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|pm =[[Mariano Rajoy Brey ]] (Since December 2011)
|pm-raw =
|area =195,364 sq mi|pop =46,754464,000053|pop-basis =20112014|gdp =$1.261 407 trillion |gdp-year =20062014|gdp-pc =$2730,767 278|currency =[[Euro]]
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'''Spain''' (Officially The Kingdom of Spain, in Spanish: Reino de España)is a European country located on the [[Iberian Peninsula]], bordered by [[Portugal]] and the [[Atlantic Ocean]] to the [[west]], [[Gibraltar]] to the [[south]], the [[Mediterranean Sea]] to the east, [[France]] and [[Andorra]] to the [[north]]. Portugal is located on the same peninsula. Spain is a member of the both [[European UnionNATO]] and the [[NATOEuropean Union]], and a strong [[United States|U.S.]] Allyally.
Spain is the winner of the 2010 [[World Cup]].
Spain's [[population density]], lower than that of most European countries, is roughly equivalent to [[New England]]'s. In recent years, following a longstanding pattern in the rest of Europe, [[rural]] populations are moving to [[cities]]. [[Urban]] areas are also experiencing a significant increase in [[immigrant]] populations, chiefly from [[North Africa]], [[America (continent)|America]], and [[Eastern Europe]]. Distinct ethnic groups within Spain include the Basques, Catalans, and Galicians. They compromise 91% of the population, 8% are Eastern European immigrants and North Africans number roughly 1%.
Spain has no official [[religion]]. The constitution of 1978 disestablished the [[Roman Catholic Church]] as the official state religion, while recognizing the role it plays in Spanish society. More than 9070% of the population is at least nominally Catholic. Among the remaining population, there are about 1.2 million evangelical Christians and other Protestants (2006 est.), 1 million Muslims (2006 est.) and 48,000 Jews (2006 est.).
====Educational Systemsystem====
About 70% of Spain's student population attends public schools or universities. The remainder attend private schools or universities, the great majority of which are operated by the Catholic Church. Compulsory education begins with primary school or general basic education for ages 6-16. It is free in public schools and in many private schools, most of which receive government subsidies. Following graduation, students attend either a secondary school offering a general high school diploma or a school of professional education (corresponding to grades 9-12 in the United States) offering a vocational training program. The Spanish university system offers degree and post-graduate programs in all fields--law, sciences, humanities, and medicine--and the superior technical schools offer programs in engineering and architecture.
==Government and Political Conditionspolitical landscape==
[[File:Francisco Franco.jpg|thumb|left|Francisco Franco.]]
[[Al Qaeda]] is known to operate cells in Spain. On March 11, 2004, only three days before national elections, 10 bombs were detonated on crowded commuter trains during rush hour. Three were deactivated by security forces and one was found unexploded. Evidence quickly surfaced that [[jihad]]ist [[terrorist]]s with possible ties to the Al Qaeda network were responsible for the attack that killed 191 people. Spanish investigative services and the judicial system have aggressively sought to arrest and prosecute suspected Al Qaeda members and actively cooperate with foreign governments to diminish the transnational terrorist threat. A Spanish court convicted 18 individuals in September 2005 for their role in supporting Al Qaeda, and Spanish police disrupted numerous [[Islamist]] extremist cells operating in the country. The trial against 29 people for their alleged participation in the Madrid March 11, 2004 terrorist attack started in February 2007, and was declared ready for judgment at the end of June. One of the 29 was absolved during the trial. The prosecutor asked for sentences as high as 30,000 years of jail for some of them. The court is expected to issue the sentence sometime in October 2007.
===Principal Government Officialsgovernment officials===
[[File:Barack Obama and Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero.jpg|thumb|[[Barack Obama]] and Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero.]]
*Chief of State, Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces--King Felipe VI
*Ambassador to the United States--Carlos Westendorp y Cabeza
===Foreign Relationsrelations===
After the return of democracy following the death of General Franco in 1975, Spain's foreign policy priorities were to review the status of its African colonies, expand diplomatic relations, enter the European Community, and define security relations with the West.
[[File:Monumento a Alfonso XII parque del Buen Retiro.jpg|thumb|left|270px|Monument to Alfonso XII, Madrid.]]