Spain is located in Western Europe, covering most
of the Iberian Peninsula, and has two archipelagos (the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands) and two
autonomous cities in North Africa - Ceuta and Melilla. Spain is divided into 17 autonomous regions and 2
autonomous cities.
The form of government is a parliamentary monarchy. It is a member
country of the European Union and a non-confessional state, where Catholicism is the main
religion.
Spain is the thirteenth largest economy in the world, fifth largest in the
European Union and second largest investor in Latin America, after the USA. Similarly, Spain ranked as
the world's 10th scientific power in 2013 and main research areas in Spain include health, ICT,
environment, food and agriculture, energy, material sciences, and social sciences.
Spanish
companies are internationally recognized for their leadership in clean technologies, healthcare and
biotechnology, engineering infrastructure, ICT, manufacturing technologies, financial services, tourism,
and more.