 2 May 1808 revolt was one of many nationalist uprisings across the country against the Bonapartist regime. These revolts marked the beginning of a devastating war of independence against the Napoleonic regime. Napoleon was forced to intervene personally, defeating several Spanish armies and forcing a British army to retreat. However, further military action by Spanish armies, guerrillas and Wellington's British-Portuguese forces, combined with Napoleon's disastrous invasion of Russia, led to the ousting of the French imperial armies from Spain in 1814, and the return of King Ferdinand VII.

During the war, in 1810, a revolutionary body, the Cortes of Cádiz, was assembled to co-ordinate the effort against the Bonapartist regime and to prepare a constitution. It met as one body, and its members represented the entire Spanish empire. In 1812 a constitution for universal representation under a constitutional monarchy was declared but after the fall of the Bonapartist regime Ferdinand VII dismissed the Cortes Generales and was determined to rule as an absolute monarch. These events foreshadowed the conflict between conservatives and liberals in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

The Proclamation of the Spanish Constitution of 1812 in Cádiz.

Spain's conquest by France benefited Latin American anti-colonialists who resented the Imperial Spanish government's policies that favored Spanish-born citizens (Peninsulars) over those born overseas (Criollos) and demanded retroversion of the sovereignty to the people. Starting in 1809 Spain's American colonies began a series of revolutions and declared independence, leading to the Spanish American wars of independence that ended Spanish control over its mainland colonies in the Americas. King Ferdinand VII's attempt to re-assert control proved futile as he faced opposition not only in the colonies but also in Spain and army revolts followed, led by liberal officers. By the end of 1826, the only American colonies Spain held were Cuba and Puerto Rico.

The Napoleonic War left Spain economically ruined, deeply divided and politically unstable. In the 1830s and 1840s Anti-liberal forces known as Carlists fought against liberals in the Carlist Wars. Liberal forces won, but the conflict between progressive and conservative liberals ended in a weak early constitutional period. After the Glorious Revolution of 1868 and the short-lived First Spanish Republic, a more stable monarchic period began characterised by the practice of turnismo (the rotation of government control between progressive and conservative liberals within the Spanish government).

Spanish general Juan Prim, Prime Minister of Spain, with his government after the Glorious Revolution, 1869.

In the late 19th century nationalist movements arose in the Philippines and Cuba. In 1895 and 1896 the Cuban War of Independence and the Philippine Revolution broke out and eventually the United States became involved. The Spanish–American War was fought in the spring of 1898 and resulted in Spain losing the last of its once vast colonial empire outside of North Africa. El Desastre (the Disaster), as the war became known in Spain, gave added impetus to the Generation of 98 who were conducting an analysis of the country.

Although the period around the turn of the century was one of increasing prosperity, the 20th century brought little peace; Spain played a minor part in the scramble for Africa, with the colonisation of Western Sahara, Spanish Morocco and Equatorial Guinea. It remained neutral during World War I (see Spain in World War I). The heavy losses suffered during the Rif War in Morocco brought discredit to the government and undermined the monarchy.

A period of authoritarian rule under General Miguel Primo de Rivera (1923–1931) ended with the establishment of the Second Spanish Republic. The Republic offered political autonomy to the linguistically distinct regions of Basque Country, Catalonia and Galicia and gave voting rights to women and was increasingly dominated by left wing political parties. In the worsening economic situation of the Great Depression, Spanish politics became increasingly chaotic and violent.

Spanish Civil War and dictatorship

Main articles: Spanish Civil War and Francoist Spain

The Spanish Civil War broke out in 1936. For three years the Nationalist forces led by General Francisco Franco and supported by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy fought the Republican side, which was supported by the Soviet Union, Mexico and International Brigades but it was not supported by the Western powers due to the British-led policy of Non-Intervention. The civil war was viciously fought and there were many atrocities committed by all sides. The war claimed the lives of over 500,000 people and caused the flight of up to a half-million citizens from the country. In 1939, General Franco emerged victorious and became a dictator.

Franco giving a speech in Éibar, 1949

The state as established under Franco was nominally neutral in the Second World War, although sympathetic to the Axis. The only legal party under Franco's post civil war regime was the Falange Española Tradicionalista y de las JONS, formed in 1937; the party emphasized falangism, a form of fascism that emphasized anti-communism, nationalism and Roman Catholicism. Given Franco's opposition to competing political parties, the party was renamed the National Movement (Movimiento Nacional) in 1949.

After World War II Spain was politically and economically isolated, and was kept out of the United Nations. This changed in 1955, during the Cold War period, when it became strategically important for the US to establish a military presence on the Iberian Peninsula as a counter to any possible move by the Soviet Union into the Mediterranean basin. In the 1960s, Spain registered an unprecedented rate of economic growth which was propelled by industrialization, a mass internal migration from rural areas to cities and the creation of a mass tourism industry. Franco's rule was also characterized by authoritarianism, promotion of a unitary national identity, the favouring of a very conservative form of Roman Catholicism known as National Catholicism, and discriminatory language policies.

Restoration of democracy

See also: Spanish transition to democracy and Spanish society after the democratic transition

Posters of the first elections under Spanish Constitution of 1978, showing political leaders including Adolfo Suárez (first president), Manuel Fraga, Felipe González and Santiago Carrillo.

In 1962, Salvador de Madariaga, founder of the Liberal International and the College of Europe, met in the congress of the European Movement in Munich with members of the opposition to Franco's regime inside the country and in the exile. There were 118 politicians from all factions. At the end of the meetings a resolution in favour of democracy was made.

With Franco's death in November 1975, Juan Carlos succeeded to the position of King of Spain and head of state in accordance with the law. With the approval of the new Spanish Constitution of 1978 and the restoration of democracy, the State devolved much authority to the regions and created an internal organisation based on autonomous communities.

In the Basque Country, moderate Basque nationalism has coexisted with a radical nationalist movement led by the armed organisation ETA. The group was formed in 1959 during Franco's rule but has continued to wage its violent campaign even after the restoration of democracy and the return of a large measure of regional autonomy. On 23 February 1981, rebel elements among the security forces seized the Cortes in an attempt to impose a military backed government. King Juan Carlos took personal command of the military and successfully ordered the coup plotters, via national television, to surrender.

During the 1980s the democratic restoration made possible a growing open society. New cultural movements based on freedom appeared, like La Movida Madrileña. On 30 May 1982 Spain joined NATO, following a referendum. That year the Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE) came to power, the first left-wing government in 43 years. In 1986 Spain joined the European Economic Community, which later became the European Union. The PSOE was replaced in government by the Partido Popular (PP) after the latter won the 1996 General Elections; at that point the PSOE had served almost 14 consecutive years in office.

Spain has been a member of the European Union since 1986

On 1 January 2002, Spain fully adopted the euro, and Spain experienced strong economic growth, well above the EU average during the early 2000s. However, well publicised concerns issued by many economic commentators at the height of the boom warned that extraordinary property prices and a high foreign trade deficit were likely to lead to a painful economic collapse.

On 11 March 2004 a local Islamist terrorist group inspired by Al-Qaeda carried out the largest terrorist attack in Spanish history when they killed 191 people and wounded more than 1,800 others by bombing commuter trains in Madrid. Though initial suspicions focused on the Basque group ETA, evidence soon emerged indicating Islamist involvement. Because of the proximity of the 2004 election, the issue of responsibility quickly became a political controversy, with the main competing parties PP and PSOE exchanging accusations over the handling of the incident. At 14 March elections, PSOE, led by José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, obtained a plurality, enough to form a new cabinet with Rodríguez Zapatero as the new Presidente del Gobierno or Prime Minister of Spain, thus succeeding the former PP administration.

The proportion of Spain's foreign born population increased rapidly from around 1 in 50 in 2000 to almost 1 in 8 in 2010 but has since declined. In 2005 the Spanish government legalised same sex marriage. The bursting of the Spanish property bubble in 2008 led to the 2008–15 Spanish financial crisis and high levels of unemployment, cuts in government spending and Catalan independentism served as a backdrop to the 2011–12 Spanish protests. In 2011 Mariano Rajoy's conservative People's Party won elections with 44.6% of votes and Rajoy became the Spanish Prime Minister after having been the leader of the opposition from 2004 to 2011. On 19 June 2014, the monarch, Juan Carlos, abdicated in favour of his son, who became Felipe VI.

Geography

Main article: Geography of Spain

Topographic map of Spain

At 505,992 km² (195,365 sq mi), Spain is the world's fifty-second largest country and Europe's fourth largest country. It is some 47,000 km² (18,000 sq mi) smaller than France and 81,000 km² (31,000 sq mi) larger than the US state of California. Mount Teide (Tenerife) is the highest mountain peak in Spain and is the third largest volcano in the world from its base.

Spain lies between latitudes 26° and 44° N, and longitudes 19° W and 5° E.

On the west, Spain is bordered by Portugal; on the south, it is bordered by Gibraltar (a British overseas territory) and Morocco, through its exclaves in North Africa (Ceuta and Melilla, and the peninsula of Vélez de la Gomera). On the northeast, along the Pyrenees mountain range, it is bordered by France and the Principality of Andorra. Along the Pyrenees in Girona, a small exclave town called Llívia is surrounded by France.

Islands

Main article: List of islands of Spain

Spain also includes the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean Sea, the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean and a number of uninhabited islands on the Mediterranean side of the Strait of Gibraltar, known as plazas de soberanía ("places of sovereignty", or territories under [Spanish] sovereignty), such as the Chafarinas Islands and Alhucemas. The peninsula of Vélez de la Gomera is also regarded as a plaza de soberanía. The isle of Alborán, located in the Mediterranean between Spain and North Africa, is also administered by Spain, specifically by the municipality of Almería, Andalusia. The little Pheasant Island in the River Bidasoa is a Spanish-French condominium.

Largest inhabited islands of Spain:

Mt Teide, Tenerife, Canary Islands.

Island	Population
Tenerife	899,833
Majorca (Mallorca)	862,397
Gran Canaria	838,397
Lanzarote	141,938
Ibiza	125,053
Fuerteventura	103,107
Minorca (Menorca)	92,434
La Palma	85,933

Mountains and rivers

Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park, World Heritage Site in the Pyrenees.

Mainland Spain is a mountainous country, dominated by high plateaus and mountain chains. After the Pyrenees, the main mountain ranges are the Cordillera Cantábrica (Cantabrian Range), Sistema Ibérico (Iberian System), Sistema Central (Central System), Montes de Toledo, Sierra Morena and the Sistema Bético (Baetic System) whose highest peak, the 3,478 m high Mulhacén, located in Sierra Nevada, is the highest elevation in the Iberian Peninsula. The highest point in Spain is the Teide, a 3,718-metre (12,198 ft) active volcano in the Canary Islands. The Meseta Central (often translated as "Inner Plateau") is a vast plateau in the heart of peninsular Spain.

There are several major rivers in Spain such as the Tagus (Tajo), Ebro, Guadiana, Douro (Duero), Guadalquivir, Júcar, Segura, Turia and Minho (Miño). Alluvial plains are found along the coast, the largest of which is that of the Guadalquivir in Andalusia.

Climate

Main article: Climate of Spain

Spain map of Köppen climate classification.

Tablas de Daimiel National Park.

The coastal Mediterranean region of Costa Brava

Three main climatic zones can be separated, according to geographical situation and orographic conditions:

• The Mediterranean climate, characterised by warm and dry summers. It is dominant in the peninsula, with two varieties: Csa and Csb according to the Köppen climate classification. The Csb Zone, with a more extreme climate, hotter in summer and colder in winter, extends to additional areas not typically associated with a Mediterranean climate, such as much of central and northern-central of Spain (e.g. Valladolid, Burgos, León).
• The semi-arid climate (Bsh, Bsk), located in the southeastern quarter of the country, especially in the region of Murcia and in the Ebro valley. In contrast with the Mediterranean climate, the dry season extends beyond the summer.
• The oceanic climate (Cfb), located in the northern quarter of the country, especially in the region of Basque Country, Cantabria, Asturias and partly Galicia. In contrary to the Mediterranean climate, winter and summer temperatures are influenced by the ocean, and have no seasonal drought.

Apart from these main types, other sub-types can be found, like the alpine climate in the Pyrenees and Sierra Nevada, and a typical desert climate in the zone of Almería and in most parts of the Canary Islands; while in higher areas of the Canary Islands the predominant climate is subtropical.

The below-listed list covers the average temperatures of three major cities in Spain; Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia along with Santa Cruz de Tenerife which has a significantly different climates to the predominant climate in Spain. More information regarding temperature can be found in city articles and the main article about the Spanish climate.

Average daily maximum and minimum temperatures for Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia and Santa Cruz de Tenerife

Location	Coldest month	Warmest month
Madrid	9.8 °C (49.6 °F) 2.7 °C (36.9 °F)	32.1 °C (89.8 °F) 19.0 °C (66.2 °F)
Barcelona	13.6 °C (56.5 °F) 4.7 °C (40.5 °F)	28.5 °C (83.3 °F) 20.2 °C (68.4 °F)
Valencia	16.4 °C (61.5 °F) 7.1 °C (44.8 °F)	30.2 °C (86.4 °F) 21.9 °C (71.4 °F)
Santa Cruz de Tenerife	21.0 °C (69.8 °F) 15.4 °C (59.7 °F)	29.0 °C (84.2 °F) 21.9 °C (71.4 °F)

Fauna and flora

The fauna presents a wide diversity that is due in large part to the geographical position of the Iberian peninsula between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean and between Africa and Eurasia, and the great diversity of habitats and biotopes, the result of a considerable variety of climates and well differentiated regions.

The vegetation of Spain is varied due to several factors including the diversity of the relief, the climate and latitude. Spain includes different phytogeographic regions, each with its own floristic characteristics resulting largely from the interaction of climate, topography, soil type and fire, biotic factors.

Politics

Main articles: Politics of Spain and Spanish Constitution of 1978

The Royal Palace in Madrid.

According to the Democracy Index of the EIU, Spain is one of the 24 full democracies in the world.

The Spanish Constitution of 1978 is the culmination of the Spanish transition to democracy. The constitutional history of Spain dates back to the constitution of 1812. Impatient with the slow pace of democratic political reforms in 1976 and 1977, Spain's new King Juan Carlos, known for his formidable personality, dismissed Carlos Arias Navarro and appointed the reformer Adolfo Suárez as Prime Minister. The resulting general election in 1977 convened the Constituent Cortes (the Spanish Parliament, in its capacity as a constitutional assembly) for the purpose of drafting and approving the constitution of 1978. After a national referendum on 6 December 1978, 88% of voters approved of the new constitution.

As a result, Spain is now composed of 17 autonomous communities and two autonomous cities with varying degrees of autonomy thanks to its Constitution, which nevertheless explicitly states the indivisible unity of the Spanish nation. The constitution also specifies that Spain has no state religion and that all are free to practice and believe as they wish.

The Spanish administration approved legislation in 2007 aimed at furthering equality between genders in Spanish political and economic life (Gender Equality Act). However, in the legislative branch, as of July 2010 only 128 of the 350 members of the Congress were women (36.3%). It places Spain 13th on a list of countries ranked by proportion of women in the lower house. In the Senate, the ratio is even lower, since there are only 79 women out of 263 (30.0%). The Gender Empowerment Measure of Spain in the United Nations Human Development Report is 0.794, 12th in the world.

Government

Congress of Deputies, Madrid.

See also: List of Spanish monarchs and Monarchs of Spain family tree

Spain is a constitutional monarchy, with a hereditary monarch and a bicameral parliament, the Cortes Generales (General Courts). The executive branch consists of a Council of Ministers of Spain presided over by the Prime Minister, nominated and appointed by the monarch and confirmed by the Congress of Deputies following legislative elections. By political custom established by King Juan Carlos since the ratification of the 1978 Constitution, the king's nominees have all been from parties who maintain a plurality of seats in the Congress.

The legislative branch is made up of the Congress of Deputies (Congreso de los Diputados) with 350 members, elected by popular vote on block lists by proportional representation to serve four-year terms, and a Senate (Senado) with 259 seats of which 208 are directly elected by popular vote and the other 51 appointed by the regional legislatures to also serve four-year terms.

• Head of State
  • King Felipe VI, since 19 June 2014
• Head of Government
  • Prime Minister of Spain (Presidente del Gobierno, literally President of the Government): Mariano Rajoy Brey, elected 20 November 2011.
    • Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for the Presidency: Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría.
• Cabinet
  • Council of Ministers (Consejo de Ministros) designated by the Prime Minister.

Spain is organisationally structured as a so-called Estado de las Autonomías ("State of Autonomies"); it is one of the most decentralised countries in Europe, along with Switzerland, Germany and Belgium; for example, all Autonomous Communities have their own elected parliaments, governments, public administrations, budgets, and resources. Health and education systems among others are managed regionally, and in addition, the Basque Country and Navarre also manage their own public finances based on foral provisions. In Catalonia, the Basque Country, Navarre and the Canary Islands, a full-fledged autonomous police corps replaces some of the State police functions (see Mossos d'Esquadra, Ertzaintza, Policía Foral and Policía Canaria).

Human rights

Main articles: Human rights in Spain and LGBT rights in Spain

Europride festival 2007 in Madrid

The Government respects the human rights of its citizens; although there are a few problems in some areas, the law and judiciary provide effective means of addressing individual instances of abuse. There are allegations that a few members of the security forces abused detainees and mistreated foreigners and illegal immigrants. According to Amnesty International (AI), government investigations of such alleged abuses are often lengthy and punishments were light. Violence against women was a problem, which the Government took steps to address.

Spain provides one of the highest degrees of liberty in the world for its LGBT community. Among the countries studied by Pew Research Center in 2013, Spain is rated first in acceptance of homosexuality, with an 88% of society supporting the gay community compared to 11% who do not.

Administrative divisions

Main article: Political divisions of Spain

The Spanish State is integrated by 17 autonomous communities and 2 autonomous cities, both groups being the highest or first-order administrative division in the country. Autonomous communities are integrated by provinces, of which there are 50 in total, and in turn, provinces are integrated by municipalities. In Catalonia, two additional divisions exist, the comarques (sing. comarca) and the vegueries (sing. vegueria) both of which have administrative powers; comarques being aggregations of municipalities, and the vegueries being aggregations of comarques. The concept of a comarca exists in all autonomous communities, however, unlike Catalonia, these are merely historical or geographical subdivisions.

Autonomies

Main article: Autonomous communities of Spain

See also: Nationalities and regions of Spain

Galicia

Navarre

Madrid

La Rioja

Aragon

Catalonia

Valencia

Castile–
La Mancha

Extremadura

Portugal

Castile
and León

Asturias

Cantabria

Basque Country

Murcia

Andalusia

Ceuta

Melilla

France

Balearic
Islands

Canary
Islands

Mediterranean Sea

Bay of Biscay

Atlantic
Ocean

Andorra

Atlantic
Ocean

Gibraltar (UK)

Autonomous communities are the first level administrative division in the country. These were created after the 1979 and current constitution came into effect in recognition of the right to self-government to the "nationalities and regions of Spain". Autonomous communities were to be integrated by adjacent provinces with common historical, cultural, and economical traits. This territorial organisation, based on devolution, is known in Spain as the "State of Autonomies".

The basic institutional law of each autonomous community is the Statute of Autonomy. The Statutes of Autonomy establish the name of the community according to its historical identity, the limits of their territories, the name and organisation of the institutions of government and the rights they enjoy according to the constitution.

The government of all autonomous communities must be based on a division of powers comprising:

• a Legislative Assembly whose members must be elected by universal suffrage according to the system of proportional representation and in which all areas that integrate the territory are fairly represented;
• a Government Council, with executive and administrative functions headed by a president, elected by the Legislative Assembly and nominated by the King of Spain;
• a Supreme Court of Justice, under the Supreme Court of the State, which head the judicial organisation within the autonomous community.

Supporters of Catalan independence in 2012

Catalonia, Galicia and the Basque Country, which identified themselves as "nationalities" were granted self-government through a rapid process. Andalusia also took that denomination in its first Statute of Autonomy, even though it followed the longer process stipulated in the constitution for the rest of the country. Progressively, other communities in revisions to their Statutes of Autonomy have also taken that denomination in accordance to their historical regional identity, such as the Valencian Community, the Canary Islands, the Balearic Islands, and Aragon.

The autonomous communities have wide legislative and executive autonomy, with their own parliaments and regional governments. The distribution of powers may be different for every community, as laid out in their Statutes of Autonomy, since devolution was intended to be asymmetrical. Only two communities—the Basque Country and Navarre—have full fiscal autonomy. Aside of fiscal autonomy, the "historical" nationalities—Andalusia, the Basque Country, Catalonia, and Galicia—were devolved more powers than the rest of the communities, among them the ability of the regional president to dissolve the parliament and call for elections at any time. In addition, the Basque Country, Catalonia and Navarre have police corps of their own: Ertzaintza, Mossos d'Esquadra and the Policía Foral respectively. Other communities have more limited forces or none at all, like the Policía Autónoma Andaluza in Andalusia or the BESCAM in Madrid.

Hall of the Consell de Cent, local body of Barcelona between the 13th and 18th centuries.

Nonetheless, recent amendments to existing Statutes of Autonomy or the promulgation of new Statutes altogether, have reduced the asymmetry between the powers originally granted to the "historical nationalities" and the rest of the regions.

Finally, along with the 17 autonomous communities, two autonomous cities are also part of the State of Autonomies and are first-order territorial divisions: Ceuta and Melilla. These are two exclaves located in the northern African coast.

Provinces and municipalities

Main articles: Provinces of Spain and Municipalities of Spain

Autonomous communities are subdivided into provinces, which served as their territorial building blocks. In turn, provinces are integrated by municipalities. The existence of both the provinces and the municipalities is guaranteed and protected by the constitution, not necessarily by the Statutes of Autonomy themselves. Municipalities are granted autonomy to manage their internal affairs, and provinces are the territorial divisions designed to carry out the activities of the State.

The current provincial division structure is based—with minor changes—on the 1833 territorial division by Javier de Burgos, and in all, the Spanish territory is divided into 50 provinces. The communities of Asturias, Cantabria, La Rioja, the Balearic Islands, Madrid, Murcia and Navarre are the only communities that are integrated by a single province, which is coextensive with the community itself. In this cases, the administrative institutions of the province are replaced by the governmental institutions of the community.

Foreign relations

Main article: Foreign relations of Spain

Mariano Rajoy in a G-20 Summit in Mexico. Spain is a permanent guest of the G-20.

The Ibero-American Summit, in San Salvador, 2008

After the return of democracy following the death of Franco in 1975, Spain's foreign policy priorities were to break out of the diplomatic isolation of the Franco years and expand diplomatic relations, enter the European Community, and define security relations with the West.

As a member of NATO since 1982, Spain has established itself as a participant in multilateral international security activities. Spain's EU membership represents an important part of its foreign policy. Even on many international issues beyond western Europe, Spain prefers to co-ordinate its efforts with its EU partners through the European political co-operation mechanisms.

Spain has maintained its special relations with Hispanic America and the Philippines. Its policy emphasises the concept of an Ibero-American community, essentially the renewal of the historically liberal concept of "Hispanidad" or "Hispanismo", as it is often referred to in English, which has sought to link the Iberian Peninsula with Hispanic America through language, commerce, history and culture.

Territorial disputes

Spain claims Gibraltar, a 6-square-kilometre (2.3 sq mi) Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom in the southernmost part of the Iberian Peninsula. Then a Spanish town, it was conquered by an Anglo-Dutch force in 1704 during the War of the Spanish Succession on behalf of Archduke Charles, pretender to the Spanish throne.

The legal situation concerning Gibraltar was settled in 1713 by the Treaty of Utrecht, in which Spain ceded the territory in perpetuity to the British Crown stating that, should the British abandon this post, it would be offered to Spain first. Since the 1940s Spain has called for the return of Gibraltar. The overwhelming majority of Gibraltarians strongly oppose this, along with any proposal of shared sovereignty. UN resolutions call on the United Kingdom and Spain, both EU members, to reach an agreement over the status of Gibraltar.

The Spanish claim makes a distinction between the isthmus that connects the Rock to the Spanish mainland on the one hand, and the Rock and city of Gibraltar on the other. While the Rock and city were ceded by the Treaty of Utrecht, Spain asserts that the "occupation of the isthmus is illegal and against the principles of International Law". The United Kingdom relies on de facto arguments of possession by prescription in relation to the isthmus, as there has been "continuous possession [of the isthmus] over a long period".

Morocco claims sovereignty over the Spanish North African cities of Ceuta and Melilla

Another claim by Spain is about the Savage Islands, a claim not recognised by Portugal. Spain claims that they are rocks rather than islands, therefore claiming that there is no Portuguese territorial waters around the disputed islands. On 5 July 2013, Spain sent a letter to the UN expressing these views.

Spain claims the sovereignty over the Perejil Island, a small, uninhabited rocky islet located in the South shore of the Strait of Gibraltar. The island lies 250 metres (820 ft) just off the coast of Morocco, 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) from Ceuta and 13.5 kilometres (8.4 mi) from mainland Spain. Its sovereignty is disputed between Spain and Morocco. It was the subject of an armed incident between the two countries in 2002. The incident ended when both countries agreed to return to the status quo ante which existed prior to the Moroccan occupation of the island. The islet is now deserted and without any sign of sovereignty.

Besides the Perejil Island, the Spanish-held territories claimed by other countries are two: Morocco claims the Spanish cities of Ceuta and Melilla and the plazas de soberanía islets off the northern coast of Africa; and Portugal does not recognise Spain's sovereignty over the territory of Olivenza.

Military

Aircraft carrier/assault ship Juan Carlos I (L61), multirole fighter Eurofighter Typhoon, Boeing CH-47 Chinook, universal tank Leopard 2

Main article: Spanish Armed Forces

The armed forces of Spain are known as the Spanish Armed Forces (Fuerzas Armadas Españolas). Their Commander-in-chief is the King of Spain, Felipe VI.

The Spanish Armed Forces are divided into three branches:

• Army (Ejército de Tierra)
• Navy (Armada)
• Air Force (Ejército del Aire)

Economy

Main article: Economy of Spain

Torre Agbar, Barcelona

Spain's capitalist mixed economy is the 16th largest worldwide and the 5th largest in the European Union, as well as the Eurozone's 4th largest.

The centre-right government of former prime minister José María Aznar worked successfully to gain admission to the group of countries launching the euro in 1999. Unemployment stood at 7.6% in October 2006, a rate that compared favourably to many other European countries, and especially with the early 1990s when it stood at over 20%. Perennial weak points of Spain's economy include high inflation, a large underground economy, and an education system which OECD reports place among the poorest for developed countries, together with the United States and UK.

By the mid-1990s the economy had recommenced the growth that had been disrupted by the global recession of the early 1990s. The strong economic growth helped the government to reduce the government debt as a percentage of GDP and Spain's high unemployment began to drop steadily. With the government budget in balance and inflation under control Spain was admitted into the Eurozone in 1999.

Spain is a member of the Schengen Area, the Eurozone and the European Single Market.

Since the 1990s some Spanish companies have gained multinational status, often expanding their activities in culturally close Latin America. Spain is the second biggest foreign investor there, after the United States. Spanish companies have also expanded into Asia, especially China and India. This early global expansion is a competitive advantage over its competitors and European neighbours. The reason for this early expansion is the booming interest toward Spanish language and culture in Asia and Africa and a corporate culture that learned to take risks in unstable markets.

Spanish companies invested in fields like renewable energy commercialisation (Iberdrola was the world's largest renewable energy operator), technology companies like Telefónica, Abengoa, Mondragon Corporation, Movistar, Hisdesat, Indra, train manufacturers like CAF, Talgo, global corporations such as the textile company Inditex, petroleum companies like Repsol and infrastructure, with six of the ten biggest international construction firms specialising in transport being Spanish, like Ferrovial, Acciona, ACS, OHL and FCC.

The urban transformation of Bilbao has been hailed as an example of "smart city".

In 2005 the Economist Intelligence Unit's quality of life survey placed Spain among the top 10 in the world. In 2013 the same survey (now called the "Where-to-be-born index"), ranked Spain 28th in the world.

In 2010, the Basque city of Bilbao was awarded with the Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize, and its mayor at the time, Iñaki Azkuna, was awarded the World Mayor Prize in 2012. The Basque capital city of Vitoria-Gasteiz received the European Green Capital Award in 2012.

Agriculture

Main article: Agriculture in Spain

A vineyard growing grapes for Rioja wine, La Rioja

Crop areas were farmed in two highly diverse manners. Areas relying on non-irrigated cultivation (secano), which made up 85% of the entire crop area, depended solely on rainfall as a source of water. They included the humid regions of the north and the northwest, as well as vast arid zones that had not been irrigated. The much more productive regions devoted to irrigated cultivation (regadío) accounted for 3 million hectares in 1986, and the government hoped that this area would eventually double, as it already had doubled since 1950. Particularly noteworthy was the development in Almería—one of the most arid and desolate provinces of Spain—of winter crops of various fruits and vegetables for export to Europe.

Though only about 17% of Spain's cultivated land was irrigated, it was estimated to be the source of between 40-45% of the gross value of crop production and of 50% of the value of agricultural exports. More than half of the irrigated area was planted in corn, fruit trees, and vegetables. Other agricultural products that benefited from irrigation included grapes, cotton, sugar beets, potatoes, legumes, olive trees, mangos, strawberries, tomatoes, and fodder grasses. Depending on the nature of the crop, it was possible to harvest two successive crops in the same year on about 10% of the country's irrigated land.

Citrus fruits, vegetables, cereal grains, olive oil, and wine—Spain's traditional agricultural products—continued to be important in the 1980s. In 1983 they represented 12%, 12%, 8%, 6%, and 4%, respectively, of the country's agricultural production. Because of the changed diet of an increasingly affluent population, there was a notable increase in the consumption of livestock, poultry, and dairy products. Meat production for domestic consumption became the single most important agricultural activity, accounting for 30% of all farm-related production in 1983. Increased attention to livestock was the reason that Spain became a net importer of grains. Ideal growing conditions, combined with proximity to important north European markets, made citrus fruits Spain's leading export. Fresh vegetables and fruits produced through intensive irrigation farming also became important export commodities, as did sunflower seed oil that was produced to compete with the more expensive olive oils in oversupply throughout the Mediterranean countries of the EC.

Tourism

Main article: Tourism in Spain

Benidorm, one of Europe's largest coastal tourist destinations

The climate of Spain, its geographic location, popular coastlines, diverse landscapes, historical legacy, vibrant culture and excellent infrastructure, has made Spain's international tourist industry among the largest in the world. In the last five decades, international tourism in Spain has grown to become the second largest in the world in terms of spending, worth approximately 40 billion Euros or about 5% of GDP in 2006.

Energy

Main article: Energy in Spain

Wind turbines in Galicia. Spain is the fourth producer of wind power in the world.

Spain is one of the world's leading countries in the development and production of renewable energy. In 2010 Spain became the solar power world leader when it overtook the United States with a massive power station plant called La Florida, near Alvarado, Badajoz. Spain is also Europe's main producer of wind energy. In 2010 its wind turbines generated 42,976 GWh, which accounted for 16.4% of all electrical energy produced in Spain. On 9 November 2010, wind energy reached an instantaneous historic peak covering 53% of mainland electricity demand and generating an amount of energy that is equivalent to that of 14 nuclear reactors. Other renewable energies used in Spain are hydroelectric, biomass and marine (2 power plants under construction).

Non-renewable energy sources used in Spain are nuclear (8 operative reactors), gas, coal, and oil. Fossil fuels together generated 58% of Spain's electricity in 2009, just below the OECD mean of 61%. Nuclear power generated another 19%, and wind and hydro about 12% each.

Transport

Main article: Transport in Spain

The Spanish road system is mainly centralised, with six highways connecting Madrid to the Basque Country, Catalonia, Valencia, West Andalusia, Extremadura and Galicia. Additionally, there are highways along the Atlantic (Ferrol to Vigo), Cantabrian (Oviedo to San Sebastián) and Mediterranean (Girona to Cádiz) coasts. Spain aims to put one million electric cars on the road by 2014 as part of the government's plan to save energy and boost energy efficiency. The Minister of Industry Miguel Sebastian said that "the electric vehicle is the future and the engine of an industrial revolution."

AVE high-speed trains.

Spain has the most extensive high-speed rail network in Europe, and the second-most extensive in the world after China. As of October 2010, Spain has a total of 3,500 km (2,174.80 mi) of high-speed tracks linking Málaga, Seville, Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia and Valladolid, with the trains reaching speeds up to 300 km/h (190 mph). On average, the Spanish high-speed train is the fastest one in the world, followed by the Japanese bullet train and the French TGV. Regarding punctuality, it is second in the world (98.54% on-time arrival) after the Japanese Shinkansen (99%). Should the aims of the ambitious AVE program (Spanish high speed trains) be met, by 2020 Spain will have 7,000 km (4,300 mi) of high-speed trains linking almost all provincial cities to Madrid in less than three hours and Barcelona within four hours.

There are 47 public airports in Spain. The busiest one is the airport of Madrid (Barajas), with 50 million passengers in 2011, being the world's 15th busiest airport, as well as the European Union's fourth busiest. The airport of Barcelona (El Prat) is also important, with 35 million passengers in 2011, being the world's 31st-busiest airport. Other main airports are located in Majorca (23 million passengers), Málaga (13 million passengers), Las Palmas (Gran Canaria) (11 million passengers), Alicante (10 million passengers) and smaller, with the number of passengers between 4 and 10 million, for example Tenerife (two airports), Valencia, Seville, Bilbao, Ibiza, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura. Also, more than 30 airports with the number of passengers below 4 million.

Science and technology

Roque de los Muchachos Observatory, Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias.

In the 19th and 20th centuries science in Spain was held back by severe political instability and consequent economic underdevelopment. Despite the conditions, some important scientists and engineers emerged. The most notable were Miguel Servet, Santiago Ramón y Cajal, Narcís Monturiol i Estarriol, Celedonio Calatayud, Juan de la Cierva, Leonardo Torres y Quevedo and Severo Ochoa.

Water supply and sanitation

Main article: Water supply and sanitation in Spain

Water supply and Sanitation in Spain is characterized by universal access and generally good service quality, while tariffs are among the lowest in the EU. Almost half of the population is served by private or mixed private-public water companies, which operate under concession contracts with municipalities. The largest of the private water companies, with a market share of about 50% of the private concessions, is Aguas de Barcelona (Agbar). However, the large cities are all served by public companies except Barcelona and Valencia. The largest public company is Canal de Isabel II, which serves the metropolitan area of Madrid.

Droughts affect water supply in Southern Spain, which increasingly is turning towards seawater desalination to meet its water needs.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Spain

See also: List of Spanish autonomous communities by population

Valencia. The Mediterranean coast is the most densely inhabited area in Spain.

In 2008 the population of Spain officially reached 46 million people, as recorded by the Padrón municipal (Spain's Municipal Register). Spain's population density, at 91/km² (235/sq mi), is lower than that of most Western European countries and its distribution across the country is very unequal. With the exception of the region surrounding the capital, Madrid, the most populated areas lie around the coast. The population of Spain more than doubled since 1900, when it stood at 18.6 million, principally due to the spectacular demographic boom in the 1960s and early 1970s.

Native Spaniards make up 88% of the total population of Spain. After the birth rate plunged in the 1980s and Spain's population growth rate dropped, the population again trended upward, based initially on the return of many Spaniards who had emigrated to other European countries during the 1970s, and more recently, fuelled by large numbers of immigrants who make up 12% of the population. The immigrants originate mainly in Latin America (39%), North Africa (16%), Eastern Europe (15%), and Sub-Saharan Africa (4%). In 2005, Spain instituted a three-month amnesty program through which certain hitherto undocumented aliens were granted legal residency.

In 2008, Spain granted citizenship to 84,170 persons, mostly to people from Ecuador, Colombia and Morocco. A sizeable portion of foreign residents in Spain also comes from other Western and Central European countries. These are mostly British, French, German, Dutch, and Norwegian. They reside primarily on the Mediterranean coast and the Balearic islands, where many choose to live their retirement or telecommute.

Substantial populations descended from Spanish colonists and immigrants exist in other parts of the world, most notably in Latin America. Beginning in the late 15th century, large numbers of Iberian colonists settled in what became Latin America and at present most white Latin Americans (who make up about one-third of Latin America's population) are of Spanish or Portuguese origin. Around 240,000 Spaniards emigrated in the 16th century, mostly to Peru and Mexico. Another 450,000 left in the 17th century. Between 1846 and 1932 it is estimated that nearly 5 million Spaniards emigrated to the Americas, especially to Argentina and Brazil. Approximately two million Spaniards migrated to other Western European countries between 1960 and 1975. During the same period perhaps 300,000 went to Latin America.

Urbanisation

Metropolitan areas

Main article: List of metropolitan areas in Spain

Geographical distribution of the Spanish population in 2008

Source: "Áreas urbanas +50", Ministry of Public Works and Transport (2013)

Rank	Metro area	Autonomous community	Population
			Government data	Other estimations
1	Madrid	Madrid	6,052,247	5.4 – 6.5 m
2	Barcelona	Catalonia	5,030,679	4.2 – 5.1 m
3	Valencia	Valencia	1,551,585	1.5 – 2.3 m
4	Seville	Andalusia	1,294,867	1.2 – 1.3 m
5	Málaga	Andalusia	953,251
6	Bilbao	Basque Country	910,578
7	Oviedo–Gijón–Avilés	Asturias	835,053
8	Zaragoza	Aragon	746,152
9	Alicante–Elche	Valencia	698,662
10	Murcia	Murcia	643,854

Peoples

Main articles: Spanish people and Nationalisms and regionalisms of Spain

Asturian folk musicians with bagpipes.

The Spanish Constitution of 1978, in its second article, recognises historic entities—nationalities (a carefully chosen word to avoid the more politically charged "nations")—and regions, within the context of the Spanish nation. For some people, Spain's identity consists more of an overlap of different regional identities than of a sole Spanish identity. Indeed, some of the regional identities may even conflict with the Spanish one. Distinct traditional regional identities within Spain include the Basques, Catalans, Galicians, Andalusians and Valencians, although to some extent all of the 17 Autonomous Communities will claim a distinct historic identity.

It is this last feature of "shared identity" between the more local level or Autonomous Community and the Spanish level which makes the identity question in Spain complex and far from univocal.

According to the CIA World Factbook (2011), Spain's racial description is presented as "composite of Mediterranean and Nordic types" under "ethnic groups" instead of the usual breakdown of ethnic composition.

Minority groups

Spain has a number of descendants of populations from former colonies, especially Latin America and North Africa. Smaller numbers of immigrants from several Sub-Saharan countries have recently been settling in Spain. There are also sizeable numbers of Asian immigrants, most of whom are of Middle Eastern, South Asian and Chinese origin. The single largest group of immigrants are European; represented by large numbers of Britons, Germans, French and others.

Ceuta and Melilla have a big population of North African ancestry.

The arrival of the gitanos, a Romani people, began in the 16th century; estimates of the Spanish Gitano population fluctuate around 700,000. There are also the mercheros (also quinquis), a formerly nomadic minority group. Their origin is unclear.

Historically, Sephardi Jews and moriscos are the main minority groups originated in Spain and with a contribution to Spanish culture. The Spanish government is offering Spanish nationality to sephardi Jews.

Immigration

Main article: Immigration to Spain

Marbella, Málaga, where Britons—who are the third biggest immigrant community in Spain—reside in large numbers.

According to the Spanish government there were 5.7 million foreign residents in Spain in 2011, or 12% of the total population. According to residence permit data for 2011, more than 860,000 were Romanian, about 770,000 were Moroccan, approximately 390,000 were British, and 360,000 were Ecuadorian. Other sizeable foreign communities are Colombian, Bolivian, German, Italian, Bulgarian, and Chinese. There are more than 200,000 migrants from Sub-Saharan Africa living in Spain, principally Senegaleses and Nigerians. Since 2000, Spain has experienced high population growth as a result of immigration flows, despite a birth rate that is only half the replacement level. This sudden and ongoing inflow of immigrants, particularly those arriving illegally by sea, has caused noticeable social tension.

Palma de Mallorca where a large population of Germans live.

Within the EU, Spain had the 2nd highest immigration rate in percentage terms after Cyprus, but by a great margin, the highest in absolute numbers, up to 2008. The number of immigrants in Spain had grown up from 500,000 people in 1996 to 5.2 million in 2008 out of a total population of 46 million. In 2005 alone, a regularisation programme increased the legal immigrant population by 700,000 people. There are a number of reasons for the high level of immigration, including Spain's cultural ties with Latin America, its geographical position, the porosity of its borders, the large size of its underground economy and the strength of the agricultural and construction sectors, which demand more low cost labour than can be offered by the national workforce.

Another statistically significant factor is the large number of residents of EU origin typically retiring to Spain's Mediterranean coast. In fact, Spain was Europe's largest absorber of migrants from 2002 to 2007, with its immigrant population more than doubling as 2.5 million people arrived. In 2008, prior to the onset of the economic crisis, the Financial Times reported that Spain was the most favoured destination for Western Europeans considering a move from their own country and seeking jobs elsewhere in the EU.

In 2008, the government instituted a "Plan of Voluntary Return" which encouraged unemployed immigrants from outside the EU to return to their home countries and receive several incentives, including the right to keep their unemployment benefits and transfer whatever they contributed to the Spanish Social Security. The program had little effect; during its first two months, just 1,400 immigrants took up the offer. What the program failed to do, the sharp and prolonged economic crisis has done from 2010 to 2011 in that tens of thousands of immigrants have left the country due to lack of jobs. In 2011 alone, more than half a million people left Spain. For the first time in decades the net migration rate was expected to be negative, and nine out of 10 emigrants were foreigners.

Languages

Main article: Languages of Spain

The languages of Spain (simplified)

Spain is openly multilingual, and the constitution establishes that the nation will protect "all Spaniards and the peoples of Spain in the exercise of human rights, their cultures and traditions, languages and institutions.

Spanish (español)—officially recognised in the constitution as Castilian (castellano)—is the official language of the entire country, and it is the right and duty of every Spaniard to know the language. The constitution also establishes that "all other Spanish languages"—that is, all other languages of Spain—will also be official in their respective autonomous communities in accordance to their Statutes, their organic regional legislations, and that the "richness of the distinct linguistic modalities of Spain represents a patrimony which will be the object of special respect and protection."

The other official languages of Spain, co-official with Spanish are:

• Basque (euskara) in the Basque Country and Navarre;
• Catalan (català) in Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and in the Valencian Community, where its distinct modality of the language is officially known as Valencian (valencià); and
• Galician (galego) in Galicia

Iberophone.

As a percentage of the general population, Basque is spoken by 2%, Catalan (or Valencian) by 17%, and Galician by 7% of all Spaniards.

In Catalonia, Aranese (aranés), a local variety of the Occitan language, has been declared co-official along with Catalan and Spanish since 2006. It is spoken only in the comarca of Val d'Aran by roughly 6,700 people. Other Romance minority languages, though not official, have special recognition, such as the Astur-Leonese group (Asturian – asturianu, also called bable – in Asturias and Leonese – llionés – in Castile and León) and Aragonese (aragonés) in Aragon.

In the North African Spanish autonomous city of Melilla, Riff Berber is spoken by a significant part of the population. In the tourist areas of the Mediterranean coast and the islands, English and German are widely spoken by tourists, foreign residents, and tourism workers.

Education

Main article: Education in Spain

State education in Spain is free and compulsory from the age of six to sixteen. The current education system was established by the 2006 educational law, LOE (Ley Orgánica de Educación), or Fundamental Law for the Education. In 2014, the LOE was partially modified by the newer LOMCE law (Ley Orgánica para la Mejora de la Calidad Educativa), or Fundamental Law for the Improvement of the Education System, commonly called Ley Wert (Wert Law). Since 1970 to 2014, Spain has had seven different educational laws (LGE, LOECE, LODE, LOGSE, LOPEG, LOE and LOMCE).

Religion

Main article: Religion in Spain

Further information: History of the Jews in Spain, Bahá'í Faith in Spain, Hinduism in Spain and Islam in Spain

Religions in Spain
Catholicism			69%
No Religion			26%
Other Faith			4%
No Answer			2%
Numbers from the following source:

Roman Catholicism has long been the main religion of Spain, and although it no longer has official status by law, in all public schools in Spain students have to choose either a religion or ethics class, and Catholicism is the only religion officially taught. According to an April 2014 study by the Spanish Centre for Sociological Research about 69% of Spaniards self-identify as Catholics, 2% other faith, and about 26% identify with no religion. Most Spaniards do not participate regularly in religious services. This same study shows that of the Spaniards who identify themselves as religious, 59% hardly ever or never go to church, 15% go to church some times a year, 8% some time per month and 14% every Sunday or multiple times per week. Recent polls and surveys have revealed that atheists comprise anywhere from 8% to 20% of the Spanish population.

Santiago de Compostela Cathedral, A Coruña.

Altogether, about 22% of the entire Spanish population attends religious services at least once per month. Though Spanish society has become considerably more secular in recent decades, the influx of Latin American immigrants, who tend to be strong Catholic practitioners, has helped the Catholic Church to recover.

There have been four Spanish Popes. Damasus I, Calixtus III, Alexander VI and Benedict XIII. Spanish misticism was an important intellectual fight against Protestantism with Teresa of Ávila, a reformist nun, ahead. The Society of Jesus was founded by Ignatius of Loyola.

Protestant churches have about 1,200,000 members. There are about 105,000 Jehovah's Witnesses. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has approximately 46,000 adherents in 133 congregations in all regions of the country and has a temple in the Moratalaz District of Madrid.

A study made by the Union of Islamic Communities of Spain demonstrated that there were about 1,700,000 inhabitants of Muslim background living in Spain as of 2012, accounting for 3-4% of the total population of Spain. The vast majority was composed of immigrants and descendants originating from Morocco and other African countries. More than 514,000 (30%) of them had Spanish nationality.

The recent waves of immigration have also led to an increasing number of Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs and Muslims. After the Reconquista in 1492, Muslims did not live in Spain for centuries. Late 19th-century colonial expansion in northwestern Africa gave a number of residents in Spanish Morocco and Western Sahara full citizenship. Their ranks have since been bolstered by recent immigration, especially from Morocco and Algeria.

Judaism was practically non-existent in Spain from the 1492 expulsion until the 19th century, when Jews were again permitted to enter the country. Currently there are around 62,000 Jews in Spain, or 0.14% of the total population. Most are arrivals in the past century, while some are descendants of earlier Spanish Jews. Approximately 80,000 Jews are thought to have lived in Spain prior to its expulsion.

Culture

Main article: Culture of Spain

Culturally, Spain is a Western country. Almost every aspect of Spanish life is permeated by its Roman heritage, making Spain one of the major Latin countries of Europe. Spanish culture is marked by strong historic ties to Catholicism, which played a pivotal role in the country's formation and subsequent identity. Spanish art, architecture, cuisine, and music has been shaped by successive waves of foreign invaders, as well as by the country's Mediterranean climate and geography. The centuries-long colonial era globalised Spanish language and culture, with Spain also absorbing the cultural and commercial products of its diverse empire.

Monuments and World Heritage Sites

Main article: World Heritage Sites in Spain

See also: Castles in Spain and Cathedrals in Spain

It should be noted that after Italy (49) and China (45), Spain is the third country in the world with the most World Heritage Sites. At the present time it has 44 recognised sites, including the landscape of Monte Perdido in the Pyrenees, which is shared with France, the Prehistoric Rock Art Sites of the Côa Valley and Siega Verde, which is shared with Portugal (the Portuguese part being in the Côa Valley, Guarda), and the Heritage of Mercury, shared with Slovenia. In addition, Spain has also 14 Intangible cultural heritage, or "Human treasures", Spain ranks first in Europe according to UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage List, tied with Croatia.

Aqueduct of Segovia, Roman.

Santa María del Naranco, pre-Romanesque.

Cathedral of Burgos, Gothic.

Aljafería of Zaragoza, Mudéjar.

Old Town of Cáceres, Renaissance.

• 1984 — Alhambra, Generalife and Albayzín (Granada, Andalusia).
• 1984 — Burgos Cathedral (Burgos, Castile-León).
• 1984 — Historic Centre of Córdoba (Córdoba, Andalusia).
• 1984 — Monastery and Royal Site of El Escorial (Madrid).
• 1984 — Works of Antoni Gaudí (Barcelona, Catalonia).
• 1985 — Cave of Altamira and Paleolithic Cave Art of Northern Spain (Asturias, Basque Country and Cantabria regions).
• 1985 — Monuments of Oviedo and the Kingdom of Asturias (Asturias).
• 1985 — Old Town of Ávila with its Extra-Muros Churches (Ávila, Castile-León).
• 1985 — Old Town of Segovia and its Aqueduct (Segovia, Castile-León).
• 1985 — Santiago de Compostela (Old Town) (A Coruña, Galicia).
• 1986 — Garajonay National Park (La Gomera, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands).
• 1986 — Historic City of Toledo (Toledo, Castile-La Mancha).
• 1986 — Mudéjar Architecture of Aragon (Provinces of Teruel and Zaragoza in Aragon).
• 1986 — Old Town of Cáceres (Cáceres, Extremadura).
• 1987 — Cathedral, Alcázar and Archivo de Indias in Seville (Seville, Andalusia).
• 1988 — Old City of Salamanca (Salamanca, Castile-León).
• 1991 — Poblet Monastery (Tarragona, Catalonia).
• 1993 — Archaeological Ensemble of Mérida (Badajoz, Extremadura).
• 1993 — Route of Santiago de Compostela (Provinces of Burgos, León and Palencia in Castile-León, Provinces of A Coruña and Lugo in Galicia, La Rioja, Navarre, and the Province of Huesca in Aragon).
• 1993 — Royal Monastery of Santa María de Guadalupe (Cáceres, Extremadura).
• 1994 — Doñana National Park (Provinces of Cádiz, Huelva and Seville in Andalusia).
• 1996 — Historic Walled Town of Cuenca (Cuenca, Castile-La Mancha).
• 1996 — Silk Exchange of Valencia (Valencia).
• 1997 — Las Médulas (León, Castile-León).
• 1997 — Palau de la Música Catalana and Hospital de Sant Pau in Barcelona (Barcelona, Catalonia).
• 1997 — Pirineos – Monte Perdido (Huesca, Aragon – Spanish part / Midi-Pyrénées and Aquitaine – French part). (Shared with France).
• 1997 — San Millán Yuso and Suso Monasteries (La Rioja).
• 1998 (2010) — Prehistoric Rock Art Sites in the Côa Valley (Guarda, Norte Region – Portuguese part) and Siega Verde (Salamanca, Castile-León – Spanish part). (Shared with Portugal).
• 1998 — Rock art of the Iberian Mediterranean Basin on the Iberian Peninsula (Andalusia, Aragon, Castile-La Mancha, Catalonia, Murcia and Valencia regions).
• 1998 — University and Historic Precinct of Alcalá de Henares (Madrid).
• 1999 — Ibiza, Biodiversity and Culture (Ibiza, Balearic Islands).
• 1999 — San Cristóbal de La Laguna (Tenerife, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands).
• 2000 — Archaeological Ensemble of Tarraco (Tarragona, Catalonia).
• 2000 — Archaeological Site of Atapuerca (Burgos, Castile-León).
• 2000 — Catalan Romanesque Churches of the Vall de Boí (Lleida, Catalonia).
• 2000 — Palmeral of Elche (Alicante, Valencia).
• 2000 — Roman Walls of Lugo (Lugo, Galicia).
• 2001 — Aranjuez Cultural Landscape (Madrid).
• 2003 — Renaissance Monumental Ensembles of Úbeda and Baeza (Jaén, Andalusia).
• 2006 — Vizcaya Bridge (Biscay, Basque Country).
• 2007 — Teide National Park (Tenerife, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands).
• 2009 — Tower of Hercules (A Coruña, Galicia).
• 2011 — Cultural Landscape of the Serra de Tramuntana (Majorca, Balearic Islands).
• 2012 — Heritage of Mercury. Almadén (Ciudad Real, Castile-La Mancha – Spanish part) and Idrija (Slovene Littoral – Slovenian part). (Shared with Slovenia).

Literature

Main articles: Spanish literature, Royal Spanish Academy and Instituto Cervantes

The earliest recorded examples of vernacular Romance-based literature date from the same time and location, the rich mix of Muslim, Jewish, and Christian cultures in Muslim Spain, in which Maimonides, Averroes, and others worked, the Kharjas (Jarchas).

During the Reconquista, the epic poem Cantar de Mio Cid was written about a real man—his battles, conquests, and daily life.

Bronze statues of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza, with Miguel de Cervantes, in the Plaza de España in Madrid.

Other major plays from the medieval times were Mester de Juglaría, Mester de Clerecía, Coplas por la muerte de su padre or El Libro de buen amor (The Book of Good Love).

During the Renaissance the major plays are La Celestina and El Lazarillo de Tormes, while many religious literature was created with poets as Luis de León, San Juan de la Cruz, Santa Teresa de Jesús, etc.

The Baroque is the most important period for Spanish culture. We are in the times of the Spanish Empire. The famous Don Quijote de La Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes was written in this time. Other writers from the period are: Francisco de Quevedo, Lope de Vega, Calderón de la Barca or Tirso de Molina.

During the Enlightenment we find names such as Leandro Fernández de Moratín, Benito Jerónimo Feijóo, Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos or Leandro Fernández de Moratín.

During the Romanticism, José Zorrilla created one of the most emblematic figures in European literature in Don Juan Tenorio. Other writers from this period are Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer, José de Espronceda, Rosalía de Castro or Mariano José de Larra.

In Realism we find names such as Benito Pérez Galdós, Emilia Pardo Bazán, Leopoldo Alas (Clarín) or Vicente Blasco Ibáñez and Menéndez Pelayo. Realism offered depictions of contemporary life and society 'as they were'. In the spirit of general "Realism", Realist authors opted for depictions of everyday and banal activities and experiences, instead of romanticised or stylised presentations.

The group that has become known as the Generation of 1898 was marked by the destruction of Spain's fleet in Cuba by US gunboats in 1898, which provoked a cultural crisis in Spain. The "Disaster" of 1898 led established writers to seek practical political, economic, and social solutions in essays grouped under the literary heading of Regeneracionismo. For a group of younger writers, among them Miguel de Unamuno, Pío Baroja, and José Martínez Ruiz (Azorín), the Disaster and its cultural repercussions inspired a deeper, more radical literary shift that affected both form and content. These writers, along with Ramón del Valle-Inclán, Antonio Machado, Ramiro de Maeztu, and Ángel Ganivet, came to be known as the 'Generation of 98'.

Miguel de Unamuno, José Ortega y Gasset and Federico García Lorca

The Generation of 1914 or Novecentismo. The next supposed "generation" of Spanish writers following those of '98 already calls into question the value of such terminology. By the year 1914—the year of the outbreak of the First World War and of the publication of the first major work of the generation's leading voice, José Ortega y Gasset—a number of slightly younger writers had established their own place within the Spanish cultural field.

Leading voices include the poet Juan Ramón Jiménez, the academics and essayists Ramón Menéndez Pidal, Gregorio Marañón, Manuel Azaña, Maria Zambrano, Eugeni d'Ors, and Ortega y Gasset, and the novelists Gabriel Miró, Ramón Pérez de Ayala, and Ramón Gómez de la Serna. While still driven by the national and existential questions that obsessed the writers of '98, they approached these topics with a greater sense of distance and objectivity. Salvador de Madariaga, another prominent intellectual and writer, was one of the founders of the College of Europe and the composer of the constitutive manifest of the Liberal International.

The Generation of 1927, where poets Pedro Salinas, Jorge Guillén, Federico García Lorca, Vicente Aleixandre, Dámaso Alonso. All were scholars of their national literary heritage, again evidence of the impact of the calls of regeneracionistas and the Generation of 1898 for Spanish intelligence to turn at least partially inwards.

The two main writers in the second half of the 20th century were the Nobel Prize in Literature laureate Camilo José Cela and Miguel Delibes. Spain is one of the countries with the most number of laureates with the Nobel Prize in Literature, and with Latin American laureates they made the Spanish language literature one of the most laureates of all. The Spanish writers are: José Echegaray, Jacinto Benavente, Juan Ramón Jiménez, Vicente Aleixandre and Camilo José Cela. The Portuguese writer José Saramago, also awarded with the prize, lived for many years in Spain and spoke both Portuguese and Spanish. He was also well known by his Iberist ideas.

See also: Catalan literature, Basque literature, Galician-language literature, and Latin American literature

Art

Main article: Spanish art

Las Meninas (1656), Diego Velázquez, Museo del Prado.

Artists from Spain have been highly influential in the development of various European artistic movements. Due to historical, geographical and generational diversity, Spanish art has known a great number of influences. The Moorish heritage in Spain, especially in Andalusia, is still evident today and European influences include Italy, Germany and France, especially during the Baroque and Neoclassical periods.

During the Golden Age we find painters such as El Greco, José de Ribera and Francisco Zurbarán. Also inside Baroque period Diego Velázquez created some of the most famous Spanish portraits, like Las Meninas or Las Hilanderas.

Francisco Goya painted during a historical period that includes the Spanish Independence War, the fights between liberals and absolutists, and the raise of state-nations.

Joaquín Sorolla is a well-known impressionist painter and there are many important Spanish painters belonging to the modernism art movement, including Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dalí, Juan Gris and Joan Miró.

Cinema

Main article: Cinema of Spain

Pedro Almodóvar and Penélope Cruz in Oviedo (Princess of Asturias Awards).

Spanish cinema has achieved major international success including Oscars for recent films such as Pan's Labyrinth and Volver. In the long history of Spanish cinema, the great filmmaker Luis Buñuel was the first to achieve world recognition, followed by Pedro Almodóvar in the 1980s. Spanish cinema has also seen international success over the years with films by directors like Segundo de Chomón, Florián Rey, Luis García Berlanga, Carlos Saura, Julio Medem, Isabel Coixet, Alejandro Amenábar, Icíar Bollaín and brothers David Trueba and Fernando Trueba.

Actresses Sara Montiel and Penélope Cruz are among those who have become Hollywood stars.

Architecture

Main article: Spanish architecture

The Sagrada Família by Antoni Gaudí, Barcelona

Due to its historical and geographical diversity, Spanish architecture has drawn from a host of influences. An important provincial city founded by the Romans and with an extensive Roman era infrastructure, Córdoba became the cultural capital, including fine Arabic style architecture, during the time of the Islamic Umayyad dynasty. Later Arab style architecture continued to be developed under successive Islamic dynasties, ending with the Nasrid, which built its famed palace complex in Granada.

Simultaneously, the Christian kingdoms gradually emerged and developed their own styles; developing a pre-Romanesque style when for a while isolated from contemporary mainstream European architectural influences during the earlier Middle Ages, they later integrated the Romanesque and Gothic streams. There was then an extraordinary flowering of the Gothic style that resulted in numerous instances being built throughout the entire territory. The Mudéjar style, from the 12th to 17th centuries, was developed by introducing Arab style motifs, patterns and elements into European architecture.

The arrival of Modernism in the academic arena produced much of the architecture of the 20th century. An influential style centred in Barcelona, known as modernisme, produced a number of important architects, of which Gaudí is one. The International style was led by groups like GATEPAC. Spain is currently experiencing a revolution in contemporary architecture and Spanish architects like Rafael Moneo, Santiago Calatrava, Ricardo Bofill as well as many others have gained worldwide renown.

Music and dance

Main article: Music of Spain

Flamenco is an Andalusian artistic form that evolved from the Seguidilla

Spanish music is often considered abroad to be synonymous with flamenco, a West Andalusian musical genre, which, contrary to popular belief, is not widespread outside that region. Various regional styles of folk music abound in Aragon, Catalonia, Valencia, Castile, the Basque Country, Galicia and Asturias. Pop, rock, hip hop and heavy metal are also popular.

In the field of classical music, Spain has produced a number of noted composers such as Isaac Albéniz, Manuel de Falla and Enrique Granados and singers and performers such as Plácido Domingo, José Carreras, Montserrat Caballé, Alicia de Larrocha, Alfredo Kraus, Pablo Casals, Ricardo Viñes, José Iturbi, Pablo de Sarasate, Jordi Savall and Teresa Berganza. In Spain there are over forty professional orchestras, including the Orquestra Simfònica de Barcelona, Orquesta Nacional de España and the Orquesta Sinfónica de Madrid. Major opera houses include the Teatro Real, the Gran Teatre del Liceu, Teatro Arriaga and the El Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía.

Thousands of music fans also travel to Spain each year for internationally recognised summer music festivals Sónar which often features the top up and coming pop and techno acts, and Benicàssim which tends to feature alternative rock and dance acts. Both festivals mark Spain as an international music presence and reflect the tastes of young people in the country.

The most popular traditional musical instrument, the guitar, originated in Spain. Typical of the north are the traditional bag pipers or gaiteros, mainly in Asturias and Galicia.

Cuisine

Main article: Spanish cuisine

Paella, a traditional Valencian dish

Spanish cuisine consists of a great variety of dishes which stem from differences in geography, culture and climate. It is heavily influenced by seafood available from the waters that surround the country, and reflects the country's deep Mediterranean roots. Spain's extensive history with many cultural influences has led to a unique cuisine. In particular, three main divisions are easily identified:

Mediterranean Spain – all such coastal regions, from Catalonia to Andalusia – heavy use of seafood, such as pescaíto frito (fried fish); several cold soups like gazpacho; and many rice-based dishes like paella from Valencia and arròs negre (black rice) from Catalonia.

Inner Spain – Castile – hot, thick soups such as the bread and garlic-based Castilian soup, along with substantious stews such as cocido madrileño. Food is traditionally conserved by salting, like Spanish ham, or immersed in olive oil, like Manchego cheese.

Atlantic Spain – the whole Northern coast, including Asturian, Basque, Cantabrian and Galician cuisine – vegetable and fish-based stews like caldo gallego and marmitako. Also, the lightly cured lacón ham. The best known cuisine of the northern countries often rely on ocean seafood, like the Basque-style cod, albacore or anchovy or the Galician octopus-based polbo á feira and shellfish dishes.

Sport

Main article: Sport in Spain

1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona

While varieties of football had been played in Spain as far back as Roman times, sport in Spain has been dominated by English style association football since the early 20th century. Real Madrid C.F. and FC Barcelona are two of the most successful football clubs in the world. The country's national football team won the UEFA European Football Championship in 1964, 2008 and 2012 and the FIFA World Cup in 2010, and is the first team to ever win three back-to-back major international tournaments.

Basketball, tennis, cycling, handball, futsal, motorcycling and, lately, Formula One are also important due to the presence of Spanish champions in all these disciplines. Today, Spain is a major world sports powerhouse, especially since the 1992 Summer Olympics that were hosted in Barcelona, which stimulated a great deal of interest in sports in the country. The tourism industry has led to an improvement in sports infrastructure, especially for water sports, golf and skiing.

Rafael Nadal is the leading Spanish tennis player and has won several Grand Slam titles including the Wimbledon 2010 men's singles. In north Spain, the game of pelota is very popular. Alberto Contador is the leading Spanish cyclist and has won several Grand Tour titles including two Tour de France titles.

Public holidays and festivals

Main articles: Public holidays in Spain, Fiestas of International Tourist Interest of Spain and Fiestas of National Tourist Interest of Spain

San Fermín festival, Pamplona

Public holidays celebrated in Spain include a mix of religious (Roman Catholic), national and regional observances. Each municipality is allowed to declare a maximum of 14 public holidays per year; up to nine of these are chosen by the national government and at least two are chosen locally. Spain's National Day (Fiesta Nacional de España) is 12 October, the anniversary of the Discovery of America and commemorate Our Lady of the Pillar feast, patroness of Aragon and throughout Spain.

There are many festivals and festivities in Spain. Some of them are known worldwide, and every year millions of people from all over the world go to Spain to experience one of these festivals. One of the most famous is San Fermín, in Pamplona. While its most famous event is the encierro, or the running of the bulls, which happens at 8:00 am from 7 to 14 July, the week-long celebration involves many other traditional and folkloric events. Its events were central to the plot of The Sun Also Rises, by Ernest Hemingway, which brought it to the general attention of English-speaking people. As a result, it has become one of the most internationally renowned fiestas in Spain, with over 1,000,000 people attending every year.

Other festivals include the carnivals in the Canary Islands, the Falles in Valencia or the Holy Week in Andalusia and Castile and León.

See also

• Outline of Spain
• Spain – Wikipedia book

Notes

References

Further reading

• Gates, David (2001). The Spanish Ulcer: A History of the Peninsular War. Da Capo Press. p. 20. ISBN 978-0-306-81083-1. 

External links

• Spain entry at The World Factbook
• Spain from UCB Libraries GovPubs
• Spain at DMOZ
• Spain from the BBC News
• Key Development Forecasts for Spain from International Futures

Government

• E-Government portal for Spain

Maps

• Wikimedia Atlas of Spain
• Geographic data related to Spain at OpenStreetMap

Tourism

• Official tourism portal for Spain

UpToDate Contents

全文を閲覧するには購読必要です。 To read the full text you will need to subscribe.

• 1. 腫瘍壊死因子α阻害剤および抗酸菌感染 tumor necrosis factor alpha inhibitors and mycobacterial infections
• 2. 臓器提供の候補となる小児患者（ポテンシャルドナー）の評価 assessment of the pediatric patient for potential organ donation
• 3. 口腔アレルギー症候群（花粉 - 食物アレルギー症候群）の病因 pathogenesis of oral allergy syndrome pollen food allergy syndrome
• 4. アエロモナス感染症 aeromonas infections
• 5. フロック労働者の肺 flock workers lung

English Journal

• Sonication induced reduction of the Ojen (Andalucia, Spain) vermiculite under air and under nitrogen.

• Poyato J, Perez-Rodriguez JL, Lerf A, Wagner FE.SourceInstituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Sevilla, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas-Universidad de Sevilla, c/Americo Vespucio 49, 41092 Sevilla, Spain.
• Ultrasonics sonochemistry.Ultrason Sonochem.2012 Mar;19(2):373-5. Epub 2011 Jul 23.
• PMID 21831688

• Acoustic cavitation mechanism: A nonlinear model.

• Vanhille C, Campos-Pozuelo C.SourceUniversidad Rey Juan Carlos, Tulipan s/n, 28933 Mostoles, Madrid, Spain.
• Ultrasonics sonochemistry.Ultrason Sonochem.2012 Mar;19(2):217-20. Epub 2011 Jul 2.
• During acoustic cavitation process, bubbles appear when acoustic pressure reaches a threshold value in the liquid. The ultrasonic field is then submitted to the action of the bubbles. In this paper we develop a model to analyze the cavitation phenomenon in one-dimensional standing waves, based on th
• PMID 21802973

• Nanocrystalline CoSn(2)-carbon composite electrode prepared by using sonochemistry.

• Nacimiento F, Alcantara R, Nwokeke UG, Gonzalez JR, Tirado JL.SourceLaboratorio de Quimica Inorganica, Universidad de Cordoba, Edificio C3, Campus de Rabanales, 14071 Cordoba, Spain.
• Ultrasonics sonochemistry.Ultrason Sonochem.2012 Mar;19(2):352-7. Epub 2011 Jul 5.
• A sonochemical method has been used to prepare negative electrode materials containing intermetallic nanoparticles and polyacrylonitrile (PAN). The ultrasound irradiation is applied to achieve small particle size. After annealing at 490°C under Ar-flow, the polymer PAN is partially carbonized and t
• PMID 21784688

Japanese Journal

• Second Harmonic Conical Waves for Symmetry Studies in $\chi^{(2)}$ Nonlinear Photonic Crystals

• Mateos Luis,Molina Pablo,Bausá Luisa E.,Ramírez Mariola O.
• Applied Physics Express 4(8), 082202-082202-3, 2011-08-25
• In this work, we further exploit the usefulness of quadratic second harmonic generated patterns from a $\chi^{(2)}$ two-dimensional ferroelectric domain structure to reveal the symmetry of trigonal fe …
• NAID 150000057440

• Diode-Pumped Ho-Doped KLu(WO₄)₂ Laser at 2.08 μm

• Jambunathan Venkatesan,Mateos Xavier,Pujol Maria Cinta,Carvajal Joan Josep,Aguiló Magdalena,Díaz Francesc,Griebner Uwe,Petrov Valentin
• Applied Physics Express 4(7), 072601-072601-3, 2011-07-25
• We report on the efficient continuous-wave diode-pumped laser operation of Ho in the monoclinic KLu(WO₄)₂ crystal at ${\sim}2080$ nm, resonantly pumped at …
• NAID 150000057417

• The Effect of Poling on the Properties of 0.65Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3--0.35PbTiO3 Ceramics

• Ursic Hana,Tellier Jenny,Hrovat Marko [他],Holc Janez,Drnovšek Silvo,Bobnar Vid,Alguero Miguel,Kosec Marija
• Jpn J Appl Phys 50(3), 035801-035801-6, 2011-03-25
• The effects of the poling field on the structural and electrical properties of 0.65Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3--0.35PbTiO3 (0.65PMN--0.35PT) ceramics were investigated. The highest piezoelectric coefficient $d_{ …
• NAID 150000055400

Related Links

• ＠Spain(アロバ・スペイン)

スペイン在住日本人スタッフによる、スペインへの長期・短期滞在者、旅行者を支援する ための総合情報サイト.

• スペイン - Wikipedia

これは英語のSpainに基づく。漢字で西班牙と表記し、西と略す。ただし、江戸時代以前 の日本において ..... 詳細は「スペインの国際関係」、「en:Foreign relations of Spain」を それぞれ参照. 1986年のEC加盟以降、EUの一員として他のEU諸国との関係が密接 ...

Related Pictures

---

★リンクテーブル★

リンク元	「Spanish」「スペイン」

「Spanish」

　　[★]

• スペインの、スペイン語、スペイン人

関

Spain

　 　 　 　

「スペイン」

　　[★]

英

Spain、Spanish

関

スペイン語、スペイン人