Spain (España) is the third largest country in Southern Europe (behind Ukraine & France). The Spanish mainland is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the south and east, the Bay of Biscay to the north, and by the Atlantic Ocean and Portugal to the west. Spanish territory also includes the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean and the Canary Islands off the African coast. It shares land borders with Portugal, France, Andorra, and the British colony of Gibraltar. It is the largest of the three sovereign states that make up the Iberian Peninsula the others being Portugal and Andorra.

Spain is a democratic country with organized parliamentary monarchy based in the capital city of Madrid, the head of state is King Juan Carlos and the President of the state is Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero. The languages spoken in Spain are Castilian, Catalan, Galician, Basque. The population of Spain is estimated 45,116,894 (2007).

According to the World Bank, Spain's economy is the ninth largest worldwide and the fifth largest in Europe. Spain has been a member of the European Union (EU) since 1986 and is a developed country with its economy credited for having avoided the virtual zero growth rate compare to some of its largest partners in the EU. In fact, the country's economy has created more than half of all the new jobs in the European Union over the five years ending 2005.

The Spanish economy has thus been regarded lately as one of the most dynamic within the EU, attracting significant amounts of foreign investment. During the last four decades the Spanish tourism industry has grown to become the second biggest in the world worth approximately 40 billion Euros in 2006. The economy has benefited greatly from the global real estate boom, with construction representing 16% of GDP and 12% of employment. According to calculations by the German newspaper Die Welt, Spain is on pace to overtake countries like Germany in per capita income by 2011.

Every part of Spain has it’s own character, history & identity with superb old buildings, from Roman aqueducts, and Islamic palaces to gothic cathedrals and medieval castle. There is a greater diversity of landscapes from green-wooded hills to dry stone deserts. It is also a place of very diverse flavours, a sub-continent in itself with distinctive cuisines, folklore, fiestas and attitudes to going out. This huge variety means that a visit to one part of Spain can be a wholly different experience from a visit to another.