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Background:
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 Spain's
powerful world empire of the 16th and 17th centuries
ultimately yielded command of the seas to England. Subsequent
failure to embrace the mercantile and industrial revolutions
caused the country to fall behind Britain, France, and Germany
in economic and political power. Spain remained neutral in
World Wars I and II, but suffered through a devastating civil
war (1936-39). In the second half of the 20th century, Spain
has played a catch-up role in the western international
community; it joined the EU in 1986. Continuing challenges
include are Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA) terrorism and
further reductions in unemployment. |
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Location:
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Southwestern
Europe, bordering the Bay of Biscay, Mediterranean Sea, North
Atlantic Ocean, and Pyrenees Mountains, southwest of France |
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Map references:
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Europe |
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Area:
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total:
504,782 sq km
water: 5,240 sq km
note: there are 19 autonomous communities including
Balearic Islands and Canary Islands, and three small Spanish
possessions off the coast of Morocco - Islas Chafarinas, Penon
de Alhucemas, and Penon de Velez de la Gomera
land: 499,542 sq km |
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Area - comparative:
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slightly more
than twice the size of Oregon |
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Land boundaries:
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total:
1,917.8 km
border countries: Andorra 63.7 km, France 623 km,
Gibraltar 1.2 km, Portugal 1,214 km, Morocco (Ceuta) 6.3 km,
Morocco (Melilla) 9.6 km |
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Coastline:
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4,964 km |
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Climate:
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temperate; clear,
hot summers in interior, more moderate and cloudy along coast;
cloudy, cold winters in interior, partly cloudy and cool along
coast |
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Terrain:
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large, flat to
dissected plateau surrounded by rugged hills; Pyrenees in
north |
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pico de Teide (Tenerife) on Canary
Islands 3,718 m |
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Natural resources:
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coal, lignite,
iron ore, copper, lead, zinc, uranium, tungsten, mercury,
pyrites, magnesite, fluorspar, gypsum, sepiolite, kaolin,
potash, hydropower, arable land |
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Land use:
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arable land:
28.6%
permanent crops: 9.56%
other: 61.84% (1998 est.) |
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Irrigated land:
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36,400 sq km
(1998 est.) |
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Natural hazards:
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periodic droughts |
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Environment - current issues:
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pollution of the
Mediterranean Sea from raw sewage and effluents from the
offshore production of oil and gas; water quality and quantity
nationwide; air pollution; deforestation; desertification |
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Environment - international agreements:
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party to:
Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air
Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds,
Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living
Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change,
Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of
the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer
Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical
Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent
Organic Pollutants |
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Geography - note:
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strategic
location along approaches to Strait of Gibraltar |
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Population:
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40,280,780 (July
2004 est.) |
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Age structure:
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0-14 years:
14.4% (male 2,989,053; female 2,811,350)
15-64 years: 68% (male 13,748,998; female 13,652,852)
65 years and over: 17.6% (male 2,958,387; female
4,120,140) (2004 est.) |
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Median age:
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total:
39.1 years
male: 37.8 years
female: 40.5 years (2004 est.) |
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Population growth rate:
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0.16% (2004 est.) |
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Birth rate:
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10.11
births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
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Death rate:
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9.55 deaths/1,000
population (2004 est.) |
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Net migration rate:
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0.99 migrant(s)/1,000
population (2004 est.) |
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Sex ratio:
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at birth:
1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female
total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
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Infant mortality rate:
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total:
4.48 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 4.06 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 4.88 deaths/1,000 live births |
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Life expectancy at birth:
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total
population: 79.37 years
male: 76.03 years
female: 82.94 years (2004 est.) |
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Total fertility rate:
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1.27 children
born/woman (2004 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
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0.5% (2001 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
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130,000 (2001
est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - deaths:
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2,300 (2001 est.) |
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Nationality:
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noun:
Spaniard(s)
adjective: Spanish |
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Ethnic groups:
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composite of
Mediterranean and Nordic types |
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Religions:
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Roman Catholic
94%, other 6% |
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Languages:
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Castilian Spanish
74%, Catalan 17%, Galician 7%, Basque 2%
note: Castilian is the official language nationwide;
the other languages are official regionally |
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Literacy:
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definition:
age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97.9%
male: 98.7%
female: 97.2% (2003 est.) |
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Country name:
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conventional
long form: Kingdom of Spain
conventional short form: Spain
local short form: Espana |
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Government type:
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parliamentary
monarchy |
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Capital:
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Madrid |
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Administrative divisions:
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19 autonomous
communities (comunidades autonomas, singular - comunidad
autonoma); Andalucia, Aragon, Asturias, Baleares (Balearic
Islands), Ceuta, Canarias (Canary Islands), Cantabria,
Castilla-La Mancha, Castilla y Leon, Cataluna, Communidad
Valenciana, Extremadura, Galicia, La Rioja, Madrid, Melilla,
Murcia, Navarra, Pais Vasco (Basque Country)
note: three small Spanish possessions are located off
the coast of Morocco: Islas Chafarinas, Penon de Alhucemas,
and Penon de Velez de la Gomera; Ceuta and Melilla on the
coast of North Africa gained limited autonomous status in 1994 |
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Independence:
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the Iberian
peninsula was characterized by a variety of independent
kingdoms prior to the Moslem occupation that began in the
early 8th Century A. D. and lasted nearly seven centuries; the
small Christian redoubts of the north began the reconquest
almost immediately, culminating in the seizure of Granada in
1492; this event completed the unification of several kingdoms
and is traditionally considered the forging of present-day
Spain |
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National holiday:
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National Day, 12
October |
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Constitution:
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6 December 1978,
effective 29 December 1978 |
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Legal system:
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civil law system,
with regional applications; has not accepted compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction |
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Executive branch:
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chief of
state: King JUAN CARLOS I (since 22 November 1975); Heir
Apparent Prince FELIPE, son of the monarch, born 30 January
1968
head of government: President of the Government Jose
Luis RODRIGUEZ ZAPATERO (since 17 April 2004); First Vice
President (and Minister of the Presidency) Maria Teresa
FERNANDEZ DE LA VEGA(since 18 April 2004) and Second Vice
President (and Minister of Economy and Finance) Pedro SOLBES
(since 18 April 2004)
cabinet: Council of Ministers designated by the
president
note: there is also a Council of State that is the
supreme consultative organ of the government
election results: Jose Luis RODRIGUEZ ZAPATERO (PSOE)
elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - 52.29%
elections: the monarch is hereditary; following
legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the
leader of the majority coalition is usually proposed president
by the monarch and elected by the National Assembly; election
last held 14 March 2004 (next to be held NA March 2008); vice
presidents appointed by the monarch on the proposal of the
president |
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Legislative branch:
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bicameral;
General Courts or National Assembly or Las Cortes Generales
consists of the Senate or Senado (259 seats - 208 members
directly elected by popular vote and the other 51 appointed by
the regional legislatures to serve four-year terms) and the
Congress of Deputies or Congreso de los Diputados (350 seats;
members are elected by popular vote on block lists by
proportional representation to serve four-year terms)
election results: Senate - percent of vote by party -
NA%; seats by party - PP 102, PSOE 81, Entesa Catalona de
Progress 12, CiU 4, PNV 4, CC 3, other 2; Congress of Deputies
- percent of vote by party - PSOE 42.6%, PP 37.6%, CiU 3.2%,
ERC 2.5%, PNV 1.6%, IU 5.0%, CC 0.9%; seats by party - PSOE
164, PP 148, CiU 10, ERC 8 PNV 7, IU 5, CC 3, other 5
elections: Senate - last held 14 March 2004 (next to be
held NA March 2008); Congress of Deputies - last held 14 March
2004 (next to be held NA March 2008) |
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Judicial branch:
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Supreme Court or
Tribunal Supremo |
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Political parties and leaders:
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Basque
Nationalist Party or PNV [Josu Jon IMAZ]; Canarian Coalition
or CC (a coalition of five parties) [Paulino RIVERO Baute];
Convergence and Union or CiU [Artur MAS i Gavarro] (a
coalition of the Democratic Convergence of Catalonia or CDC [Artur
MAS i Gavarro] and the Democratic Union of Catalonia or UDC [Josep
Antoni DURAN y LLEIDA]); Entesa Catalonia de Progress [leader
NA]; Galician Nationalist Bloc or BNG [Xose Manuel BEIRAS];
Party of Independents from Lanzarote or PIL [Dimas MARTIN
Martin]; Popular Party or PP [Mariano RAJOY]; Republican Left
of Catalonia [leader NA]; Spanish Socialist Workers Party or
PSOE [Jose Luis RODRIGUEZ ZAPATERO]; United Left or IU (a
coalition of parties including the PCE and other small
parties) [Gaspar LLAMAZARES] |
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Political pressure groups and leaders:
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business and
landowning interests; Catholic Church; free labor unions
(authorized in April 1977); Socialist General Union of Workers
or UGT and the smaller independent Workers Syndical Union or
USO; university students; Workers Confederation or CC.OO;
Nunca Mais (Galician for "Never Again"; formed in
response to the oil tanker Prestige oil spill) |
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Diplomatic representation in the US:
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chief of
mission: Ambassador Francisco Javier RUPEREZ Rubio
chancery: 2375 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC
20037
consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los
Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, and San
Juan (Puerto Rico)
FAX: [1] (202) 833-5670
telephone: [1] (202) 452-0100, 728-2340 |
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Diplomatic representation from the US:
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chief of
mission: Ambassador George L. ARGYROS
embassy: Serrano 75, 28006 Madrid
mailing address: PSC 61, APO AE 09642
telephone: [34] (91) 587-2200
FAX: [34] (91) 587-2303
consulate(s) general: Barcelona |
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Economy - overview:
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Spain's mixed
capitalist economy supports a GDP that on a per capita basis
is 80% that of the four leading West European economies. The
center-right government of former President AZNAR successfully
worked to gain admission to the first group of countries
launching the European single currency (the euro) on 1 January
1999. The AZNAR administration continued to advocate
liberalization, privatization, and deregulation of the economy
and introduced some tax reforms to that end. Unemployment fell
steadily under the AZNAR administration but remains high at
11.7%. Growth of 2.4% in 2003 was satisfactory given the
background of a faltering European economy. Incoming President
RODRIGUEZ ZAPATERO, whose party won the election three days
after the Madrid train bombings in March, plans to reduce
government intervention in business, combat tax fraud, and
support innovation, research and development, but also intends
to reintroduce labor market regulations that had been scraped
by the AZNAR government. Adjusting to the monetary and other
economic policies of an integrated Europe - and reducing
unemployment - will pose challenges to Spain over the next few
years. |
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GDP:
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purchasing power
parity - $885.5 billion (2003 est.) |
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GDP - real growth rate:
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2.4% (2003 est.) |
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GDP - per capita:
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purchasing power
parity - $22,000 (2003 est.) |
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GDP - composition by sector:
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agriculture:
3.4%
industry: 30.1%
services: 66.5% (2002 est.) |
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Population below poverty line:
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NA% (2000) |
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Inflation rate (consumer prices):
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2.6% (2003 est.) |
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Labor force:
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17.1 million
(2001) |
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Labor force - by occupation:
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services 64%,
manufacturing, mining, and construction 29%, agriculture 7%
(2001 est.) |
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Unemployment rate:
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11.7% (2003 est.) |
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Budget:
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revenues:
$105 billion
expenditures: $109 billion, including capital
expenditures of $12.8 billion (2000 est.) |
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Industries:
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textiles and
apparel (including footwear), food and beverages, metals and
metal manufactures, chemicals, shipbuilding, automobiles,
machine tools, tourism |
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Industrial production growth rate:
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0.6% (2003 est.) |
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Electricity - production:
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222.5 billion kWh
(2001) |
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Electricity - production by source:
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fossil fuel:
50.4%
hydro: 18.2%
other: 4.1% (2001)
nuclear: 27.2% |
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Electricity - consumption:
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210.4 billion kWh
(2001) |
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Oil - production:
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7,099 bbl/day
(2001 est.) |
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Oil - consumption:
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1.497 million
bbl/day (2001 est.) |
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Natural gas - production:
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516 million cu m
(2001 est.) |
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Natural gas - consumption:
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17.96 billion cu
m (2001 est.) |
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Agriculture - products:
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grain,
vegetables, olives, wine grapes, sugar beets, citrus; beef,
pork, poultry, dairy products; fish |
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Exports:
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$159.4 billion
f.o.b. (2003 est.) |
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Exports - commodities:
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machinery, motor
vehicles; foodstuffs, other consumer goods |
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Exports - partners:
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France 19%,
Germany 11.4%, UK 9.6%, Portugal 9.5%, Italy 9.3%, US 4.6%
(2002) |
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Imports:
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$197.1 billion
f.o.b. (2003 est.) |
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Imports - commodities:
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machinery and
equipment, fuels, chemicals, semifinished goods; foodstuffs,
consumer goods |
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Imports - partners:
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France 17%,
Germany 16.5%, Italy 8.6%, UK 6.4%, Netherlands 4.8% (2002) |
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Debt - external:
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$90 billion (1993
est.) |
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Economic aid - donor:
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ODA, $1.33
billion (1999) |
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Currency:
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euro (EUR)
note: on 1 January 1999, the European Monetary Union
introduced the euro as a common currency to be used by the
financial institutions of member countries; on 1 January 2002,
the euro became the sole currency for everyday transactions
with the member countries |
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Currency code:
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EUR |
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Exchange rates:
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euros per US
dollar - 0.89 (2003), 1.06 (2002), 1.12 (2001), 1.09 (2000),
0.94 (1999) |
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Fiscal year:
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calendar year |
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Telephones - main lines in use:
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20,595,300 (2002) |
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Telephones - mobile cellular:
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33.531 million
(2002) |
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Telephone system:
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general
assessment: generally adequate, modern facilities;
teledensity is 44 main lines for each 100 persons
domestic: NA
international: country code - 34; 22 coaxial submarine
cables; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic
Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), NA Eutelsat; tropospheric scatter
to adjacent countries |
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Radio broadcast stations:
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AM 208, FM 715,
shortwave 1 (1998) |
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Television broadcast stations:
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224 (plus 2,105
repeaters)
note: these figures include 11 television broadcast
stations and 88 repeaters in the Canary Islands (1995) |
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Internet country code:
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.es |
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Internet hosts:
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589,979 (2002) |
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Internet users:
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7.388 million (2001) |
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Railways:
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total:
14,189 km
broad gauge: 11,804 km 1.668-m gauge (6,409 km
electrified)
standard gauge: 455 km 1.435-m gauge (455 km
electrified)
narrow gauge: 1,902 km 1.000-m gauge (781 km
electrified); 28 km 0.914-m gauge (28 km electrified) (2002) |
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Highways:
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total:
663,795 km
paved: 657,157 km (including 10,317 km of expressways)
unpaved: 6,638 km (1999) |
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Waterways:
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1,045 km (of
minor economic importance) |
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Pipelines:
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gas 7,290 km; oil
730 km; refined products 3,110 km; unknown (oil/water) 397 km
(2003) |
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Ports and harbors:
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Aviles,
Barcelona, Bilbao, Cadiz, Cartagena, Castellon de la Plana,
Ceuta, Huelva, A Coruna, Las Palmas (Canary Islands), Malaga,
Melilla, Pasajes, Gijon, Santa Cruz de Tenerife (Canary
Islands), Santander, Tarragona, Valencia, Vigo |
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Merchant marine:
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total: 149
ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,740,974 GRT/2,157,551 DWT
by type: bulk 9, cargo 29, chemical tanker 13,
container 17, liquefied gas 6, livestock carrier 1, passenger
1, petroleum tanker 21, refrigerated cargo 5, roll on/roll off
32, short-sea/passenger 7, specialized tanker 1, vehicle
carrier 7
registered in other countries: 115 (2003 est.)
foreign-owned: Chile 1, Cuba 1, Denmark 1, Germany 9,
Italy 2, Netherlands 1, Norway 6, Sweden 1, Uruguay 1 |
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Airports:
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156 (2003 est.) |
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Airports - with paved runways:
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total: 94
over 3,047 m: 15
2,438 to 3,047 m: 10
914 to 1,523 m: 23
under 914 m: 27 (2003 est.)
1,524 to 2,437 m: 19 |
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Airports - with unpaved runways:
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total: 62
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 15
under 914 m: 45 (2003 est.) |
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Heliports:
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8 (2003 est.) |
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Military branches:
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Army, Navy, Air
Force (Ejercito del Aire, EdA), Marines |
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Military manpower - military age:
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20 years of age
(2004 est.) |
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Military manpower - availability:
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males age
15-49: 10,482,753 (2004 est.) |
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Military manpower - fit for military service:
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males age
15-49: 8,336,273 (2004 est.) |
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Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
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males:
245,007 (2004 est.) |
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Military expenditures - dollar figure:
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$9,906.5 million
(2003) |
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Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
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1.2% (2003) |
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Disputes - international:
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since Gibraltar
residents vote overwhelmingly by referendum in 2003 against a
"total shared sovereignty" arrangement, talks
between the UK and Spain over the fate of the 300-year old UK
colony have stalled; Spain disapproves of UK plans to grant
Gibraltar greater autonomy; Morocco protests Spain's control
over the coastal enclaves of Ceuta, Melilla, and the islands
of Penon de Velez de la Gomera, Penon de Alhucemas and Islas
Chafarinas, and surrounding waters; Morocco serves as the
primary launching area of illegal migration into Spain from
North Africa; Morocco rejected Spain's unilateral designation
of a median line from the Canary Islands in 2002 to set limits
to undersea resource exploration and refugee interdiction, but
agreed in 2003 to discuss a comprehensive maritime
delimitation; some Portuguese groups assert dormant claims to
territories ceded to Spain around the town of Olivenza |
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Illicit drugs:
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key European
gateway country and consumer for Latin American cocaine and
North African hashish entering the European market;
destination and minor transshipment point for Southwest Asian
heroin; money laundering site for European earnings of
Colombian narcotics trafficking organizations |
This page was last updated on 11 May, 2004
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