The Spanish people are essentially a mixture of the indigenous peoples of the Iberian Peninsula with the successive peoples who conquered the peninsula and occupied it for extended periods. These added ethnologic elements include the Romans, a Mediterranean people, and the Suevi, Vandals, and Visigoths (see GOTHS), Teutonic peoples. Semitic elements are also present. Several ethnic groups in Spain have kept a separate identity, culturally and linguistically.
These include the Basques (Euskal-dun), who number about 2. illion and live chiefly around the Bay of Biscay; the Galicians, numbering about 2. 5 million, who live in northwestern Spain; and the nomadic Spanish Gypsies (Gitanos; see GYPSIES). Population Characteristics The population of Spain (1991) was 38,872,268. The estimate for 1993 was 39,207,159; the overall density was about 78 people per sq km (about 201 per sq mi). Spain in increasingly urban with more than three-fourths of the population in towns and cities. “Spain,” Microsoft (R) Encarta. Copyright (c) 1994 Microsoft Corporation.
Copyright (c) 1994 Funk & Wagnall’s Corporation. Forestry and Fishing The cork-oak tree is the principal forest resource of Spain, and the annual production of cork, more than 110,000 metric tons in the mid-1980s, is second only to that of Portugal. The yield of Spain’s forests is insufficient for the country’s wood-pulp and timber needs. The fishing industry is important to the Spanish economy. The annual catch was about 1. 5 million metric tons in 1990 and consisted primarily of tuna, squid, octopus, hake, sardines, anchovies, mackerel, blue whiting, and mussels.
Mining The mineral wealth of Spain is considerable. In 1990 annual production included about 36 million metric tons of coal and lignite, 1. 5 million tons of iron ore, 255,000 tons of zinc concentrates, 58,400 tons of lead, 5 million tons of gypsum, and 795,000 tons of crude petroleum. The principal coal mines are in the northwest, near Oviedo; the chief iron-ore deposits are in the same area, around Santander and Bilbao; large mercury reserves are located in Almadn, in southwestern Spain, and copper and lead are mined in Andalusia.
Other minerals produced are potash, manganese, fluorite, tin, tungsten, wolfram, bismuth, antimony, cobalt, and rock salt. Manufacturing Among the leading goods manufactured in Spain are textiles, iron and steel, motor vehicles, chemicals, clothing, footwear, ships, refined petroleum, and cement. Spain is one of the world’s leading wine producers, and the annual output in the late 1980s was about 2. 3 million metric tons. The iron and steel industry, centered in Bilbao, Santander, Oviedo, and Avils, produced about 13. 8 million metric tons of crude steel and 5. illion tons of pig iron annually in the mid-1980s.
Energy About 48 percent of Spain’s electricity is generated in conventional thermal plants primarily using coal or refined petroleum. Hydroelectric facilities produce 17 percent, and nuclear installations, 35 percent. In 1991 Spain had an installed electricity generating capacity of some 45. 2 million kilowatts, and annual output was about 157 billion kilowatt-hours. “Spain,” Microsoft (R) Encarta. Copyright (c) 1994 Microsoft Corporation. Copyright (c) 1994 Funk & Wagnall’s Corporation. Plants and Animals
Only a small part of Spain is forested, and forests are located mainly on mountain slopes, particularly in the northwest. A common Spanish tree is the evergreen oak. Cork oak, from which the bark may be stripped every ten years, is abundant, growing chiefly as second growth on timbered land. Poplar trees are grown throughout the country and the cultivation of olive trees is a major agricultural activity. Other Spanish trees include the elm, beech, and chestnut. Shrubs and herbs are the common natural vegetation on the central plateau. Grapevines flourish in the arid soil.
Esparto grass, used for making paper and various fiber products, grows abundantly in both the wild and cultivated state. On the Mediterranean coast sugarcane, oranges, lemons, figs, almonds, and chestnuts are grown. The Spanish fauna includes the wolf, lynx, wildcat, fox, wild boar, wild goat, deer, and hare. Among the more famous domesticated animals are the bulls bred near Seville and Salamanca for bullfighting, the Spanish national sport. Birdlife is abundant, with varieties of birds of prey. Insect life abounds. Mountain streams and lakes teem with such fish as barbel, tench, and trout.