General overview : Spain

. Area: 506, 000 km²
. Population: 39,852,650 hab
. Capital: Madrid
. Principal urban areas and number of inhabitants: Madrid (3, 092, 759), Barcelona (1, 582, 738), Valencia (780, 653), Seville (709, 975), Saragossa (626, 081), Malaga (547, 105), Murcia (391, 146) (INE - Spanish National Statistics Office, 2003)
. Official language and other recognised languages: Castilian (and Catalan, Basque, Galician)
. Regions: 17 autonomous communities (Andalusia, Aragon, Principality of Asturias, Balearic Islands, Canary Islands, Cantabria, Castile - Leon, Castile-La Mancha, Catalonia, Extremadura, Galicia, La Rioja, Madrid, Murcia, Navarre, Basque Country, Valencia) and two autonomous cities (Ceuta and Melilla)