Country information

Area: 510,000 sq km
Population: 44 million
Capital City: Madrid
Languages: Castilian Spanish (official) - 74%, Catalan - 17%, Galician - 7%, Basque - 2%
Religions: Roman Catholic - 97%; Protestant/other - 3%
Currency: euro
Government: After the death of General Franco in November 1975, Spain made a rapid transformation from dictatorship to democracy. The monarchy, which had been removed in 1931, was restored, and the first multi-party elections since 1936 were held in 1977. The National Parliament (Cortes Generales), formed by the Congress of Deputies and the Senate, is elected every 4 years. Spain is also divided in to 17 regions. These autonomous communities have varying powers, but each has its own parliament, government and administrative apparatus.
Major political parties: Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) leader: Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero; Popular Party (PP) leader: Mariano Rajoy; United Left (IU) leader: Gaspar Llamazares; Convergence and Union (CiU) leader: Artur Mas.
Head of State: King Juan Carlos I
Prime Minister: Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero
Minister of Foreign Affairs: Miguel Angel Moratinos
Composition of Parliament: Total seats: 350. PSOE, centre left (164); Partido Popular (PP) centre right (148); others (38).
Membership of international groupings/organisations: European Union (EU), North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), United Nations (UN) and non-permanent member of United Nations Security Council, Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).

DID YOU KNOW?

The modern day guitar was invented in Spain, when a sixth string was added to the Arab lute.

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