Located at the crossroads of the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, Europe and Africa, Spain's history and culture are made up of a rich mix of diverse elements. Through exploration and conquest, Spain became a world power in the 16th century, and it maintained a vast overseas empire until the early 19th century. Spain has had peaceful transition to democracy following the death of Dictator Francisco FRANCO in 1975, and rapid economic modernization in 1986, which gave Spain a dynamic and rapidly growing economy and made it a global champion of freedom and human rights. More recently the government has had to focus on measures to reverse a severe economic recession that began in mid-2008. In this report I will discuss the history, demographics, major products Spain benefits from, attitudes, beliefs and religions practiced in the country, their main language societal organization and economic development of the country. At the conclusion of this report, it will be known that Spain is a country that the U.S. and other countries will continue to do business with. Spain has a long rich history with earliest signs of inhabitants going back to 800,000 BC. By 1200 BC North African and Celtic tribes settled on the peninsula creating a Celt-Iberian race. In turn, areas of Spain were colonized and fought over by the Phoenicians, Greeks, Carthaginians, Romans and the Goths. Moorish armies from North Africa invaded the peninsula in the 8th century AD and defeated the last Visigoth King and created Europe's only Muslim territory. They conquered large parts of the country finding strong resistance only in small Christian kingdoms in the north. In 1469 Isabella of Castalia and Ferdinand of Aragon married. With that, they united two Christian kingdoms. The Spanish inquisition was born of the desire to "re-Christianize" the newly unified Spain, where thousands of Jews and Moors were killed or expelled for refusing to convert to Christianity. Following the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus, Spain became a leading world power. It was a leader in the age of discovery and its imperial empire spread across the globe. By the 17th Century the Spanish empire included most of South America, parts of Northern Europe, islands in the Pacific and parts of Northern Africa. Following the French Revolution, Spain unsuccessfully fought against the French Republic in 1793 and ultimately became a French client state, until Napoleon's defeat to Wellington in the Peninsula War. In the 1930s the Nationalist forces of General Francisco Franco, backed by the Fascist regimes in Germany and Italy, emerged victorious against the Popular Front government forces, which included many overseas soldiers. Over 500,000 people lost their lives in the conflict and many fled to South America for refuge. In 1937 the only legal political party under Franco's reign was formed. The” Falange Espanola Tradicionalista” emphasized nationalism, Catholicism and anti-communism until the leader's death.
Spain is very diverse, mostly Mediterranean and Nordic types. Population is over 47 million, Roman Catholic is the most dominant religion with over 94% and 6% of other religions. The main language is Spanish. Castilian Spanish is the official Spanish language used and there are several other regional languages used within the country, such as Catalan, Galician, and Basque. Median age is 41, over 23 million people in the labor force. Quality of life is good, Spain is very focused on work and family time. Spain is a family oriented country, just like all countries in the Mediterranean. Crime is fairly low compared to the United States and other countries. Education is a primary focus in the country. 54% of the population go on to further their education and spent an average of 17.6 years pursuing their education. With the quality of life being so well, the life expectancy of Spain’s citizens is over 81 years old. Spain is ranked 27 within the Economic Complexity Index (ECI). Spain exports primarily manufactured products. The export of semi-finished goods, ships, cars, pharmaceuticals and electronic devices account for over 50 percent of Spain total exports. Spain is also the world’s third largest exporter of wine and fruits and vegetables. The European Union accounts for 70 percent of Spain's exports. Main export partners are: France, Germany, China, Italy, Netherlands, United Kingdom, Portugal and United States. Spain is the top exporter of iron blocks, citrus, pure olive oil, pitted fruits, and other fruits and vegetables.

Each society or culture is distinct from all others because of its own values and beliefs. In the case of Spain, values and beliefs have been conserved, as we see in cities such as Avila, Valencia, Barcelona and Madrid. In these cities you see the typical Spain of the previous decade while maintaining their beliefs and their values. Spain is a very family oriented society. The family is the basis of the social structure and includes both the nuclear and the extended family, which sometimes provides both a social and a financial support network. The older male generation, who had a “machismo” mentality or attitude toward their female counterparts has changed positively, and Spain has become an equalitarian society, where women are present at universities and work. Spain also has many beliefs or superstitions which have been passed on for decades. Spanish people believe that Tuesday the 13th is unlucky vice Friday the 13th, they believe you must cap all chimneys to avoid witches from coming into your home and not putting your hand bags on the floor for the sake of your money running away. Quite funny, but all these superstitions and beliefs are the same, in which of being Puerto Rican decent has continued in my family. Spain is a Christian country where some 77 per cent of the population claims to belong to the Catholic Church and less than 1 per cent Protestant. Freedom of religion is guaranteed under the Spanish constitution, but since the separation of church and state after the Franco government, Catholicism has lost its flare among the Spanish people. In fact, Spain is fast turning its back on its Catholic past and increasingly passing laws contrary to the church’s teaching (such as homosexual marriages and divorce). Spain is having a difficulty attracting new recruits to its priesthood and are now having to look at importing priest from other Latin American countries. Although this problem exists, around 20% of the population continues to attend mass on a regular basis.
When we look at the material culture in Spain’s culture is very diverse. Its culture derived from ancient Rome, the Phoenicians, Greek and African descents. Spain has given the world literature, architecture and many notable figures from past to present. One of the reasons that Spain is so well known is because of the Spanish language that is spoken in Spain. Spanish, or Castilian, is one of the languages with the largest number of speakers in the world, 99% of Spaniards practice Spanish or Castilian. The Spanish language from Spain has a rich heritage and a long history of evolution that over centuries has developed into the many variations of Spanish that exist today throughout the world.
Spain itself is divided into 17 regions, each of which elect leaders in direct elections allowing for every region to have a level of autonomy. Within the 17 regions, there are governors who run that region called an alcaide or mayor. There are three political parties, the Popular Party, the Socialist workers Party and the United Left party which is communist. Overall the country of Spain is led by King Juan Carlos de Borbon y Borbon. Though many Spaniards share ideals and beliefs from belonging to a certain group or social identity, many others within the regions differ from those in the majority and pride themselves in their own sense of self.
Spain has been progressing economically since the end of the Spanish Civil War in 1939 when its economy was devastated. Spain’s rapid economic development came to be known as the "Spanish Miracle“. Today, tourism, industry and agriculture play a major role in the country’s economy. Spain is the fourth largest economy in the Euro Zone. The country has a strong and diverse manufacturing industry and is one of the biggest tourist destinations in the world. Spain has been a part of the European Union since 1986 and the Euro Area since 1999.

Although Spain was traditionally one of the poorest countries in Western Europe, conditions improved substantially after it joined the European Union in 1986. Spain's Human Development Index (0.888) ranks it 23rd out of 173 nations. Real gross national product per capita is $12,670, which has more than doubled in the last generation. These figures indicate that economic opportunities are now available to the bulk of the population. Most people earn a decent income. Unemployment (about 20 percent), however, represents a major problem for the economy. Still, inflation is low and growth is stable. Spain's modern economic institutions are well suited to European integration. Agricultural products include grains, citrus and other fruits, vegetables, and wine grapes. The country exports some food as well as live animals. Spain is a world leader in the production of wine. Tourism is increasingly important to economic development, especially in the coastal regions. Tourists enjoy visiting Spain for its climate, and it is a popular destination for many other Europeans. For the most part Spain continues to progress in certain areas which contribute the economy as a whole. In most years Spain has an unfavorable balance of trade, with earnings from tourism and remittances from overseas workers significantly reducing the deficit. The main exports are iron and steel products, motor vehicles, machinery, appliances, shoes and leather items, electrical goods, and refined-petroleum products. Agricultural products now constitute less than a third of all exports, with citrus fruit, canned fish and vegetables, wines, olive oil, and fresh vegetables the most important. The principal imports are petroleum, basic chemicals, machinery and equipment, and food products (mainly coffee and tea). More than 50 percent of all exports go to member countries of the European Community. Most imports are derived from these same areas and most petroleum from Saudi Arabia.
The only way that Spain can overcome its social, and economic burden of chronic unemployment is by sustaining growth. Tourism and tradable goods are two of the most fundamentals sectors that need to be the driving force. Just alone in these two sectors, Spain could create over 100,000 jobs to satisfy demand increase by foreign tourists, using the huge potential of market growth and maintaining its position as a global leader.

After the Spanish economic miracle ended with the burst of the housing bubble in 2007/2008, Spain’s economy now faces severe challenges. Spain has been progressing economically since the end of the Spanish Civil War in 1939 when its economy was devastated. Today, tourism, industry and agriculture play a major role in the country’s economy. Spain joined the European Union in 1986. Spain was among the first 11 countries to adopt the Euro in 1999, and introduced Euro notes and coins in 2002. Although Spain was often described as a European success story, the success proved to be unstable as much of its growth was driven by a housing bubble. The real estate bubble was caused by a combination of low interest rates, financial deregulation, rising domestic incomes as well as strong demand from foreign investors, and overshadowed Spain's falling competitiveness. Many of the new jobs created were restricted to low wage, low-productivity parts of the economy, such as construction and domestic services, while other more lucrative economic sectors remained sluggish. Eventually, the burst of the housing bubble and the global financial crisis brought the Spanish economy into a severe downturn. Spain’s banking sector became destabilized as a result of massive investments in the real estate market. Euro area governments agreed in June 2012 to provide funds to the Spanish government to recapitalize Spanish banks. The ECB has also pledged to buy Spanish government bonds, under certain conditions, to keep interest rates on government bonds from becoming unbearably high. Spain’s regions are also in financial difficulty. In 2012, the regions of Valencia, Murcia and Catalonia, the economic backbone of the Spanish economy, applied for rescue funds from the central government. In 2012, Spain launched The National Programme of Reforms for Spain 2012, this included the following objectives; fiscal consolidation, driving growth and competitiveness, the fight against unemployment, reactivating credit, the improvement and efficiency in the provision of essential public services, and the modernization and streamlining of public authorities to avoid duplication. The Vice-President of the Government, Soraya Sáenz de Santamaria, made it clear that the Government is also planning to deregulate certain services in order to allow the entry of private capital, as well as to reform the real estate sector and the rental market. He also announced that the government will present a privatization plan that aims to streamline and simplify the various administrative bodies. He underlined that the raft of measures agreed for the years 2012-2020 will result in an 8.6 point increase in the Spanish economy, or close to 100 billion euros of national revenue, which represents potential growth of one point per year. It may also lead to the creation of two million jobs in the eight years.
With all the information discussed, it is clear to see that Spain is a country that has influenced the world. From the very beginning Spain has been a major contributor to the world when it comes to their rich history and culture. Today, Spain is every new entrepreneurs dream. They are welcoming new business from overseas, and I think this will be the idea needed to help recover, sustain and propel the economy in the future.

References
A Growth Potential for Spain, By McKinsey and Co. https://www.mckinsey.com/ http://www.euro-challenge.org/doc/Spain.pdf
http://www.donquijote.org/culture/spain/society/customs/facts-about-spain