Three horizontal bands of red (top), yellow (double width), and red with the national coat of arms on the hoist side of the yellow band; the coat of arms includes the royal seal framed by the Pillars of Hercules, which are the two promontories (Gibraltar and Ceuta) on either side of the eastern end of the Strait of Gibraltar.
19 autonomous communities (comunidades autonomas, singular - comunidad autonoma): Andalucia, Aragon, Asturias, Baleares (Balearic Islands), Ceuta, Canarias (Canary Islands), Cantabria, Castilla-La Mancha, Castilla y Leon, Cataluna, Communidad Valencian, Extremadura, Galicia, La Rioja, Madrid, Melilla, Murcia, Navarra, and Pais Vasco (Basque Country). Three small Spanish possessions are located off the coast of Morocco: Islas Chafarinas, Penon de Alhucemas, and Penon de Velez de la Gomera.
504,782 sq. km There are two autonomous cities - Ceuta and Melilla; 17 autonomous communities including Balearic Islands and Canary Islands, and three small Spanish possessions off the coast of Morocco - Islas Chafarinas, Penon de Alhucemas, and Penon de Velez de la Gomera.
Land area:
499,542 sq. km
Water area:
5,240 sq. km
Total land boundaries:
1,917.8 km
Borders with neighbor countries:
Andorra 63.7 km, France 623 km, Gibraltar 1.2 km, Portugal 1,214 km, Morocco (Ceuta) 6.3 km, Morocco (Melilla) 9.6 km
Coastline:
4,964 km
Elevation extremes:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m - Pico de Teide (Tenerife) on Canary Islands 3,718 m
Internet country code:
.es
Currency:
euro (EUR)
Name - conventional long form:
Kingdom of Spain
Name - conventional short form:
Spain
Name - local long form:
Espana
Independence:
the Iberian peninsula was characterized by a variety of independent kingdoms prior to the Moslem occupation that began in the early 8th Century A. D. and lasted nearly seven centuries, the small Christian redoubts of the north began the reconquest almost immediately, culminating in the seizure of Granada in 1492, this event completed the unification of several kingdoms and is traditionally considered the forging of present-day Spain