Melilla
Melilla shows enclave economics: 12 km² Spanish city in Africa with multicultural heritage, dependent on duty-free status and EU border position.
Melilla mirrors Ceuta as Spain's other African enclave, similarly positioned on the Mediterranean coast bordering Morocco. The 12 km² territory holds approximately 87,000 residents in an economy structured around commerce, military presence, and border services. Cross-border trade with Morocco provides commercial activity, while duty-free status creates retail opportunities that attract shoppers from surrounding areas.
Like Ceuta, Melilla serves as a pressure point for African migration to Europe. The border fence, security operations, and humanitarian services generate employment while raising political tensions. The Spanish military maintains a significant presence, providing both employment and purpose to this outpost of European sovereignty in Africa.
Melilla's historic fortress and multicultural character—with Christian, Muslim, Jewish, and Hindu communities—attract some tourism, though geography limits visitor numbers. The economy depends on its anomalous status: without Spanish sovereignty, there would be no duty-free commerce, no military payroll, no EU border to patrol. Melilla demonstrates how colonial geography persists into the present, creating enclosed economic systems dependent on political arrangements that date to Spanish expansion centuries ago.