Spain

Spain is a country in southwestern Europe. It takes up most of a large piece of land called the Iberian Peninsula, which it shares with Portugal. Spain borders France to the north and the Mediterranean Sea to the east. About 48 million people live there. The capital and largest city is Madrid.

Spain is the fourth biggest country in Europe by land area. The middle of the country is a high, flat area called the Meseta. The Pyrenees Mountains rise along the French border. Sandy beaches line the southern and eastern coasts. Spain also includes two island groups: the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean and the Canary Islands off the coast of Africa.

The main language is Spanish, which people in Spain often call Castilian. But Spain also has other official languages in different regions, including Catalan, Galician, and Basque. Basque is especially unusual. It is not related to any other known language in the world, and scientists still debate where it came from.

People have lived in Spain for a very long time. The cave paintings at Altamira, in northern Spain, are about 36,000 years old. Later, the Romans ruled the region for more than 600 years. In the year 711, Muslim armies from North Africa crossed into Spain and ruled large parts of it for almost 800 years. They built the famous palace called the Alhambra and helped make Spain a center of learning during Europe's Middle Ages.

In 1492, Spain finished pushing out the last Muslim rulers and sent Christopher Columbus across the Atlantic Ocean. His voyage led to the Spanish Empire, which spread across much of the Americas, the Philippines, and parts of Africa. For about 200 years, Spain was one of the most powerful countries on Earth. Most of the Spanish spoken today, by more than 500 million people, traces back to this spread.

Spanish culture is famous around the world. Flamenco dancing, with its fast guitar and stamping feet, came from the south of Spain. Bullfighting is an old tradition, though many Spaniards today want it banned because of how the bulls are treated. Soccer, which Spaniards call fútbol, is the most popular sport. Food like paella, a rice dish full of seafood or meat, is eaten everywhere.

Spain was ruled by a dictator named Francisco Franco from 1939 until his death in 1975. Today Spain is a democracy with a king who serves mostly as a symbol of the nation.