Location: Southwestern Europe, bordering the Bay of Biscay, Mediterranean Sea, North Atlantic Ocean, and Pyrenees Mountains, southwest of France
Land Area: 504,782 sq km (194,896 sq miles)
Coastline: 4,964 km (3,085 miles)
Highest Point: Pico de Teide (Tenerife) on Canary Islands 3,718 m (1,133 feet)
Lowest Point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
Notable Landmarks: Take a peek...

Spain's mixed capitalist economy supports a GDP that on a per-capita basis is 80 percent that of the four leading West European economies. Its center-right government successfully worked to gain admission to the first group of countries launching the European single currency (the euro) on January 1, 1999. The Aznar administration has continued to advocate liberalization, privatization, and deregulation of the economy and has introduced some tax reforms to that end. Unemployment has been steadily falling under the Aznar administration but remains high at 11.7 percent. The government intends to make further progress in changing labor laws and reforming pension schemes, which are key to the sustainability of both Spain's internal economic advances and its competitiveness in a single currency area. A general strike in mid-2002 reduced cooperation between labor and government. Growth of 2.4 percent in 2003 was satisfactory given the background of a faltering European economy. Adjusting to the monetary and other economic policies of an integrated Europe, and reducing unemployment, will pose challenges to Spain over the next few years.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP): $1.017 trillion (2005 est.)
GDP Per Capita: $25,200 (2005 est.)
Number of Workers: 20.67 million (2005 est.)
Unemployment Rate: 10.1% (2005 est.)
Industries: textiles and apparel (including footwear), food and beverages, metals and metal manufactures, chemicals, shipbuilding, automobiles, machine tools, tourism
Currency: Peseta but changing to euro (EUR) What does it look like?

Type of Government: parliamentary monarchy
Head of State: King JUAN CARLOS I (since 22 November 1975)
Head of Government: Jose Maria Aznar Lopez was Prime Minister from May 5, 1996 until the election on March 14, 2004, just days after terrorists set off five bombs, killing about 200 people on commuter trains. The new Prime Minister is Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero.
Capital City: Madrid
Legal Age to Vote: 18
Flag Design: three horizontal bands of red (top), yellow (double width), and red with the national coat of arms on the hoist side of the yellow band; the coat of arms includes the royal seal framed by the Pillars of Hercules, which are the two promontories (Gibraltar and Ceuta) on either side of the eastern end of the Strait of Gibraltar.
Official Language: Castilian Spanish, 74%; Catalan, 17%; Galician, 7%;, Basque, 2%. Note - Castilian is the official language nationwide; the other languages are official regionally.
Religions: Roman Catholic, 94%; Other, 6%.

Spain's powerful world empire of the 16th and 17th centuries ultimately yielded command of the seas to England. Subsequent failure to embrace the mercantile and industrial revolutions caused the country to fall behind Britain, France, and Germany in economic and political power. Spain remained neutral in World Wars I and II, but suffered through a devastating civil war (1936-39). In the second half of the 20th century, Spain has played a catch-up role in the western international community; it joined the EU in 1986. Continuing concerns are Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA) terrorism and further reductions in unemployment.