Spain, officially the Kingdom of
Spain , is a country and member state of the European Union
located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Its
mainland is bordered to the south and east by the
Mediterranean Sea except for a small land boundary with the
British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar; to the north by
France, Andorra, and the Bay of Biscay; and to the northwest
and west by the Atlantic Ocean and Portugal.
Spanish
territory also includes the Balearic Islands in the
Mediterranean, the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean off
the African coast, and two autonomous cities in North Africa,
Ceuta and Melilla, that border Morocco. Furthermore, the town
of Llvia is a Spanish exclave situated inside French
territory. With an area of 504,030 km, it is the second
largest country in Western Europe and the European Union after
France.
Because of its location, the territory of Spain was
subject to many external influences since prehistoric times
and through to its dawn as a country. Conversely, it has been
an important source of influence to other regions, chiefly
during the Modern Era, when it became a global empire that has
left a legacy of over 400 million Spanish speakers today,
making it the world's second most spoken first
language.
Spain is a democracy organised in the form of a
parliamentary government under a constitutional monarchy. It
is a developed country with the ninth largest economy in the
world by nominal GDP, and very high living standards (15th
highest Human Development Index), including the tenth-highest
quality of life index rating in the world, as of 2005. It is a
member of the United Nations, European Union, NATO, OECD, and
WTO. |
