Regional Geography of [Spain]

Outline

1. Physical Characteristics
• Relative location
• Landscape and Physical Environment
• Weather and climate
2. Human Characteristics
• Population, Density and Age/Sex characteristics
• Language and religion
• Cultural/ethnic groups
3. Economic Characteristics
• Major economic activities
• Imports and Exports
• GNP and GNP per capita
4. References

Physical Characteristics

The country of Spain is in the southern part of Europe, in the Mediterranean section of the continent. Spain as well as Portugal are peninsulas that extends more to the south of the European land. Spain and Portugal share the Iberian Peninsula. Spain borders France to its east, and Portugal on the west. The latitude of Madrid is roughly similar to that of Omaha’s latitude, being at 40 degrees (Hobbs, World Regional Geography 129).

 

Spain has major landforms such as the Pyrenees that are 10,695 feet high that are on the eastern border of Spain. The terrain what Spain is made up of is mostly rugged, plain, rocky, and hilly. The mountains are roughly new with high points with snowy caps. Since Spain is a peninsula, it mostly is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea (Hobbs, Fundamentals of World Regional Geography 73).

 

In the southern part of Europe, it has a Mediterranean climate. Spain is almost entirely surrounded by water, that helps keep the temperatures high and comfortable. This includes Spain which has mild rainy winters and hot and dry summers (World Regional Geography 129). Spain’s climate is much similar to that of California or Los Angeles. The high interior plateau of Spain has a different climate because that region does not have the rain-bearing winds making it more of a drier and colder winter. In winter, the westerly winds go south bringing precipitation, and then in the summer a atmospheric pressure in the Sahara comes north toward Spain bringing dry warm air (Fundamentals of World Regional Geography 73).

Human Characteristics

The population of Spain is 46.7 million as of 2018 according to the Population Reference Bureau website. Spain is fourth in the population scale of western Europe, Germany, United Kingdom, and France have a higher population than Spain. The total fertility rate is 1.3. The population that is less than fifteen years old is 15% in 2018. The life expectancy at birth of females is 86 as for men its 80 (2018 World Population).

 

The primary language spoken in Spain is Spanish or Castilian. Another language that is spoken in a part of Spain is Catalan. The main religious in the whole country of Spain is Roman Catholic, which is the same for many other countries in Europe. Christianity dominates majority of Europe except for some countries. Religion is a very important part of the culture in Europe and especially in Spain (Hobbs, Fundamental of World Regional Geography 77-79).

 

Spain has two main ethnic groups that are culturally different from any other ethnic group there, are the Basques and Catalans (Hobbs, Fundamental of World Regional Geography 79). There are about 2.3 millions of Basques in Spain, they are a minority group and they get targeted for violence and even are being discriminated against. It has been a battle for this group as they got more control and freedom by getting their affairs of taxation and education. The effort of the Basques has been a success on trying to keep their own culture alive (Hobbs, World Regional Geography 132).

Economic Characteristics

 Spain’s main drives to economics is based on agriculture, tourism, and industries (Economy of Spain). It is the fifth largest in Europe. Fruits and vegetables are the main agricultural source driving the economy that way. Fruits like apples, bananas, pears, peaches, oranges, etc. For vegetables it would be potatoes, peppers, string beans, and tomatoes (Agriculture in Spain). Tourism has been a huge help to Spain’s economy, with people coming for vacations to see the landscapes and all different kinds of attractions Spain has to offer. In 2015 Spain was named the third most visited country in the world.

In 2017 Spain made/did $313.7 billion in exports. Machinery, motor vehicles, and medicines were the main exports. Motor vehicles was the largest industry for exporting vehicles. Fort imports, it did $338.6 billion in 2017. The main products that are imported are fuels, chemicals, machinery and equipment, and consumer goods.  Spain’s biggest import and export partners are Germany and France, as well as China and Italy.

The Population Reference Bureau website included the Gross National Income for Spain in 2018 which was $38,090. Throughout the years the GDP has been increasing. It is at #1.4 trillion. The GDP per capital was at $31,059. (Economy of Spain).

References

“2018 World Population Data Sheet with a Special Focus on Changing Age Structures.” Population Reference Bureau, 2018.

“Agriculture in Spain.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 17 Nov. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agriculture_in_Spain.

“Economy of Spain.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 12 Apr. 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Spain.

Hobbs, Joseph J. “Fundamentals of World Regional Geography.” Google Books, books.google.com/books?id=S6IsCQAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=world regional geography&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiF_YTh_MjhAhVQja0KHUZUBokQ6wEwA3oECAQQAQ#v=onepage&q=spain&f=false.

Hobbs, Joseph J. “World Regional Geography.” Google Books, books.google.com/books?id=yAgGHnENHjoC&printsec=frontcover&dq=regional geography&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjCrt6W8sjhAhVLXK0KHZDEAGsQ6AEwAHoECAYQAg#v=onepage&q=spain&f=false.

Submitted by (Julisa Prieto-Garcia) on (April 12, 2019).