The country displays a notable geografical diversity on a relatively small territory, of approximately 32.000 km2, about some 580 km of coastal strip. Nowadays, the population of Catalonia is more than 7 million inhabitants; Barcelona is the capital and one of the big cities of the Mediterranean. Administratively, Catalonia is divided into 4 provinces (Barcelona, Tarragona, Lleida and Girona) overlaps with the division of the Catalan Administration into 41 comarques (regions). Catalonia is bounded on the east by the Mediterranean Sea, on the north by France and Andorra, on the west and south by the autonomous communities of Aragon and Valencia. This strategic location has favored very intense relationships with the rest of Mediterranean countries and with continental Europe. The relevant relief features are the Pyrenees - Pre-Pyrenees, the Central or Ebre Depression and the Catalan Mediterranean system, apart from the coastal plains and the Serralada Transversal mountain range.
         The climate of Catalonia is typically Mediterranean, with many hours of sunshine, mild in winter and hot in summer. The Pyrenees and the neighbouring areas have a high-altitude climate, with minimum temperatures below 0ºC, annual rainfall above 1000 mm and abundant snow during the winter. Along the coast, the climate is mild and temperate with temperatures increasing from north to south, while the rain behaves the opposite way. The hinterland, far from the sea, has a continental Mediterranean climate, with cold winters and very hot summers.