Spain has territory in an African archipelago located on the Atlantic Ocean.
The Canary Islands ( [ kəˈnɛəri_ˈaɪləndz ] Islas Canarias [ ˈizlas kaˈnaɾjas ] , [ ˈiʱlːaʰ kaˈnaːɾjaʰ ] ) , also known as the Canaries ( Canarias ) , are an archipelago and autonomous community of Spain located on the Atlantic Ocean , 100 km west of Morocco . Gran Canaria ( [ ɡɾaŋ kaˈna.ɾja ] ; originally meaning `` Great [ Island ] of Dogs '' ) is the second most populous island of the Canary Islands , an African archipelago which is part of Spain , with a population of ( in 2015 ) that constitutes approximately 40 % of the population of the archipelago . Spain ( España [ esˈpaɲa ] ) , officially the Kingdom of Spain ( [ Reino de España , links = no ] ) , is a sovereign state located on the Iberian Peninsula in southwestern Europe , with two large archipelagoes , the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean Sea and the Canary Islands off the North African Atlantic coast , two cities Ceuta and Melilla in the North African mainland and several small islands in the Alboran Sea near the Moroccan coast .