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Spain

Reino de España

Last updated: 2026-03-28 (today)

Area

land

498,980 sq km

note

note: includes two autonomous cities (Ceuta and Melilla), 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

water

6,390 sq km

total

505,370 sq km

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

Land use

other

12.3% (2023 est.)

forest

38.2% (2023 est.)

agricultural land

49.6% (2023 est.)

agricultural land: arable land

arable land: 23% (2023 est.)

agricultural land: permanent crops

permanent crops: 10.2% (2023 est.)

agricultural land: permanent pasture

permanent pasture: 19.8% (2023 est.)

Location

Southwestern Europe, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, North Atlantic Ocean, Bay of Biscay, and Pyrenees Mountains; southwest of France

Coastline

4,964 km

Elevation

lowest point

Atlantic Ocean 0 m

highest point

Pico de Teide (Tenerife) on Canary Islands 3,718 m

mean elevation

660 m

Irrigated land

38,012 sq km (2022)

Map references

Europe

Land boundaries

note

note: an additional 75-meter border segment exists between Morocco and the Spanish exclave of Penon de Velez de la Gomera

total

1,952.7 km

border countries

Andorra 63 km; France 646 km; Gibraltar 1.2 km; Portugal 1,224 km; Morocco (Ceuta) 8 km and Morocco (Melilla) 10.5 km

Maritime claims

contiguous zone

24 nm

territorial sea

12 nm

exclusive economic zone

200 nm (applies only to the Atlantic Ocean)

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) 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 the Azores (Portugal), Madeira (Portugal), and Cabo Verde

Natural resources

coal, lignite, iron ore, copper, lead, zinc, uranium, tungsten, mercury, pyrites, magnesite, fluorspar, gypsum, sepiolite, kaolin, potash, hydropower, arable land

Area - comparative

almost five times the size of Kentucky; slightly more than twice the size of Oregon

Geographic coordinates

40 00 N, 4 00 W

Population distribution

with the notable exception of Madrid, Sevilla, and Zaragoza, the largest urban agglomerations are found along the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts; numerous smaller cities are spread throughout the interior; very dense settlement around the capital of Madrid, as well as the port city of Barcelona

Major rivers (by length in km)

Tagus river source (shared with Portugal [m]) - 1,006 km note: [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth