| 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 Ortíz (PP) |
| Ciudad Autónoma de Melilla | |
Melilla, known in Arabic as Melilia is a Spanish autonomous city on the coast of eastern Morocco, in North Africa. 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.
Since the foundation of Morocco in 1640, it has issued claims to the city. The Moroccan government claims Ceuta, Melilla and some small Spanish islands by the African shore (Plazas de Soberanía).
As of 1994 the population was 63,670.
ISO 3166-1 reserves EA for Melilla and Ceuta.
See also: Ceuta, Isla Perejil