_#_Disputes: Gibraltar question with UK; Spain controls five places of sovereignty (plazas de soberania) on and off the coast of Morocco—the coastal enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla which Morocco contests as well as the islands of Penon de Alhucemas, Penon de Velez de la Gomera, and Islas Chafarinas
_#_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 in north
_#_Natural resources: coal, lignite, iron ore, uranium, mercury, pyrites, fluorspar, gypsum, zinc, lead, tungsten, copper, kaolin, potash, hydropower
_#_Land use: arable land 31%; permanent crops 10%; meadows and pastures 21%; forest and woodland 31%; other 7%; includes irrigated 6%
_#_Environment: deforestation; air pollution
_#_Note: strategic location along approaches to Strait of Gibraltar
_*People #_Population: 39,384,516 (July 1991), growth rate 0.3% (1991)
_#_Birth rate: 11 births/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Death rate: 8 deaths/1,000 population (1991)