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 Spain has played a catch-up role in the western international community; it joined the EU in 1986. Continuing concerns are Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA) terrorism and further reductions in unemployment.


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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
Water: 5,240 km²
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 km²
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: 28.6%
Permanent crops: 9.56%
Other: 61.84% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land: 36,400 km² (1998 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: 40,217,413 (July 2003 est.)
Growth rate: 0.16% (2003 est.)
Below poverty line: NA%

Nationality
Noun: Spaniard
Adjective: Spanish

Ethnic groups: composite of Mediterranean and Nordic types

Languages
Note: Castilian is the official language nationwide; the other languages are official regionally

Religions: Roman Catholic 94% other 6%

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 14.4% (male 2,985,705; female 2,808,791)
15-64 years: 68% (male 13,721,053; female 13,626,121)
65 years and over: 17.6% (male 2,962,646; female 4,113,097) (2003 est.)

Dependency ratios

Median age
Total: 38.7 years
Male: 37.4 years
Female: 40.1 years (2002)

Population growth rate: 0.16% (2003 est.)

Birth rate: 10.08 births/1000 population (2003 est.)

Death rate: 9.48 deaths/1000 population (2003 est.)

Net migration rate: 0.99 migrant(s)/1000 population (2003 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 (2003 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate
Total: 4.54 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 4.12 deaths/1000 live births (2003 est.)
Male: 4.94 deaths/1000 live births

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 79.23 years
Male: 75.87 years
Female: 82.8 years (2003 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.26 children born/woman (2003 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.5% (2001 est.)
People living with hivaids: 130,000 (2001 est.)
Deaths: 2,300 (2001 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: 97.9%
Male: 98.7%
Female: 97.2% (2003 est.)

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: 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 gained limited autonomous status in 1994

Dependent areas

Independence: 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

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 (and Minister of Economy) Rodrigo RATO Figaredo (since 4 September 2003) and Second Vice President (and Minister of the Presidency) Javier ARENAS (since 4 September 2003)
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 Maria AZNAR Lopez (PP) elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - 44.54%; note - the Popular Party (PP) obtained an absolute majority of seats in both the Congress of Deputies and the Senate as a result of the March 2000 elections
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 12 March 2000 (next to be held NA March 2004); vice presidents appointed by the monarch on the proposal of the president

Legislative branch
Election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - PP 44.6%, PSOE 34.1%, CiU 4.2%, PNV 1.5%, CC 1.1%, PIL 0%; 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
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)

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 [Mariano RAJOY]; 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 CE CERN EAPC EBRD ECE ECLAC EIB EMU ESA EU FAO IADB IAEA IBRD ICAO ICC ICCt ICFTU ICRM IDA IEA IFAD IFC IFRCS IHO ILO IMF IMO Interpol IOC IOM (observer) ISO ITU LAIA (observer) MONUC NATO NEA NSG OAS (observer) OECD OPCW OSCE PCA UN UN Security Council (temporary) UNCTAD UNESCO UNHCR UNIDO UNMEE UNMIBH UNMIK UNU UPU WCL WCO WEU WHO WIPO WMO WToO WTrO ZC

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Francisco Javier RUPEREZ Rubio
In the us chancery: 2,375 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20,037
In the us consulates general: Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, and San Juan (Puerto Rico)
In the us fax: [1] (202) 833-5,670
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 452-0100, 728-2,340
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador George L. ARGYROS
From the us embassy: Serrano 75, 28,006 Madrid
From the us mailing address: PSC 61, 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 (the euro) 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 high at 11.7%. 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. A general strike in mid-2002 reduced cooperation between labor and government. Growth of 2.4% in 2003 was satisfactory given the background of a faltering European economy. 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.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate: 2% (2002 est.)

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity - $21,200 (2002 est.)

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 4%
Industry: 31%
Services: 65% (2000 est.)

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: 1.2% (2002 est.)

Labor force: 17.1 million (2001)
By occupation: services 64% manufacturing mining and construction 29% agriculture 7% (2001 est.)