Spain(Nayoung)


 * Spain **

Spain ( España), officially known as Kingdom of Spain, is a country lmedia type="custom" key="12579954" align="right"ocated in the continent Europe. It borders Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. It also borders the country of Portugal to its left and France to its north.

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**General Information**

Spain's economy's major exports include cars, fruits, metals, clothings, textiles, shoes, and minerals, estimating up to $293.8 billion (€211.1 billion). Its import costs about $361.2 billion, including oil, machines, airplanes, etc. Major industry in Spain is processed foods, textile, shoes, steel, cars, electronics and more. Spain's religion is dominantly Roman Catholic (~75%) but Protestant and Islamic believers take role in the society too. Geography Spain includes variety of geographical features including high plateaus, lowland areas, and mountains. Majority of its borders are surrounded by water, allowing them to trade overseas and also by land with France and Portugal. Spain's summer is hot in the inner part of the country while it is milder around the coast. Spain's winter is cold in the inner part of the country while the coast is more mild thanks to the warm water transported to the country by the currents. During winter, the coastal regions have many partly cloudy days.

**Brief History**

Historians believe that starting from beginning of 9th century BC, many different groups of people entered the Iberian Peninsula (where Spain is located) to settle down on. The Romans followed in the 2nd century BC, influincing many parts of the modern day Spanish culture. Spain became the most powerful country in Europe in the 16th century from the wealth they gained from colonies in Americas. But after series of costly revlots and wars, Spain's power started to decline from the debt. Controversy over the throne caused a power vaccum and allowed a chance for the French to attack, leading to French occupation during the Napoleon era. Even after becoming free from the French, the Spanish continued to fall. The continuous fall and the tension caused by colonies revolting and becoming independent caused the Spanish Civil War in July 1936. General Francisco Franco led his nationalist forces to a victory in 1939. During World War 2, Spain was in the neutral side but followed pro-Axis policy, which made the victorious Allied Force side to neglect them. In 1959, Spanish government started to give more freedom in trade and money, allowing the country to start recovering under IMF (International Monetary Fund) stabilization plan. Spanish continued to be relatively closed country until 1960s and 70s, when the country changed it's ways to modern industrial economy. The country opened up many places for tourism, which thrived. Death of General Francisco Franco lead the country to democracy in the future.

**Government / Current Political Situation**

media type="custom" key="12579870" align="left"Spain is under constitutional monarchy with Juan Carlos I as their king. The branches of the government include Executive brance (nominated by the king and approved by Congress), Legislative (divided by Cortes and Senate), and Judicial. The king act as a constitutional head of state but has no real executive role other than appointing officials with Congress' permission.


 * Culture **

In Spain, soccer is an important sport and to some, it is even their religion. Tickets for games in Spain are cheap (<20€) and many people in the country enjoyes it. Spain has a great history in Soccer, beaten rarely. People in all ages enjoy soccer in Spain. In Christmas, Spainish people do not eat their Christmas Dinner until midnight. They enjoy a delicious feast often topped with Pavo Trufado de Navidad (Christmas Trukey with Truffles). Spanish Christmas do not end on 25th, but continue till January 6th. Spanish kids leave their shoes out on the doorstep on the night of January 5th, to receive a present from the Three Wise Men, instead of Santa and his milk and cookies. One fun fact about Spain is that in Spanish Bars, throwing trash away on the floor is totally acceptable. So a dirtier floor would mean that it's a good bar. This also ties in with why Spain is the 2nd highest # of bars per inhabitants, 2nd to Cyprus.

**Tourism**

One of the most famous tourist spot is Barcelona. You can visit places like Parc Guell there. Parc Guell is a large park with many structures with designs called broken tile style and curves. In Ronda, you can visit a bridge with magnificient view of the cliff. You can also enjoy the oldest Bull Ring in Spain in Ronda, and roman baths. One of the most famous traditional events in Spain is Running with the Bulls. You can join the running in Pamplona but the running has been known for many injuries during the race. Spain's diverse geographical features allow different activities including skiing, hiking, enjoying the beach, etc. You can also participating in a food fight -- or a tomato fight in Valencia, Spain in their annual tomato fight (La Tomatina).

**Sources**

Print Source: Spain Today //(History Info / Culture Info)// Online Source 1: World Atlas //(Flag / Anthem Info)// Online Source 2: Spain Government Website //(Government Info)// Online Source 3: In-Spain Info //(Tour spots)// Online Source 4: DonQuijote - Spanish Culture //(Culture Info)// Online Source 5: US Department of State //(General Info)// Picture : Map Picture: Flag [|Picture: Coat of Arms] Picture: Parc Guell Picture: Soccer

**Current Events**



--codings-- Widget TOC HTML: Table of Contents   General Information Geography Brief History Government / Current Politial Situation Culture</li> Tourism</li> Current Events</li> Sources</li> Current Events</li> </ul>

Sidebar HTML: Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España) <img src="[]" alt="Spain Flag"/> <img src="[]" alt="Coatofarms" /> Motto: "Plus Ultra" (further beyond) National Anthem: "La March Real" (The royal march) <img src="[]" alt="map" /> Capital: Madrid Languages: <ul> Spanish (Official)</li> Catalan</li> Galician</li> Basque</li> Valencian</li> </ul> Government: Constitutional Monarchy King: Juan Carlos I Prime Minister: Marian Rajoy Population: 47,190,493 (as of January 1, 2011) Currency: Euro (€)

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