EN
The study reported concerns the areas located along the land boundaries of Spain and Portugal, referred to as border areas. The paper is limited to the analysis of changes in population (between the middle of 19th century and 1991) and urbanization (since 1940), with main emphasis being placed upon the border areas along the Spanish-Portuguese boundary. The Spanish-Portuguese boundary belongs to the most stable ones in Europe. Excepting small corrections it has not changed since the middle of 13th century. It is an example of an antecedent boundary, that is - the one which precedes the forms of spatial development. This boundary is ingrown into the cultural landscape of the Iberian Peninsula. The study proved that the border areas on the Iberian Peninsula are characterized by lower population density than in the remaining administrative units of the respective countries, by lower population growth indices, and also by the depopulation processes, especially intensive in the recent decades. It was also concluded that the administrative units (provinces, districts), which belong to the border zone, but are located at the sea coast, are in a more advantageous situation than those located inland, and the negative population processes either have smaller scale there or do not appear at all. In spite of the advancing integration of the European countries, and first of all of the countries of the European Union, a justified doubt can arise as to whether the integration processes concern as well the Spanish-Portuguese border zone. It can be initially stated that this zone does not form any economic region. The period since Spain and Protugal joined the EEC is, of course, too short to draw any far reaching conclusions, but it can be noticed already now that the influence considered is much bigger for both countries on the global scale and for other egions of the Peninsula than for the border areas.