Melilla
 | |
| Area
- total |
20 km² |
| Population
- Total (2003) - Density |
69 184 3459.2/km² |
| Demonym
- English - Spanish |
--- melillense |
| Statute of Autonomy | March 14, 1995 |
| ISO 3166-2 | ES-ML |
|
Parliamentary representation Congress seats Senate seats |
1 2 |
| President | Juan José Imbroda OrtÃÂz (PP) |
| Ciudad Autónoma de Melilla | |
Melilla, known in Arabic as Melilia,and in Tamazight as Mrič is a Spanish autonomous city on the coast of eastern Morocco, in North Africa. Formerly administered as a part of Málaga province prior to the March 14, 1995 Statute of Autonomy, it is a free port; and the principal industry is fishing. Cross-border commerce (legal or smuggled) and Spanish and European grants and wages are the other income sources.
Melilla was the frontier of the kingdom of Tremecén and the Kingdom of Fez, when Spain conquered the city in 1497.
Morocco has always tried to reconquer, or claimed Melilla, along with Ceuta, and some small Spanish islands by the African shore (Plazas de Soberanía) , drawing comparisons with Spain's territorial claim to Gibraltar. The Spanish government rejects these comparisons, on the grounds that both Ceuta and Melilla are integral parts of the Spanish state, whereas Gibraltar, a British overseas territory, is not and never has been part of the United Kingdom.
As of 1994 the population was 63,670.
ISO 3166-1 reserves EA for Melilla and Ceuta.
See also: Ceuta, Isla Perejil
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| Andalusia | Aragon | Asturias | Balearic Islands | Basque Country | Canary Islands | Cantabria | Castile-La Mancha | Castile-Leon | Catalonia | Extremadura | Galicia | La Rioja | Madrid | Murcia | Navarre | Valencia | Ceuta | Melilla | Plaza de soberanÃÂa | |