Spain
Spain, officially the Kingdom of Spain, is a member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Its mainland is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the south and east; to the north by France, Andorra, and the Bay of Biscay; and to the northwest and west by the Atlantic Ocean and Portugal. Spanish territory also includes the Balearic Islands, and the Canary Islands.
Covering an area of approximately 504,000 km², Spain is the second largest country in the European Union, with a recorded population in 2008 of just over 46m.
Spain is made up of 17 autonomous communities and the two autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla, in North Africa.
Andalucía is the second largest of Spain's autonomous communities and is divided into eight provinces: Huelva, Seville, Cádiz, Córdoba, Málaga, Almería, Jaén and, of course, Granada.
The Constitution of Spain is regarded as the culmination of the Spanish transition to democracy. The constitution was approved by the Cortes Generales on October 31, 1978 and by the Spanish people in a referendum on December 6, 1978. It came into effect on December 29, 1978 and has been a national holiday in Spain ever since.
