27 fun facts about Spain

Marieke Willems4 years agoleave a comment

Several times a year I go to Spain and I never get enough of it. I really like Spain, because the people are super relaxed, the food is divinely tasty, the beaches are beautiful, the language is beautiful and the weather is always good. That’s all I need to have a good holiday! What are great facts about Spain?

I have collected 27 fun facts about Spain!

Spain

Spain is a large country with an enormous diversity of cities, villages, nature, mountains and beaches. There is so much to see and do that I keep returning to this great country. Spain is the land of sun, sea, sangria and tapas, but there is still so much more fun things to know about Spain.

27 fun facts about Spain

1. Spain is the second largest country in the EU with an area of 505.955 square kilometers.

2. Spain has more than 8,000 km of beaches.

3. Spanish is the second most spoken language in the world after Chinese. In total, more than 406 million people speak Spanish worldwide.

4. Spanish is spoken in 44 countries worldwide.

5. 72% of the Spanish population speaks Spanish. The rest speak Catalan, Galician, Basque and other languages.

facts Spain, 27 fun facts about Spain

6. Spain is registered 44 times on the World Heritage List of UNESCO. Only Italy with 49 sites and China with 45 sites are more on this list.

7. The national anthem of Spain has no words.

8. In the summer, people in Spain hold a siesta in the afternoon. This lasts from 14:00 to 17:00 and many stores are closed.

9. 70% of Spain’s population is Catholic, but only 13% go to church.

10. La Tomatina is a festival held annually in Spain and people throw thousands of tomatoes at each other.

facts Spain, 27 fun facts about Spain — La Tomatina

11. Spain has a low population density of 82 people per square kilometer. For example, the Netherlands has a population density of 495 people.

12. Spaniards are known for their important contribution to art with the famous artists Dali, Picasso, Gaudi and Goya.

13. Spain produces more than half of the world’s olive oil with a total of around 1.5 million tonnes, mainly from the Andalusia region.

14. Spain is the third largest wine producer in the world after France and Italy.

15. Spain is the only country in Europe that produces bananas.

facts Spain, 27 fun facts about Spain

16. The Chupa Chups lollipops are world famous and invented by the Spaniard Enric Bernat in 1958.

17. On the Costa de la Luz you can find the largest natural park in Europe: the Coto Doñana.

18. The bull is the national animal of Spain.

19. Spain has the fourth highest life expectancy in the world with an average of 82.8 years.

20. The oldest restaurant in the world is located in Madrid and this restaurant has been open since 1725.

facts Spain, 27 fun facts about Spain

21. The Sagrada Familia in Barcelona has been under construction for more than 130 years and it is expected that this church will be finished in 2026.

22. The first modern novel ever was written by Spaniard Cervantes, namely “Don Quixote” and this was written in 1605.

23. There are no laws against public nudity in Spain.

24. Spain has more tourists than inhabitants. In 2016, 75 million people visited Spain, while only 46 million people live there.

25. Spain was the first country in the world where wind energy is the largest source of electricity.

facts Spain, 27 fun facts about Spain

26. There is a city in Spain where 700 people have the surname “Japon”. They are descendants of the 17th century Japanese samurais who stayed in the town.

27. The oldest existing lighthouse in the world is in Spain and is the tower of Hercules. It was built in the first century and is still operational.

These are 27 fun facts about Spain. Do you have more facts about Spain?

Citytrip in Spain