Total area: 504,750 km2
land area: 499,400 km2; includes Balearic Islands, Canary Islands, and five places of sovereignty (plazas de soberania) on and off the coast of Morocco--Ceuta, Mellila, Islas Chafarinas, Penon de Alhucemas, and Penon de Velez de la Gomera

Comparative area: slightly more than twice the size of Oregon

Land boundaries: 1,903.2 km total
Andorra 65 km, France 623 km, Gibraltar 1.2 km, Portugal 1,214 km

Coastline: 4,964 km

Maritime claims: Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Territorial sea: 12 nm

Disputes: Gibraltar question with UK; Spain controls five places of sovereignty (plazas de soberania) on and off the coast of Morocco--the coastal enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla which Morocco contests as well as the islands of Penon de Alhucemas, Penon de Velez de la Gomera, and Islas Chafarinas

Climate: temperate; clear, hot summers in interior, more moderate and cloudy along coast; cloudy, cold winters in interior, partly cloudy and cool along coast

Terrain: large, flat to dissected plateau surrounded by rugged hills; Pyrenees in north

Natural resources: coal, lignite, iron ore, uranium, mercury, pyrites, fluorspar, gypsum, zinc, lead, tungsten, copper, kaolin, potash, hydropower

Land use: arable land 31%; permanent crops 10%; meadows and pastures 21%; forest and woodland 31%; other 7%; includes irrigated 6%

Environment: deforestation; air pollution

Note: strategic location along approaches to Strait of Gibraltar

NOTE: The information regarding Spain on this page is re-published from the 1991 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Spain Geography 1991 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Spain Geography 1991 should be addressed to the CIA.