While I was in Newcastle I did some blog cooking, but never followed it up with a post. I was cooking the food of Spain, but I got thrown out of kilter by illness and various family dietary requirements which made rich, spicy, tomatoey, Spanish food kind of tricky.
But now I’m back, so its time to finished what I started.
Let’s learn about Spain!
About Spain – where is it?
Spain is in Europe, between the Mediterranean Sea, North Atlantic Ocean and Bay of Biscay. It has land borders with France, Andorra, Gibraltar and Portugal, and is separated from Morocco by the Gibraltar Strait. It’s the 52nd largest country in the world by land mass – slightly smaller than Thailand, but bigger than Sweden.
About Spain – people and economy
- Population: 47,042,984
- Median age: 40.5
- Life expectancy at birth: 81.25 years (15th longest in the world)
- Birth rate: 1.48 children born per woman
- Religions: Roman Catholic 94%, other 6%
- Languages: Castilian Spanish (official) 74%, Catalan 17%, Galician 7%, and Basque 2%. There are also populations that speak Aranese, Asturian, Aragonese, Leonese and others, but I couldn’t find numbers.
- Literacy: 97.9% with little difference between genders.
- GDP per capita: $30 600
- Unemployment rate: 20.8% total, but 39% for people aged 15-25
- Percentage population below poverty line: 19.8%
Did you know…?
- Spain has the 13th largest economy in the world.
- Spain includes several autonomous cities and communities.
- Spain has entered the Eurovision song contest 51 times, but hasn’t one since 1969.
The Menu
Ok, I’ve already made most of this, but look forward to posts on:
- Rabbit-food stew
- Paella
- Mashed potato
- Stuffed eggplants
- Polenta
and lots of Tapas, including
- Cold white soup
- Gazpacho
- Patatas Bravas
- Tortilla
- Croquettes
- Olives
- Stuffed mushrooms
- Veggies
- Tomatoes and sausages
