Important & Interesting Facts About Spain

Spain (officially the Kingdom of Spain) is a country in southwest Europe. Here are some interesting facts about Spain.

Interesting Facts About Spain

• Spain has the ninth largest economy in the world.
• 40% of Spanish people aged between 17 and 24 smoke.
• In Spain, you drive on the right hand side of the road.
• Spain is the 28th largest country (by population) with over 46 million people.
• Spain joined the European Union in 1986. Spain is also a member of the United Nations, NATO and the World Trade Organization.
• Team sports are not played at schools in Spain.
• Spain remained neutral (didn’t fight) in both world wars.
• 76% of the population identify themselves as Roman Catholics. However, only about 20% of the population regularly go to church.
• Due to the global recession, the unemployment rate is expected to hit 16% in 2009.
• Spain is aiming to have over 1 million electric cars on the road by 2014.
• There are just over 60,000 Jewish people living in Spain.
• In Spain, lunch is eaten at about 2pm and dinner is eaten at about 9pm.
• People in Inner Spain (Castile and Madrid) enjoy eating hot, thick soup and bread. Coastal Spanish cities use a lot of seafood in their cooking and have cold soup.
• Football (soccer) is the most popular sport in Spain. Other popular sports are Formula 1 racing, cycling, handball, tennis, basketball and motorcycling. The 1992 Summer Olympics were held in the Spanish city of Barcelona.