CLASSROOM COUNTRY PROFILES SPAIN (Espana)€¦ · SPAIN (Espana) The Kingdom of Spain is a country...

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Population: 48,563,476(2016) Area: 505,370 sq. km. (almost 5 times size of Ken- tucky) Capital: Madrid (3.2 million) Languages: Spanish, Catalan, Galician, Basque GDP Per Capita: $36,500 Head of State: King Felipe VI Head of Government: Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy The education system in Spain is divided into four stages, two of which are compulsory (primary and secondary education) based on the Fundamental Law of Education. All students receive basic voca- tional training at secondary level. Spain spends 4.3% of its GDP on education expenditures. SPAIN (Espana) The Kingdom of Spain is a country in Southwestern Europe, bordering France as well as the North Atlantic Ocean, and the Mediterranean Sea. After its powerful world empire of the 16th and 17th centuries, Spain fell behind Britain, France, and Germany in economic and political power in the 18th and 19th centuries. Despite remaining neutral in both world wars, Spain suffered from a civil war in the late 1930s and consequent dictatorship under Francisco Franco. After his death in 1975, a peaceful transition to democracy and rapid economic modernization led to Spain becoming a global champion of freedom and human rights. It operates under a parliamentary constitutional monarchy that has been led by Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy since 2011. Alhambra in Granada Roman Catholics constitute the big majority of Spanish people, with 94% being members of the Catholic church. Although there is no official state religion anymore (the Catholic church was abol- ished as the official state religion in 1978), the government and taxpayers allocate some financial resources to the Catholic church. Although a lot of people belong to the Catholic church, more and more people start to identify as Atheists or Agnostics. Other religions common in Spain include Islam, which constitutes the fastest growing religion in Spain, Judaism, Protestantism, and Hinduism. Freedom of religion is guaranteed by the Spanish con- stitution. While the Spanish people make up the majority of the population in Spain, this group is actually ethnically heterogenous. It consists of Castilian, Catalan, Galician, Basque, Canary Islanders, and oth- ers. Moreover, people of other Mediterranean as well as Nordic ethnic types are present in Spain. Spains birth rate slightly outnumbers its death rate by 0.3%, but the net migration rate posts a big positive number, leading to a population growth rate of 0.84% in 2016. . Updated: 05/14/17 CLASSROOM COUNTRY PROFILES

Transcript of CLASSROOM COUNTRY PROFILES SPAIN (Espana)€¦ · SPAIN (Espana) The Kingdom of Spain is a country...

Page 1: CLASSROOM COUNTRY PROFILES SPAIN (Espana)€¦ · SPAIN (Espana) The Kingdom of Spain is a country in Southwestern Europe, bordering France as well as the North Atlantic Ocean, and

Population: 48,563,476(2016)

Area: 505,370 sq. km. (almost 5 times size of Ken-

tucky)

Capital: Madrid (3.2 million)

Languages: Spanish, Catalan, Galician, Basque

GDP Per Capita: $36,500

Head of State: King Felipe VI

Head of Government: Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy

The education system in Spain is divided into four

stages, two of which are compulsory (primary and

secondary education) based on the Fundamental

Law of Education. All students receive basic voca-

tional training at secondary level. Spain spends

4.3% of its GDP on education expenditures.

SPAIN (Espana)

The Kingdom of Spain is a country in Southwestern Europe, bordering

France as well as the North Atlantic Ocean, and the Mediterranean Sea.

After its powerful world empire of the 16th and 17th centuries, Spain fell

behind Britain, France, and Germany in economic and political power in

the 18th and 19th centuries. Despite remaining neutral in both world

wars, Spain suffered from a civil war in the late 1930s and consequent

dictatorship under Francisco Franco. After his death in 1975, a peaceful

transition to democracy and rapid economic modernization led to Spain

becoming a global champion of freedom and human rights. It operates

under a parliamentary constitutional monarchy that has been led by

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy since 2011.

Alhambra in Granada

Roman Catholics constitute the big majority of Spanish people,

with 94% being members of the Catholic church. Although there is

no official state religion anymore (the Catholic church was abol-

ished as the official state religion in 1978), the government and

taxpayers allocate some financial resources to the Catholic

church. Although a lot of people belong to the Catholic church,

more and more people start to identify as Atheists or Agnostics.

Other religions common in Spain include Islam, which constitutes

the fastest growing religion in Spain, Judaism, Protestantism, and

Hinduism. Freedom of religion is guaranteed by the Spanish con-

stitution.

While the Spanish people make up the majority of the population

in Spain, this group is actually ethnically heterogenous. It consists

of Castilian, Catalan, Galician, Basque, Canary Islanders, and oth-

ers. Moreover, people of other Mediterranean as well as Nordic

ethnic types are present in Spain.

Spain’s birth rate slightly outnumbers its death rate by 0.3%, but

the net migration rate posts a big positive number, leading to a

population growth rate of 0.84% in 2016.

.

Updated: 05/14/17

C L A S S R O O M C O U N T R Y P R O F I L E S

Page 2: CLASSROOM COUNTRY PROFILES SPAIN (Espana)€¦ · SPAIN (Espana) The Kingdom of Spain is a country in Southwestern Europe, bordering France as well as the North Atlantic Ocean, and

Famous Spanish people include artists

Pablo Picasso, Johan Miró, and Salvador

Dali, tennis player Rafael Nadal, actors An-

tonio Banderas and Javier Bardem, actress

Penelope Cruz, Formula One driver Fernan-

do Alonso, singer Enrique Iglesias, model

Clara Alonso, and conquistador Hernán Cor-

tés.

Hi ………………………………..…………Hola

Bye …………………………..………. ….Adiós

Good morning ………..………….Buenos días

Yes ……………………………………….... Sí

No ………………………………………….. No

Please…………………..…………….Por favor

Thank you ……………………………..Gracias

How are you? ...........................Cómo estás?

I do not understand ……….…….No entiendo

I understand ....................................Entiendo

What is your name?.............Cómo te llamas?

My name is ………………………..Me llamo…

Where are you from?..…De dónde es usted?

Do you speak English?...Habla usted Inglés?

USEFUL LINKS

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/sp.html

http://europa.eu/european-union/about-eu/countries/member-countries/

spain_en

http://www.lamoncloa.gob.es/lang/en/espana/historyandculture/Paginas/

index.aspx

The discovery and conquest of America by the Spanish, and its presence in

America for many years forged strong ties between the two shores of the

Atlantic. According to the 2013 American Community Survey, 759,781 peo-

ple reported as Spaniard, with 652,884 born in the US and 106,897 foreign

born. The states with the largest populations of Spaniard ancestry include

California, Texas, New Mexico, and Florida. Moreover, Spanish is the sec-

ond-most common language spoken in the United States.

The flag is composed of three horizontal bands of red, yellow, and red with the national coat of arms on the hoist side of the yellow band.

After experiencing a prolonged recession in the wake of the global finan-

cial crisis that began in 2008, Spain in 2014 marked the first full year of

positive economic growth in seven years. High unemployment is still an

issue, although the rate has decreased from a high of 26% in 2013 to 22%

as of 2015. Nevertheless, this constitutes one of the highest unemploy-

ment rates in Europe. Exports were resilient throughout the economic

downturn and helped Spain in bringing its account into surplus again. Fur-

thermore, rising labor productivity and an internal devaluation have helped

to improve foreign investor interest in the economy. Domestic politics have

been dominated by nationalist separationist movements carried out by

both Catalan and Basque organizations for decades as well, some of them

turning violent like the Basque separatist group ETA.

Spain has been a member of the European Union since 1986, as well as a

member of the border-free Schengen area since March 1995. Additionally,

Spain was one of the inaugural members of the eurozone in 1999, accept-

ing the euro as its currency. There are 54 seats in the European parlia-

ment designated for Spain, and it has held the revolving presidency of the

Council of the EU four times between 1989 and 2010. Spain has also

been a member of NATO since May 1982, making it the third enlargement

of the organization.

Split Ibiza

The Sagrada Familia in Barcelona