Map of Spain | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide198919901991199219931994199519961997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024 | 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
Total: 504,782 km²
Land: 499,542 km²
Water: 5,240 km²
Note: includes Balearic Islands, Canary Islands, and five places of sovereignty (plazas de soberania) on and off the coast of Morocco - Ceuta, Melilla, Islas Chafarinas, Penon de Alhucemas, and Penon de Velez de la Gomera
Comparative: slightly more than twice the size of Oregon

Land boundaries
Total: 1,917.8 km
Border countries: (5) 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

Coastline: 4,964 km

Maritime claims
Contiguous zone: 24 NM
Exclusive economic zone: 200 NM (applies only to the Atlantic Ocean)
Territorial sea: 12 NM

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
Extremes lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
Extremes highest point: Pico de Teide (Tenerife) on Canary Islands 3,718 m

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

Land use
Arable land: 30%
Permanent crops: 9%
Permanent pastures: 21%
Forests and woodland: 32%
Other: 8% (1993 est.)

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: 40,037,995 (July 2001 est.)
Growth rate: 0.1% (2001 est.)
Below poverty line: NA%

Nationality
Noun: Spaniard
Adjective: Spanish

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
0-14 years: 14.62% (male 3,015,851; female 2,835,763)
15-64 years: 68.2% (male 13,701,065; female 13,605,314)
65 years and over: 17.18% (male 2,881,334; female 3,998,668) (2001 est.)

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate: 0.1% (2001 est.)

Birth rate: 9.26 births/1000 population (2001 est.)

Death rate: 9.13 deaths/1000 population (2001 est.)

Net migration rate: 0.87 migrant(s)/1000 population (2001 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
International agreements party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
International agreements signed but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.07 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.06 male/female
15-64 years: 1.01 male/female
65 years and over: 0.72 male/female
Total population: 0.96 male/female (2001 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate: 4.92 deaths/1000 live births (2001 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 78.93 years
Male: 75.47 years
Female: 82.62 years (2001 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.15 children born/woman (2001 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.58% (1999 est.)
People living with hivaids: 120,000 (1999 est.)
Deaths: 2000 (1999 est.)

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 97%
Male: NA%
Female: NA%

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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Country name
Conventional long form: Kingdom of Spain
Conventional short form: Spain
Local short form: Espana

Government type: parliamentary monarchy

Capital: Madrid

Administrative divisions
Note: there are five places of sovereignty on and off the coast of Morocco: Ceuta and Melilla are administered as autonomous communities; Islas Chafarinas, Penon de Alhucemas, and Penon de Velez de la Gomera are under direct Spanish administration

Dependent areas

Independence: 1492 (expulsion of the Moors and unification)

National holiday: Hispanic Day 12 October

Constitution: 6 December 1978 effective 29 December 1978

Legal system: civil law system with regional applications; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
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 Maria AZNAR Lopez (since 5 May 1996); First Vice President Juan Jose LUCAS (since 28 February 2000) and Second Vice President (and Minister of Economy) Rodrigo RATO Figaredo (since 5 May 1996)
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
Elections: the monarch is hereditary; president proposed by the monarch and elected by the National Assembly following legislative elections; election last held 12 March 2000 (next to be held NA March 2004); vice presidents appointed by the monarch on proposal of the president
Election results: Jose Maria AZNAR Lopez (PP) elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - 44%

Legislative branch
Elections: Senate - last held 12 March 2000 (next to be held NA March 2004); Congress of Deputies - last held 12 March 2000 (next to be held NA March 2004)
Election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PP 127, PSOE 61, CiU 8, PNV 6, CC 5, PIL 1; Congress of Deputies - percent of vote by party - PP 44.5%, PSOE 34%, CiU 4.2%, IU 5.4%, PNV 1.5%, CC 1%, BNG 1.3%; seats by party - PP 183, PSOE 125, CiU 15, IU 8, PNV 7, CC 4, BNG 3, other 5

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) [Paulino RIVERO]; 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 [Dimas MARTIN Martin]; Popular Party or PP [Jose Maria AZNAR Lopez]; 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]

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 UNMEE UNMIBH UNMIK UNTAET UNU UPU WCL WEU WHO WIPO WMO WToO WTrO ZC

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Francisco Javier RUPEREZ
In the us chancery: 2,375 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20,037
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 452-0100, 728-2,340
In the us fax: [1] (202) 833-5,670
In the us consulates general: Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, and San Juan (Puerto Rico)
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Edward L. ROMERO
From the us embassy: Serrano 75, 28,006 Madrid
From the us mailing address: APO AE 9,642
From the us telephone: [34] (91) 587-2,200
From the us fax: [34] (91) 587-2,303
From the us consulates general: Barcelona

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 80% 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 has been steadily falling under the AZNAR administration but remains the highest in the EU at 14%. The government intends to make further progress in changing labor laws and reforming pension schemes which are key to the sustainability of both Spain's internal economic advances and its competitiveness in a single currency area. Adjusting to the monetary and other economic policies of an integrated Europe - and further reducing unemployment - will pose challenges to Spain in the next few years.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate: 4% (2000 est.)

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity - $18,000 (2000 est.)

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 4%
Industry: 31%
Services: 65% (1999)

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: 4.5% (2000 est.)

Labor force: 17 million (2000)
By occupation: services 64% manufacturing mining and construction 28% agriculture 8% (1997 est.)

Unemployment rate: 14% (2000 est.)

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: NA%

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 2.8%
Highest 10: 25.2% (1990)

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: $105 billion
Expenditures: $109 billion, including capital expenditures of $12.8 billion (2000 est.)

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 3.4% (2000 est.)

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance

Exports: $120.5 billion (f.o.b. 2000 est.)
Commodities: machinery motor vehicles; foodstuffs other consumer goods
Partners: EU 71% (France 20% Germany 12% Italy 9% Portugal 9% UK 8%) Latin America 6% US 5% (2000)

Imports: $153.9 billion (f.o.b. 2000 est.)
Commodities: machinery and equipment fuels chemicals semifinished goods; foodstuffs consumer goods (1997)
Partners: EU 68% (France 18% Germany 16% Italy 9% UK 7% Benelux 8%) US 8% OPEC 5% Latin America 4% Japan 3% (1999)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external: $90 billion (1993 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: euros per US dollar - 1.0659 (January 2001) 1.0854 (2000) 0.9386 (1999); pesetas per US dollar - 149.40 (1998) 146.41 (1997) 126.66 (1996)


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Electricity
Production: 197.694 billion kWh (1999)
Production by source fossil fuel: 57.71%
Production by source hydro: 12.1%
Production by source nuclear: 28.28%
Production by source other: 1.91% (1999)
Consumption: 189.57 billion kWh (1999)
Exports: 6.23 billion kWh (1999)
Imports: 11.945 billion kWh (1999)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Main lines in use: 17.336 million (1999)
Mobile cellular: 8.394 million (1999)

Telephone system
General assessment: generally adequate, modern facilities; teledensity is 44 main lines for each 100 persons
Domestic: NA
International: 22 coaxial submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), NA Eutelsat; tropospheric scatter to adjacent countries

Broadcast media

Internet
Country code: .es
Service providers isps: 56 (2000)
Users: 4.6 million (2000)

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $6 billion (FY97)
Percent of gdp: 1.1% (FY97)

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 110 (2000 est.)
With paved runways total: 75
With paved runways over 3047 m: 15
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 10
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 18
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 19
With paved runways under 914 m: 13 (2000 est.)
With unpaved runways total: 35
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 9
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 25 (2000 est.)

Heliports: 2 (2000 est.)

Pipelines: crude oil 265 km; petroleum products 1794 km; natural gas 1666 km

Railways
Total: 13,950 km
Broad gauge: 12,781 km 1.668-m gauge (6,358 km electrified; 2,295 km double track)
Standard gauge: 525 km 1.435-m gauge (525 km electrified)
Narrow gauge: 644 km 1.000-m gauge (438 km electrified) (1998)

Roadways

Waterways: 1045 km (of minor economic importance)

Merchant marine
Total: 135 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,208,730 GRT/1,773,378 DWT
Ships by type: bulk 10, cargo 26, chemical tanker 10, container 9, liquefied gas 2, livestock carrier 1, passenger 1, petroleum tanker 24, refrigerated cargo 5, roll on/roll off 35, short-sea passenger 8, specialized tanker 1, vehicle carrier 3 (2000 est.)

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international: Gibraltar issue with UK; Spain controls five places of sovereignty (plazas de soberania) on and off the coast of Morocco - the coastal enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla which Morocco contests as well as the islands of Penon de Alhucemas Penon de Velez de la Gomera and Islas Chafarinas

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs