SPAIN

Spain or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de Espaa), is a country located in southwestern Europe on
the Iberian Peninsula. The Spanish mainland is bordered to the south and east almost entirely by
the Mediterranean Sea (except for a tiny land boundary with Gibraltar); to the north by France,
Andorra, and the Bay of Biscay; and to the 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. With an area of 504,030 km, Spain is the second largest country in Western
Europe (behind France) and with an average altitude of 650 m, the second highest country in
Europe (behind Switzerland).
Spain is a constitutional monarchy organized as a parliamentary democracy, and has been a
member of the European Union since 1986. It is a developed country with the eighth largest
economy in the world and fifth largest in the EU, based on nominal.
CLIMATE
Due to Spain's geographical situation and or graphic conditions, the climate is extremely diverse; it
can be roughly divided into three areas:

A Continental Mediterranean climate in the inland areas of the Peninsula (largest city,
Madrid).
A Mediterranean climate region extends from the Andalusia plain along the southern and
eastern coasts up to the Pyrenees, on the seaward side of the mountain ranges that run near
the coast (largest city, Barcelona).
An Oceanic climate in Galicia and the coastal strip near the Bay of Biscay (largest city,
Bilbao). This area is often called Green Spain.

Economy
According to the World Bank, Spain's economy is the ninth largest worldwide and the fifth largest
in Europe. As of 2007, absolute GDP was valued at $1.362 trillion according to the CIA Factbook,
(see List of countries by GDP (nominal)). The per capita PPP is estimated at $33,700 (2007), ahead
of G7 countries like Italy and placing Spain at a similar per capita basis as France or Japan (both
with an 2007 estimated at $33,800). The Spanish economy grew 3.8% in 2007 outpacing all G7
members and all the big EU economies for the 3rd consecutive year.
The centre-right government of former prime minister Jos Mara 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 compares favorably to many other European countries, and which is a
marked improvement over rates that exceeded 20% in the early 1990s. 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. Nevertheless, it is expected that the Spanish economy will continue growing above
the EU average based on the strengthening of industry, the growth of the global economy and
increasing trade with Latin America and Asia.
Sports in Spain
Sport in Spain has been dominated by football since the early 20th century. Basketball, tennis,
cycling, handball, motorcycling and, lately, Formula 1 are also important due to presence of
Spanish champions in all these disciplines. Today, Spain is a major world sports power, especially
since the 1992 Summer Olympics that were hosted in Barcelona and promoted a great variety of
sports in the country. The tourism industry has led to an improvement in sports infrastructure,
especially for water sports, golf and skiing.

School Salesiano of San Roque

English

Present for : Andrs Len

Present to : Mileidis Castaeda

Grade: 10th

Barranquilla 21 of May of 2008