On
the east it is bounded by the Mediterranean
sea, on the north by France and
Andorra, and on the west and the
south by the Spanish Autonomous
Communities of Aragon and Valencia.
This strategic position has led
to the forging of very close links
with the rest of the Mediterranean
countries and with continental
Europe.
Its relief is very varied, with
plains alternating with mountain
ranges, and hence possesses a great
diversity of habitats and considerable
climatic variations.
Its history and language and its
specific cultural, political and
legal tradition have shaped the
personality of the country and
its people. At the present day,
it forms an Autonomous Community
within Spain, and has its own governing
body, the Generalitat.
Barcelona is the capital of Catalonia
and one of the great Mediterranean
cities. With its surrounding metropolitan
area, it accounts for almost half
the population.
Superimposed on it is the state-level
administrative division into provinces
(Barcelona, Tarragona, Lleida and
Girona) and the Catalan administrative
division into 41 comarques , or
districts. The Catalan districts,
which vary immensely in character
and population density, and whose
boundaries are set by geographical
and historical criteria, are generally
centred on a town that acts as
the service centre, and each has
its district council.
Catalonia is a country with limited
natural resources which owes its
prosperity to its strategic position.
The primary sector is now almost
anecdotal - it accounts for barely
3% of the work-force - while the
strong points of the secondary
sector are automobile manufacture
and accessories and chemicals,
although the long tradition in
textiles is still maintained and
there is ever-greater investment
in electrical goods and computer-related
equipment. The graphics and publishing
industry plays a vital role in
the Catalan economy, as does construction,
the growth of which is directly
related to tourist development.
It is the tertiary sector, however,
that generates the greater part
of the GDP employment, notably
tourism and related services, as
well as a large number of companies
related with publicity, the exploitation
of the new technologies and the
creation of Internet content. |