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Spanish territory includes two archipelagos: the Balearic Islands, in the Mediterranean Sea, and the Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean off the African coast. It also includes two major exclaves, Ceuta and Melilla, in continental North Africa; and the islands and peñones (rocks) of Alborán, Alhucemas, Chafarinas and Vélez de la Gomera. With an area of 505,990 km2 (195,360 sq mi), Spain is the second largest country in Western Europe and the European Union, and the fourth largest country in Europe. By population, Spain is the sixth largest in Europe and the fifth in the European Union. Spain, on Europe’s Iberian Peninsula, is really 17 autonomous regions, each with its own geography and culture. The capital, Madrid, is home to the Royal Palace and singular Prado museum, housing works by European masters, and Segovia to the north has a fairy-tale medieval castle and Roman aqueduct. Catalonia’s capital, Barcelona, is defined by Antoni Gaudí’s quirky modernist architecture, including the Sagrada Família basilica. The Spanish Constitution of 1978 is the culmination of the Spanish transition to democracy. The constitutional history of Spain dates back to the constitution of 1812.

The Spanish mainland is bordered to the south and east almost entirely by the Mediterranean Sea (except for a small land boundary with Gibraltar); to the north by France, Andorra, and the Bay of Biscay; and to the west by the Atlantic Ocean and Portugal. With an area of 504,030 km², Spain is the second largest country in Western Europe (behind France) and with an average altitude of 650 m, the third highest country in Europe (behind Switzerland and Austria). Most of Spain's boundaries are water: the Mediterranean Sea on the south to the French border and the Atlantic Ocean on the northwest and southwest (in the south as the Golfo de Cádiz and in the north as the Bay of Biscay). Spain also shares land boundaries with France and Andorra along the Pyrenees in the northeast, with Portugal on the west, and with the small British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar near the southernmost tip. The affiliation of Gibraltar has continued to be a contentious issue between Spain and Britain.

Spain and Portugal have different size but comparable structural problems of science and technology (S&T) to address. Recent R&D policy has been designed to increase the historical low-level of domestic expenditures on R&D (GERD) and business R&D (BERD), aiming to reach the European Union (EU) average R&D spending. Better R&D incentives were offered to attain the ambitious R&D goals set by both countries, which have two of the most generous tax incentive systems to face the growing competition for international R&D investment. Catching-up countries like Spain and Portugal take the EU average as reference to assess their S&T indicators and define R&D goals and policies with this framework in mind. This is tricky since the EU average indicators are moving targets and there is the risk of setting R&D goals not consistent with the country’s R&D potential. On the other hand, the setting of business R&D intensity goals and the globalization of business R&D pose new challenges to public policies, even because Governments do not have a control of important variables like GERD, GDP or the firms’ strategic options.

This report provides an overview of health and medical research in Spain. The report is part of a series of country-specific reports available from RAND Europe's Health Research Observatory. The report describes the structure of Spain's health research system, Surgery journals Spain, the processes and performance of the Spain health research system, and an outlook which considers current and emerging health research issues in Spain . The reports will be of interest to government officials dealing with health and medical research policy, medical research councils, Spain Surgery journals list, health and medical research charities, public and private institutions engaged in Surgery journals, health research, and list of Surgery journals Spain. R&D "is an essential factor in improving competitivity according to . If Spain wants to continue to grow and generate employment we have to be capable of generating our own knowledge," Spanish First Deputy Prime Minister Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega said. Spain’s investment in research and development (R&D) grew faster than the EU average over the period 2000-2008. Total expenditure in R&D reached its peak in 2008.