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Barcelona
Spain lies at the western most point in Europe and is bordered by Portugal, France, Andorra and the Mediterranean Sea. The country is the second largest in Europe and the EU behind France and has a population of over 46 million people, making it the 27th most populous country in the world.
Over the past four decades the Spanish tourism industry has grown to become the second biggest in the world with 59.2 million visitors coming from all over the world in 2008, this places it behind France in the official World Tourism Rankings. Popular beaches in the Costas, the Canary Islands and the Balearics have made Spain the second biggest spender on maintaining tourism behind the USA.
Every year Spain attracts global visitors, with 13 Spainish cities being named world heritage cities by UNESCO, and also sharing the title of the country with the most world heritage sites with Italy at 42. Spain is also popular with expats with 21% of the population expatriated British, German and French citizens.
Spain's economy is the ninth largest worldwide and the fifth largest in Europe. During the recent global downturn the country has experienced problems with a severe property downturn, but has avoided severe financial problems with its banks as seen in countries such as the UK and US.* This is due to the stringent conservative financial regulatory regime put in place to protect the banks should a global downturn manifest itself. As a result Spain's biggest bank, Santander, has taken over British banks who have found themselves in trouble.
Madrid is the capital and largest city in Spain. It is the third most populous city by urban area in the EU after Paris and London. It is the biggest business and commerce centre in Spain and also one of the largest in Europe. In terms of absolute GDP Madrid has become the 23rd richest city in the world. The services and construction sectors are traditionally the most important sectors in Madrid, along with the public sector.
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain and has a population of 1.6 million. The city is an important centre for finance, commerce media and entertainment not only in Spain, but also Europe. The city has a rich design history and as such some of the world's most famous museums and galleries can be found in the city.
We have exclusive strategic partnership with expert expat financial services companies who are able to help you out with your finances when you move abroad. To find out more or to ask any questions, please contact us.
*As of March 2010 when written
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