1. All you need to know about … SPAIN

2. Where is it?

3. Who’s in Charge? Head of state: King Juan Carlos I Spaniards honour King Juan Carlos for ensuring the country's transition to democracy after the death of the former dictator, General Franco, and for saving Spain from a coup attempt in 1981. Prime minister: Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero

4. Some useful information.. Full name: Kingdom of Spain Population: 44.7 million (official figure, 2007) Capital: Madrid Area: 505,988 sq km (195,363 sq miles) Major languages: Spanish (Castilian), Catalan, Valencian, Gallego (Galician), Euskera (Basque) Major religion: Christianity Life expectancy: 76 years (men), 83 years (women) (UN) Monetary unit: 1 euro = 100 cents Main exports: Transport equipment, agricultural products GNI per capita: US $25,360 (World Bank, 2006)

5. Agriculture : grain, vegetables, olives, wine grapes, sugar beets, citrus; beef, pork, poultry, dairy products; fish. Labor force : 20.67 million; agriculture 5.3%, manufacturing, mining, and construction 30.1%, services 64.6% (2004 est.). Industries: textiles and apparel (including footwear), food and beverages, metals and metal manufactures, chemicals, shipbuilding, automobiles, machine tools, tourism, clay and refractory products, footwear, pharmaceuticals, medical equipment. Natural resources : coal, lignite, iron ore, uranium, mercury, pyrites, fluorspar, gypsum, zinc, lead, tungsten, copper, kaolin, potash, hydropower, arable land. Exports : $194.3 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.): machinery, motor vehicles; foodstuffs, pharmaceuticals, medicines, other consumer goods. Imports : $271.8 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.): machinery and equipment, fuels, chemicals, semifinished goods, foodstuffs, consumer goods, measuring and medical control instruments. Major trading partners: France, Germany, Portugal, Italy, UK, Netherlands (2004).

6. The Economy.. Spain has made great economic progress in recent decades, but it still lags behind most of Western Europe. Though industry has grown considerably since the 1950s, the country still has a large trade imbalance. Spain's greatest trade is with the United States, Germany, France, and Great Britain. Among the leading exports are fruit, wine, and other food products, ships, footwear, machinery, and chemicals; major imports include machinery, petroleum, iron and steel, and transport equipment.

7. Culture.. Widely known for Flamenco music and dance, bullfights, fantastic beaches and lots of sunshine, Spain has much more to offer than that. It is-and has been for thousands of years –one of the cultural centres of europe. Spain has an extraordinary artistic heritage. The dominant figures of the golden age were the Toledo-based artists El Greco and Diego Velasquez. Francisco Goya emerged in the 18th century as Spain's most prolific painter and he produced some wonderfully unflattering portraits of royalty. The art world in the early 20th century was influenced by a remarkable group of Spanish artists: Pablo Picasso, Juan Gris, Joan Miró and Salvador Dali. Flamenco is a genuine Spanish art form, or, to be more exact, a genuine Southern Spanish art. It exists in three forms: el cante, the song, el baile, the dance, and la guitarra, the guitar playing. Gypsies are often credited with the "invention" of flamenco, and it is at least certain that they played an important part in its creation. But the popular songs and dances of Andalusia also had a major influence on early Flamenco.