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The exuberance of
the Spaniards and the glorious predictability of the
summer weather have been attracting refugees from northern
Europe's damp and clammy lands for decades, but Spain
is much more than the Costa del Sol and warm English
beer. It is drenched in the historical pageantry of
empire and conquistadors, the artistic legacy of Goya,
Velazquez, Picasso and Dali, and the romance of Don
Quijote, Papa Hemingway and the International Brigades.
Full country name: Kingdom of Spain
Area: 504,784 sq km
Population: 39.7 million (growth rate 0.1%)
Capital city: Madrid (pop 3.1 million)
People: Spaniards (though Catalans and Basques display
a fierce independent spirit)
Language: Castilian Spanish (also Catalan, Galician
& Basque)
Time Zone: GMT/UTC plus 1 hour in winter, or two hours
in summer (from the last Sunday in March to the last
Sunday in September)
Religion: 90% Roman Catholic
Government: Parliamentary monarchy
Prime Minister: Jose Maria Aznar
GDP: $646 billion
GDP per head: $16,500
Annual growth: 4%
Inflation: 2%
Major industries: textiles & apparel, food &
beverages, metals, chemicals, shipbuilding, tourism
Major trading partners: EU (esp. France, Germany, Italy,
Portugal, UK, Benelux), US
Member of EU: yes
Euro zone participant: yes
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