|
Programs Offered:
WISE Abroad offers
internships and Language
Training in Sevilla,
Granada, Barcelona and other cities, and
study
abroad programs in Sevilla
and Granada.
About Spain, Sevilla,
Granada and
Barcelona:
Spain and Portugal together make up the Iberian Peninsula, the
westernmost of the three major peninsulas of southern Europe.
Spain's various regions are all different one to each other,
geographically, climatically and even in personality.
Sevilla and Granada are located in Andalucia, the southern Province of Spain
borderng Portugal, where many of the most influential
civilizations in the world including the Phoenicians, Celts,
Tartessians, Greeks, Romans, and Moors transformed the landscape
and culture of this region.
Andalucia was the launching point for the
discovery of America, and Seville became the main port for the
imports of gold from the New World during the 16th and 17th
centuries.
Widely known for Flamenco
music and dance, superb cuisine, bull-fights, fantastic beaches
and lots of sunshine, Andalucia has much more to offer than
that. It is - and has been for thousands of years - one of the
cultural centers of Europe. It has beautiful cities and towns
such as Huelva, Cadiz, and Cordoba, offering ancient monuments as
well as futuristic architecture. The Costa del Sol beaches are
also a major attraction in the southern coast of Spain. Spain today is the second most
popular destination in the world for study abroad programs.
Barcelona also boasts of ancient historical links
to great civilizations such as the Greeks, Romans and Visigoths.
Barcelona is Spain's premier location for students seeking
internships in the northeast coast in the Province of Catalunya.
It is one of Spain's wealthiest and most modern cities
located near the famous Costa Brava beaches.
 
Location:
Southwestern Europe, bordering the Bay of
Biscay, Mediterranean Sea, North Atlantic Ocean, and Pyrenees
Mountains, southwest of France
Population
40,280,780 (July 2004 est.)
Religion
Roman Catholic 94%, other 6%
Language
Castilian Spanish 74%, Catalan 17%, Galician
7%, Basque 2%
note: Castilian is the official language nationwide; the
other languages are official regionally
Government Type
Parliamentary monarchy Economy
Spain's mixed capitalist economy supports a
GDP that on a per capita basis is 80% that of the four leading
West European economies. The center-right government of former
President AZNAR successfully worked to gain admission to the
first group of countries launching the European single currency
(the euro) on 1 January 1999. The AZNAR administration continued
to advocate liberalization, privatization, and deregulation of
the economy and introduced some tax reforms to that end.
Unemployment fell steadily under the AZNAR administration but
remains high at 11.7%. Growth of 2.4% in 2003 was satisfactory
given the background of a faltering European economy. Incoming
President RODRIGUEZ ZAPATERO, whose party won the election three
days after the Madrid train bombings in March, plans to reduce
government intervention in business, combat tax fraud, and
support innovation, research and development, but also intends
to reintroduce labor market regulations that had been scraped by
the AZNAR government. Adjusting to the monetary and other
economic policies of an integrated Europe - and reducing
unemployment - will pose challenges to Spain over the next few
years.
NOTE: Please visit the CIA World
FactBook for more country facts at:
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html
Source: CIA World Factbook |
|
