Territorial sea: 12 nm
Disputes: claims and administers Western Sahara, but sovereignty is unresolved; armed conflict in Western Sahara; Spain controls two coastal presidios or places of sovereignty (Ceuta, Melilla)
Climate: Mediterranean, becoming more extreme in the interior
Terrain: mostly mountains with rich coastal plains
Natural resources: phosphates, iron ore, manganese, lead, zinc, fish, salt
Land use: 18% arable land; 1% permanent crops; 28% meadows and pastures; 12% forest and woodland; 41% other; includes 1% irrigated
Environment: northern mountains geologically unstable and subject to earthquakes; desertification
Note: strategic location along Strait of Gibraltar
- People
Population: 25,648,241 (July 1990), growth rate 2.2% (1990)
Birth rate: 31 births/1,000 population (1990)