10 Amazing Facts About Spain We Bet You Didn't Know

Sponsored by Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M)

With more than 76,000 international students every year, Spain remains one of the most popular study destinations in Europe, according to the Institute of Higher Education. If you’re still trying to figure out where to study, a full degree a master program or a one-year program, you’ll find there’s plenty to do, eat and marvel at in this stunning European country, as any international students at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid would tell you. If you are already studying abroad in Spain at UC3M or elsewhere, how many of these amazing facts about Spain did you already know?

1. Spain boasts 45 UNESCO World Heritage Sites

These include the historic cities of Toledo and Cordoba, works by Antoni Gaudi in and near Barcelona, and Ibiza for its biodiversity and culture.

2. Spanish scientists have created a 3D bioprinter to print human skin

3. Cervantes’s Don Quixote, written in 1605, is considered by many to be the first modern novel

Cervantes was ahead of his time, particularly in his use of experimental literary techniques such as metafiction, intertextuality and the unreliable narrator.

4. Spanish gastronomy is famous throughout the world

Its avant-garde cuisine, including tapas, pinchos, and some of the best wines in the world make the country a food paradise.

Its Mediterranean diet was awarded the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage designation.

5. Spain is the most LGBT-friendly country in the world, according to a 2014 survey

Same-sex marriage has been legal in Spain since 2005, nearly a decade earlier than the UK’s Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013.

6. Spain’s national football team was the best in the world in the FIFA world rankings from 2008 until 2013

7. Despite being one of the warmest places to spend winter in Europe, Spain is also home to excellent ski slopes in the Pyrenees and down south near Granada

8. Flamenco was deemed one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2010

9. Press freedom is highly valued in Spain. Beating Italy, the UK, the US and France, Spain ranks 29th in the 2017 World Press Freedom Index, jumping up five places since 2016

10. Spanish universities rank among the best in the world

Clambering up the QS World University Rankings, 23 entries made it on the ranking this year.

UC3M stands among the best young universities in the world.

Universidad Carlos III de Madrid boasts world class facilities and research, as well as 5,800 agreements with businesses providing many internships and networking opportunities for studies and high employability rates…

Tempted to study abroad in Spain? Apply to Universidad Carlos III de Madrid.