A land of love and exotic flavors, Spain is a place to take in broad outline. If you are planning a trip, here is an overview of the country.
The official name is the Kingdom of Spain. It covers an area of about 194.000 square miles. This includes both the mainland and the Balearic and Canary Islands. The total mileage makes Spain one of the most important in Europe, about the combined size of the states of Arizona and Utah.
The capital of Spain is Madrid, which has about 5.5 million inhabitants. Other major cities are Barcelona, with 4.9 persons, Malaga, with 1.3 million euros, with 1.8 million of Seville and Valencia with just over 2 million inhabitants. The country Spain varies from flat to mountainous. Temperatures range from cold to boiling hot in winter in summer, especially in cities such as Madrid, who have no access to coastal breezes.
Until 1975, Spain was a dictatorship under the leadership area of General Francisco Franco. Upon his death in 1975 was Prince Juan Carlos de Borbon y Borbon as King and Head of State. He then moved to liberalize the country and maintains an independent head of state, who is now an elected official.