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Inhabitants and state |
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 Spain is a parliament monarchy under king Juan Carlos I, with a constitution from 1978. Spain was a member of NATO since 1981 and joined the European union in 1986. In 1999 the peseta was replaced by the Euro. Spain is a social and democratic state. The capital is Madrid where the king and the parliament are based. You also find the first and second chamber here in this city of 3-million inhabitants.
Spain has about 43 million inhabitants and 80 inhabitants per km2. The main groups are: Castilians (72,3%), Catalans (18%), Galicians (6%), Basks (1,5%), gypsies (gitanos) (1,3%).
 Officially 80% of the inhabitants are catholic, but with a lot of people this is more a matter of culture than religion. A good example of this is that 70% of the Spanish approve the gay-marriage, although the church is strongly against this. Since 2005 the gay-marriage is legal in Spain, which makes this country third in legalisation.
Because of the people moving to the city, 77% now live in the cities. Also the coast area gets more crowded. A lot of senior people from Northern Europe (baby-boomers) become (semi) resident on the Spanish coasts.
 The Spanish have a reputation of being friendly people who like their celebrations and festivals (especially in Andalusia) and are much into the family life. A large variety in life style developed between city people and people who live in the country because of the economic prosperity after the Franco regime. The senior population is rather conservative and religious. The young people are progressive when it comes to social discussions and enjoy the economical increase. They seek connection to the rest of the world through internet and travelling.
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