Valencia Land

The Valencian Community, or the Valencian Country, is an autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous autonomous community after Andalusia, Catalonia and Madrid with more than 5 million inhabitants. Its homonymous capital Valencia is the third largest city and metropolitan area in Spain. It is located along the Mediterranean coast on the east side of the Iberian peninsula. It borders with Catalonia to the north, Aragon and Castilla–La Mancha to the west, and Murcia to the south. The Valencian Community consists of three provinces which are Castelló, València and Alacant.

Map of the Kingdom of Valencia

According to its Statute of Autonomy, the Valencian people are a nationality. Their origins date back to the Aragonese-Catalan colonization of the Moorish Taifa of Valencia, which was taken by James I of Aragon in 1238 during the Reconquesta. The newly founded Kingdom of Valencia was granted wide self-government under the Crown of Aragon. Valencia experienced its golden age in the 15th century, as it became the Crown's economic capital and contributed with the most important works of catalan/valencian medieval literature. Self-government continued after the unification of the Spanish Kingdom, but was eventually suspended in 1707 by Phillip V of Spain as a result of the Spanish War of Succession. Valencian nationalism resurged towards the end of the 19th century, which led to the modern conception of the Valencian Country. Self-government under the Generalitat Valenciana was finally reestablished in 1982 after Spanish transition to democracy.

Valencian coat of arms

Many Valencian people speak Valencian, a variety of the western catalan group, standardised by the Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua. Valencian is a diglossic language that was repressed during Franco's dicatorship in favour of spanish. Since it regained official status in 1982, Valencian has been implemented in public administration and the education system, apparently leading to an exponential increase in knowledge of its formal standard. However, its social use continues to decrease in favour of Spanish due to migration from other parts of Spain, Latin-America and Europe.

Density of population

Valencia Land is long and narrow, running mainly north-south; historically, its rather steep and irregular terrain has made communications and the exploitation of the soil difficult, although the soil of the coastal plain is particularly fertile. This coastal axis has facilitated connections with Europe, either by sea through the Mediterranean, or by land through Catalonia.

The Valencian territory has few natural resources; the only important mineral deposit is the marble quarried in Alacant province.

 Phisical map

Hydrological resources are also lacking: the demand for water exceeds the supply, with this imbalance especially serious in Alacant province. In particularly severe drought years, the problem is managed through occasional nocturnal restrictions during summer and exploitation of aquifers. Agriculture—more specifically, citrus cultivation for the export market—was responsible for Valencia Land's first economic boom in the late 19th century, after centuries of slow development and even decay. Although in absolute terms the agricultural sector has continued to grow, the boom in the secondary and tertiary sectors during the Spanish miracle of the 1960s, has meant that its relative importance has decreased over time. The provinces of Castelló and València still have thousands of hectares of citrus-producing groves and citrus continues to be a major source of income on the countryside. Province of Alacant also grows citrus, but its agriculture is more diversified with a higher presence of vegetables, especially in the Baix Segura area.

Valencian Paella

Though the low insulation rate and overall stable weather during the summer may pose a threat to water supplies for agriculture and human consumption, conversely this climate allows tourism to be the province's main industry. Very dense residential housing along the coast, occupied by locals, people from inland Spain and from other EU countries (mostly from the British Isles, Benelux, Germany and Scandinavia), boosts the summertime population (and hydrological demands).

In 2004, Valencia Land's GDP was 93.9% of the European Union average, although this figure may be too low because of the important presence of foreign residents either from other regions of Europe or as economic immigrants, who are not properly represented in the official statistics. As in all of Spain, there was significant growth in the years immediately following 2004, at least until the 2008–13 financial crisis.

Valencia Land in the European Union

In 2008, the Valencia Country generated 9.7% of the Spanish GDP. The unemployment rate was over 21% in 2009, and even greater among women, and the rate of activity reached 56.8% in 2002. The typical Valencian business is a small-to-medium-sized company, mainly family-owned and operated, although there are some multinationals.

In addition to tourism, the Valencian Country has significant exports, and it ranks second in this respect among the Spanish autonomous communities, constituting 12% of the total. Major exports include agricultural products, ceramic tiles, marble products and cars (Ford has an assembly line in Almussafes), which make the port of València one the busiest in Europe.