Map of Spain | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide1989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 | More stats

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Background: 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 it has played a catch-up role in the western international community. Continuing concerns are large-scale unemployment and the Basque separatist movement.


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Location: Southwestern Europe bordering the Bay of Biscay Mediterranean Sea North Atlantic Ocean and Pyrenees Mountains southwest of France

Geographic coordinates: 40 00 N 4 00 W

Map reference: Europe

Area
Comparative: slightly more than twice the size of Oregon

Land boundaries

Coastline: 4,964 km

Maritime claims

Climate: temperate; clear hot summers in interior more moderate and cloudy along coast; cloudy cold winters in interior partly cloudy and cool along coast

Terrain: large flat to dissected plateau surrounded by rugged hills; Pyrenees in north

Elevation

Natural resources: coal lignite iron ore uranium mercury pyrites fluorspar gypsum zinc lead tungsten copper kaolin potash hydropower arable land

Land use

Irrigated land: 34,530 km² (1993 est.)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards: periodic droughts

Geography
Note: strategic location along approaches to Strait of Gibraltar


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Population: 39,996,671 (July 2000 est.)
Growth rate: 0.11% (2000 est.)
Below poverty line: NA%

Nationality

Ethnic groups: composite of Mediterranean and Nordic types

Languages: Castilian Spanish (official) 74% Catalan 17% Galician 7% Basque 2%

Religions: Roman Catholic 99% other 1%

Demographic profile

Age structure

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate: 0.11% (2000 est.)

Birth rate: 9.22 births/1000 population (2000 est.)

Death rate: 9.03 deaths/1000 population (2000 est.)

Net migration rate: 0.88 migrant(s)/1000 population (2000 est.)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: 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

Air pollutants

Sex ratio

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate: 4.99 deaths/1000 live births (2000 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

Total fertility rate: 1.15 children born/woman (2000 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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Country name

Government type: parliamentary monarchy

Capital: Madrid

Administrative divisions: 17 autonomous communities (comunidades autonomas singular - comunidad autonoma); Andalucia Aragon Asturias Baleares (Balearic Islands) Canarias (Canary Islands) Cantabria Castilla-La Mancha Castilla y Leon Cataluna Communidad Valencian Extremadura Galicia La Rioja Madrid Murcia Navarra Pais Vasco (Basque Country)

Dependent areas

Independence: 1492 (expulsion of the Moors and unification)

National holiday: National Day 12 October

Constitution: 6 December 1978 effective 29 December 1978

Legal system: civil law system with regional applications; does not accept compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch

Legislative branch: 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)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court or Tribunal Supremo

Political parties and leaders: Basque Nationalist Party or PNV [Xabier ARZALLUS Antia]; Canarian Coalition or CC (a coalition of five parties) [Lorenzo OLLARTE Cullen]; Convergence and Union or CiU [Jordi PUJOL i Soley secretary general] (a coalition of the Democratic Convergence of Catalonia or CDC [Jordi PUJOL i Soley] and the Democratic Union of Catalonia or UDC [Josep Antoni DURAN y LLEIDA]); Galician Nationalist Bloc or BNG [Xose Manuel BEIRAS]; Party of Independents from Lanzarote or PIL [leader NA]; Popular Party or PP [Jose Maria AZNAR Lopez]; Spanish Communist Party or PCE [Francisco FRUTOS]; Spanish Socialist Workers Party or PSOE [Joaquin ALMUNIA Amann secretary general]; United Left or IU (a coalition of parties including the PCE and other small parties) [Francisco FRUTOS]

International organization participation: AfDB AsDB Australia Group BIS CCC CE CERN EAPC EBRD ECE ECLAC EIB EMU ESA EU FAO IADB IAEA IBRD ICAO ICC ICFTU ICRM IDA IEA IFAD IFC IFRCS IHO ILO IMF IMO Inmarsat Intelsat Interpol IOC IOM (observer) ISO ITU LAIA (observer) NATO NEA NSG OAS (observer) OECD OPCW OSCE PCA UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNHCR UNIDO UNMIBH UNMIK UNTAET UNU UPU WCL WEU WHO WIPO WMO WToO WTrO ZC

Diplomatic representation

Flag description: three horizontal bands of red (top) yellow (double width) and red with the national coat of arms on the hoist side of the yellow band; the coat of arms includes the royal seal framed by the Pillars of Hercules which are the two promontories (Gibraltar and Ceuta) on either side of the eastern end of the Strait of Gibraltar

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


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Economy overview: Spain's mixed capitalist economy supports a GDP that on a per capita basis is three-fourths that of the four leading West European economies. Its center-right government successfully worked to gain admission to the first group of countries launching the European single currency on 1 January 1999. The AZNAR administration has continued to advocate liberalization privatization and deregulation of the economy and has introduced some tax reforms to that end. Unemployment nonetheless remains the highest in the EU at 16%. The government for political reasons has made only limited progress in changing labor laws or reforming pension schemes which are key to the sustainability of both Spain's internal economic advances and its competitiveness in a single currency area. Adjustment to the monetary and other economic policies of an integrated Europe - and reducing the unacceptably high level of unemployment - will pose difficult challenges to Spain in the next few years.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate: 3.6% (1999 est.)

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity - $17,300 (1999 est.)

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin

Agriculture products: grain vegetables olives wine grapes sugar beets citrus; beef pork poultry dairy products; fish

Industries: textiles and apparel (including footwear) food and beverages metals and metal manufactures chemicals shipbuilding automobiles machine tools tourism

Industrial production growth rate: 2.7% (1999 est.)

Labor force: 16.2 million (1997 est.)
By occupation: services 64% manufacturing mining and construction 28% agriculture 8% (1997 est.)