Spain
The kingdom Spain is a country in the most south west of Europe. It shares the iberische peninsula with Portugal and the British 'colony ' Gibraltar. In the North east it borders to France and the little state Andorra, concerning the length of the Pyreneeën mountain range. It includes also Balearen in the Mediterranean sea, the Canary islands which have been lain outside the Atlantic coast of Morocco, and the exclaves Ceuta and Melilla to the North coast of Africa. Gibraltar, in the south, has been territory of Great Britain since the end of the Spanish successionwar in 1714.

Spain counts more than 43.2 million inhabitants. The capital of Spain is Madrid.

Spain is a parliamentary monarchy under Juan Carlos I, with a constitution from 1978. The current premier is José luis Rodríguez Zapatero. Spain had become member of the NATO in 1981, and has been member of the European Union since 1986. The euro had become the Spanish currency on 1 January 1999, and has replaced  the peseta.