Spain is a land in south-europe. Spain is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in southwestern Europe with 46,661,950 (2009) inhabitants and an area of 505,992 km. The country covers roughly 80% of the Iberian Peninsula. Beyond that also includes the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean, the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean and the Spanish enclaves in North Africa in the country.In the northeast it borders France and Andorra to Spain, along the entire length of the Pyrenees to Portugal in the west and south to the British colony of Gibraltar. The capital of Spain is Madrid, a city of more than 3 million inhabitants located in the middle of the country.
Spain is a diverse country with very different cultures, languages, eating habits and climates. The country ranges from the rainy fishing villages in Galicia to the nightlife of Madrid's tourist coasts of the Mediterranean, Andalusian flamenco dancing and bullfighting in many parts of the country and modern Barcelona in Catalonia.
Like the Netherlands, Belgium and Spain is a parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Spain joined NATO in 1982 and is a member of the European Union since 1986. The euro became the currency on January 1, 1999 Spanish, replacing the peseta.
Since the early Paleolithic, Spain occupied such finds of remains of Neanderthal evidence. The first known civilization whose data is located in the current Andalusia Tartessos legendary city-state in the Bible is known under the name of Tarshish. The Phoenicians in Lebanon including the city-state founded Gades (now Cadiz) and are later replaced by the Carthaginians. Then take the Romans in Spain and remain nearly 600 years.
Landscape
The landscape characteristics of Spain consists mainly of plateaus, such as the Spanish Plateau and mountain ranges like the Pyrenees and the Sierra Nevada. The main rivers in the country, the Tagus, the Ebro, the Duero, the Guadiana and Guadalquivir. Spain is bordered to the east and south by the Mediterranean Sea in the north to the Cantabrian Sea (southern Bay of Biscay) and in the west to the Atlantic Ocean.
The six major mountain ranges of Spain are the Pyrenees, the Cordillera Betische and Sierra Nevada, the Central System, the Cantabrian Mountains and the Iberian Mountains Edge. The Pyrenees in the west coast to Galicia, are caused by the collision of the Iberian subcontinent against the European continent.
The highest peaks are 3,404 meters high Pico Aneto in central Spain, and the 2648 meters high Picos de Europa in the west. In the Sierra Nevada is the Mulhacen, with 3482 meters the highest mountain on the Spanish mainland. The highest mountain of Spain is the Pico del Teide on the Canary island of Tenerife. Other mountains in Spain: Bola del Mundo, Circo de la Safor, El Yelmo, Monte Hacho, Montserrat, Monte Perdido, Pica d'estate, Pozo de las Nieves, Turbón and the Pillars of Hercules.
Demographics
Population density per province (2005). At the beginning of the 20th century, Spain had approximately 20 million inhabitants, that number has doubled to well over 46,661,950 (2009). The country is to Western European standards is still sparsely populated (population density: 85.8 / km ²), and the population is very unevenly distributed. The most densely populated areas are found at various coasts and in the region of Madrid, while further inland is only sparsely populated, many domestic villages are even virtually uninhabited (often only by old people) since many young people to the coastal cities and Madrid move because it more and better work can be found. The Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE) is responsible for the composition of the population ("censoring")
Spain currently receives the greatest number of immigrants from Europe. As many as 38.6% of total immigration towards the EU in 2005 settled in Spain. Most of the immigrants come from South America, Africa, Eastern Europe and also in other Western European countries. Some of these new populations are problems for integration, but nevertheless, the high number of immigrants have created a significant part of the economic growth of the country.
Languages
For the Dutch language in Spanish is called to appoint, one can use two words: español (Spanish) or castellano (Castilian, from Castile). Both terms are used interchangeably in Spain, depending on region (Andalusia said español especially in Catalonia almost never), but mean the same thing. The purest Spanish is spoken by many Spaniards in and around Valladolid.
The various languages spoken in Spain are often the cause of great confusion abroad, where it often has dialects. But it is a total of five official languages (Spanish, Catalan, Basque, Galician and Aranese) and two non-official languages (Asturian and Aragonese). Spanish is the only official national language of Spain. The other four are official regional languages, which in some areas, the dominant language.
Article III of the Spanish Constitution of 1978 reads as follows:
Castilian (Spanish) is the official language of the Spanish State. (...) The other Spanish languages are also official in the respective Autonomous Communities ... [5]
Languages in Spain: █ █ Castilian (Spanish)
█ █ Catalan
█ █ Basque
█ █ Asturian
█ █ Extremeens
█ █ Galician
█ █ Aragonese
█ █ Aranese (dialect of Occitan)
The four official regional languages of Spain are:
Catalan (Spanish: Catalan, Catalan: Català) is spoken by just over 18% of the total population, or 7.5 million people in Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Valencia. Strictly speaking, linguistically Catalan which is spoken in Valencia but no Valencian Catalan (SP Valenciano CA: Valencià). Today, in practice there is almost no difference more distinct, and the Catalan language as approved.Basque (ES: Vasco, BA: Euskara) is spoken by just over 1 million people in the Basque Country and Navarre, 2.3% of the total Spanish population. The Basque language shows no similarities to any other language.Galician (ES: Gallego, GA: Galego) is spoken by just over 2.5 million people, 5.7% of the total Spanish population in Galicia, and parts of Leon and Asturias. The language is more like Portuguese than Spanish.Aranese: is spoken by only 4000 people in the Val d'Aran in Catalonia. Linguistically Aranese a dialect of Occitan, which otherwise is spoken mainly in France.Spanish, Catalan, Galician and Aranese are all Romance languages, descended from Latin, within each of these languages are also different dialects. The two non-official regional languages are:
Asturian (ES: Asturiano, AS: Asturianu) is spoken by about 100,000 people and is legally protected in Asturias. It is not a dialect of Spanish, but a separate language, and in various areas discussed: Asturias, León, Zamora, Salamanca (called the language "lliones), Extremadura (called the language" extremeñu) and Cantabria (where called the language "Montañes).Aragonese (ES: Aragones, AR: Aragones) is spoken by only 10,000 people in the province of Huesca in Aragon. About 40,000 people know the language or have learned it (neo-fabláns), mostly in Zaragoza and Huesca. In the rest of Aragon, Navarre and some areas south of Valencia and Castilla-La Mancha, it is often mixed with Spanish. The Aragonese descended from Latin.The four official regional languages of Spain play a relatively important role at both regional and national levels. By comparison, in Spain 24% of the population speaks one of the four official regional languages, which equates to nearly 11 million inhabitants. In the Netherlands the only official regional language, Frisian 400,000 inhabitants, or only 2.4% of the population.
Spain has, outside of these languages also have many dialects and regional languages. The best example is the Spanish spoken in Andalusia by about 7 million people, with large differences in vocabulary and pronunciation. The so-called Andaluz (Andalusian) for many other Spaniards difficult to understand. Valencian, a variant of Catalan spoken in the same region, is considered by many Valencians themselves even considered as a separate language.
