GEOGRAPHY
Together with Portugal and Andorra, Spain makes up the geographical unit of the Iberian Peninsula, located at the south-western edge of Europe. Spain also has two large archipielagos, the Canaries and the Balearics, and a series of smaller islands and the cities of Ceuta and Melilla in the north of Africa.
Its total surface area, 506,030 sq km, places Spain among the world’s 50 largest countries. Spanish territory in the peninsula covers 493,514 sq km, the Balearics 4,992 sq km, the Canaries 7,492 sq km and the cities of Ceuta and Melilla 32 sq km.
POPULATION
Spain’s population is now above 44 million. At 1 January 2005, 44,108,530 people were resident, of whom 3,730,610 are foreign nationals. By sex, 50.6% of the population are women and 49.4% are men. By age, 15.2% are below 16, 44.8% between 16 and 44 and 40% over 45.
THE LANGUAGES OF SPAIN
Article 3 of the Constitution established that Spanish is the official language of the State and that all Spanish nationals have the duty to know it and the right to use it. The other languages of Spain are also official in their respective Autonomous Communities, in accordance with their statutes. The article also establishes that Spain’s linguistic diversity is a cultural asset which deserves particular respect and protection.
For the first time in history, the Spanish Constitution upheld the right of the Autonomous Communities of the Basque Country, Galicia, Catalonia, the Balearics and Valencia to use their own language, without prejudice to the use of Spanish.
The Spanish language has been in constant expansion since the sixteenth century. At the end of the nineteenth century there were some 60 million speakers. A century later, with almost 400 million speakers, Spanish is the second most spoken language in the world, after Chinese Mandarin. It is the official language of some twenty countries and is one of the three languages that are regularly used as official languages by international organizations.
