Where is Spain? Spain Located on a Map

There’s always an excuse to visit Spain! It’s one incredible country to explore, especially with all the best places across the country, the totally stunning beaches and breathtaking areas in Northern Spain are too beautiful to miss.

Whether it’s for the glorious sunshine, the siestas or soaking up those beautiful sights, the whole country is an open book of experiences that you will enjoy. There are itineraries for all tastes, even the most demanding, as Spain never disappoints

Spain Fast Facts

Population: 49,331,076

Capital City: Madrid

Climate: Temperate; clear, hot summers in interior, moderate and cloudy along coast; cloudy, cold winters in interior, cloudy and cool along coast

Time Zone: UTC+1

Language: Spanish (Castilian), Catalan and its variant Valencian, Gallego (Galician), Euskera (Basque)

Country Code: 34

Coastline: 4,964km

Where is Spain?

Is Spain in Europe? This question is very frequent and the answer is a resounding yes. Spain is situated on the Iberian Peninsula, in the southwest part of Europe. It shares the mainland with Portugal, but Spain covers most of the territory. Spain has Portugal to the west and France to the north. The rest of the country borders on water… and very often on beach. Spain’s northwest edge is the Bay of Biscay. To the east and southeast is the Mediterranean, and to the southwest, past Gibraltar, is the Atlantic Ocean.

In addition to the Spanish peninsula, the Balearic Islands (most notably Ibiza, Mallorca, and Menorca), in the Mediterranean sea, are part of Spain. So are the Canary Islands, situated in the Atlantic off the coast of Africa. Finally, two autonomous cities in North Africa, Ceuta and Melilla, also are part of Spain.

Spain is the second-largest country in Western Europe, just a bit smaller than France. Ho,wever, its population is comparatively low, an estimated 49 million.

Approximately 40% of Spain’s people lives in Madrid, andin a fewother main cities. Madrid has a population of about 3.3 million in the city proper, with a metropolitan area of around 6.5 million. Other principal cities are: Barcelona (about 5.4 million in the metro area), Valencia (1.7 million), Seville (1.5 million), Bilbao (1 million), and Málaga (1.6 million).

Spain’s Weather and Territory

Spain is a mountainous region. As well as to the Pyrenees, which divide Spain from France, there are various mountain ranges within the country. Also, a vast part of central Spain (81,000 square miles, in fact) is a relatively high ground known as the Meseta Central.

These geographical features have created three main climate zones in Spain:

The Mediterranean climate, with warm/hot and dry summers, predominates in Spain. But, the interior normally has cold winters (even with snow), while more southerly areas and zones nearer the coast have mild winters.

Southeastern Spain has a semi-arid climate, with a real desert in Aragon, Murcia, and Almería. (In fact, Almería once was a center for filming spaghetti westerns)

Northwest Spain has an oceanic climate, with cool, mild temperatures, frequent rain, and green hills running down to the sea. The climate here is similar to that of North America’s Pacific Northwest or the British Isles.