| Location | Southwestern Europe, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, North Atlantic Ocean, Bay of Biscay, and Pyrenees Mountains; southwest of France |
| Geographic coordinates | 40 00 N, 4 00 W |
| Map references | Europe |
| Area | total: 505,370 sq km land: 498,980 sq km water: 6,390 sq km note: there are two autonomous cities - Ceuta and Melilla - and 17 autonomous communities including Balearic Islands and Canary Islands, and three small Spanish possessions off the coast of Morocco - Islas Chafarinas, Penon de Alhucemas, and Penon de Velez de la Gomera |
| Area - comparative | almost five times the size of Kentucky; slightly more than twice the size of Oregon |
| Land boundaries | total: 1,952.7 km border countries (5): Andorra 63 km, France 646 km, Gibraltar 1.2 km, Portugal 1224 km, Morocco (Ceuta) 8 km and Morocco (Melilla) 10.5 km note: an additional 75-meter border segment exists between Morocco and the Spanish exclave of Penon de Velez de la Gomera |
| Coastline | 4,964 km |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm (applies only to the Atlantic Ocean) |
| 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 Mountains in north |
| Elevation extremes | highest point: Pico de Teide (Tenerife) on Canary Islands 3,718 m lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m mean elevation: 660 m |
| Natural resources | coal, lignite, iron ore, copper, lead, zinc, uranium, tungsten, mercury, pyrites, magnesite, fluorspar, gypsum, sepiolite, kaolin, potash, hydropower, arable land |
| Land use | agricultural land: 54.1% (2018 est.) arable land: 24.9% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 9.1% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 20.1% (2018 est.) forest: 36.8% (2018 est.) other: 9.1% (2018 est.) |
| Irrigated land | 38,000 sq km (2012) |
| Total renewable water resources | 111.5 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) |
| Natural hazards | periodic droughts, occasional flooding volcanism: volcanic activity in the Canary Islands, located off Africa's northwest coast; Teide (3,715 m) has been deemed a Decade Volcano by the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior, worthy of study due to its explosive history and close proximity to human populations; La Palma (2,426 m), which last erupted in 1971, is the most active of the Canary Islands volcanoes; Lanzarote is the only other historically active volcano |
| Geography - note | strategic location along approaches to Strait of Gibraltar; Spain controls a number of territories in northern Morocco including the enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, and the islands of Penon de Velez de la Gomera, Penon de Alhucemas, and Islas Chafarinas; Spain's Canary Islands are one of four North Atlantic archipelagos that make up Macaronesia; the others are Azores (Portugal), Madeira (Portugal), and Cabo Verde |
Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on September 18, 2021
