Background: A powerful world empire in the 16th and 17th centuries, Spain ultimately yielded command of the seas to England, beginning with the defeat of the Armada in 1588. Spain subsequently failed to embrace the mercantile and industrial revolutions and fell behind Britain, France, and Germany in economic and political power. Spain remained neutral in World Wars I and II. In the second half of the 20th century Spain played a catch-up role in the western international community. Continuing problems are large-scale unemployment and the Basque separatist movement.

Map reference: Europe

Area
Total area total: 504,750 km²
Land: 499,400 km²
Comparative: slightly more than twice the size of Oregon
Note: includes Balearic Islands, Canary Islands, and five places of sovereignty (plazas de soberania) on and off the coast of Morocco - Ceuta, Mellila, Islas Chafarinas, Penon de Alhucemas, and Penon de Velez de la Gomera

Land boundaries: total 1,903.2 km, Andorra 65 km, France 623 km, Gibraltar 1.2 km, Portugal 1,214 km

Coastline: 4,964 km

Maritime claims
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
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

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

Land use
Arable land: 31%
Permanent crops: 10%
Meadows and pastures: 21%
Forest and woodland: 31%
Other: 7%

Irrigated land: 33,600 km² (1989 est.)

Geography
Note: strategic location along approaches to Strait of Gibraltar

Population: 39,404,348 (July 1995 est.)
Growth rate: 0.27% (1995 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Spaniard(s)
Adjective: Spanish

Ethnic groups: composite of Mediterranean and Nordic types

Languages: Castilian Spanish, Catalan 17%, Galician 7%, Basque 2%

Religions: Roman Catholic 99%, other sects 1%

Age structure
0-14 years: 17% (female 3,214,606; male 3,446,643)
15-64 years: 68% (female 13,377,839; male 13,457,683)
65 years and over: 15% (female 3,461,367; male 2,446,210) (July 1995 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.27% (1995 est.)

Birth rate: 11.21 births/1000 population (1995 est.)

Death rate: 8.86 deaths/1000 population (1995 est.)

Net migration rate: 0.31 migrant(s)/1000 population (1995 est.)

Environment
Current issues: pollution of the Mediterranean Sea from raw sewage and effluents from the offshore production of oil and gas; air pollution; deforestation; desertification
Current issues natural hazards: periodic droughts
Current issues international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Desertification, Law of the Sea

Infant mortality rate: 6.7 deaths/1000 live births (1995 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 77.91 years
Male: 74.67 years
Female: 81.39 years (1995 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.41 children born/woman (1995 est.)

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1986)
Total population: 96%
Male: 98%
Female: 94%

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

Government type: parliamentary monarchy

Capital: Madrid

Administrative divisions: 17 autonomous communities (comunidades autonomas, singular - comunidad autonoma); Andalucia, Aragon, Asturias, Canarias, Cantabria, Castilla-La Mancha, Castilla y Leon, Cataluna, Communidad Valencia, Extremadura, Galicia, Islas Baleares, La Rioja, Madrid, Murcia, Navarra, Pais Vasco
Note: there are five places of sovereignty on and off the coast of Morocco (Ceuta, Mellila, Islas Chafarinas, Penon de Alhucemas, and Penon de Velez de la Gomera) with administrative status unknown

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

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: King JUAN CARLOS I (since 22 November 1975)
Head of government: Prime Minister Felipe GONZALEZ Marquez (since 2 December 1982); Deputy Prime Minister Narcis SERRA y Serra (since 13 March 1991)
Cabinet: Council of Ministers; designated by the prime minister
Council of State: is the supreme consultative organ of the government

Legislative branch: bicameral The General Courts or National Assembly (Las Cortes Generales)
Senate Senado: elections last held 6 June 1993 (next to be held by June 1997); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (255 total) PSOE 117, PP 107, CiU 15, PNV 5, IU 2, other 9
Congress of Deputies Congreso de los Diputados: elections last held 6 June 1993 (next to be held by June 1997); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (350 total) PSOE 159, PP 141, IU 18, CiU 17, PNV 5, CC 4, HB 2, other 4

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Tribunal Supremo)

International organization participation: AfDB, AG (observer), AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CE, CERN, EBRD, EC, ECE, ECLAC, EIB, ESA, FAO, G- 8, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MTCR, NACC, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, ONUSAL, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIH, UNOMOZ, UNPROFOR, UNU, UPU, WCL, WEU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Jaime De OJEDA Eiseley
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 Richard N. GARDNER
From the us embassy: Serrano 75, 28,006 Madrid
From the us mailing address: APO AE 9,642
From the us telephone: [34] (1) 577-4,000
From the us FAX: [34] (1) 577-5,735
From the us consulates general: Barcelona
From the us consulates: Bilbao

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

Economy overview: Spain, with a per capita output approximately two-thirds that of the four leading economies of Western Europe, has shared with these countries the recession of the early 1990s and the upturn of their economic fortunes in 1994. But whereas unemployment in these countries has hovered just above 10%, Spain has been forced to cope with a 25% unemployment rate. Continued political turmoil has complicated the establishment of stable government policies toward budgetary restraint, interest rates, labor law reform, and Spain's role in the evolving economic integration of Western Europe. Because the recession has been so deep, the growth in industrial output, tourism, and other sectors in 1994, while welcome, falls far short of the growth required to bring unemployment down to, say, 10%. The recovery in the economies of major trade partners, the comparatively low inflation rate, lower interest rates, and prospects in the tourist sector suggest that Spain can make substantial progress in 1995.

Real gdp growth rate: 1.8% (1994 est.)

Real gdp per capita: $13,120 (1994 est.)

Agriculture products: accounts for about 5% of GDP and 14% of labor force; major products - grain, vegetables, olives, wine grapes, sugar beets, citrus fruit, beef, pork, poultry, dairy; largely self-sufficient in food; fish catch of 1.4 million metric tons is among top 20 nations

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

Industrial production growth rate: 4% (1994 est.)

Labor force: 14.621 million
By occupation services: 53%
By occupation industry: 24%
By occupation agriculture: 14%
By occupation construction: 9% (1988)

Unemployment rate: 24.5% (yearend 1994)

Budget
Revenues: $97.7 billion
Expenditures: $128 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1993 est.)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Exports: $72.8 billion (f.o.b., 1993)
Commodoties: cars and trucks, semifinished manufactured goods, foodstuffs, machinery
Partners: EC 71.2%, US 4.8%, other developed countries 7.9% (1992)

Imports: $92.5 billion (c.i.f., 1993)
Commodoties: machinery, transport equipment, fuels, semifinished goods, foodstuffs, consumer goods, chemicals
Partners: EC 60.7%, US 7.4%, other developed countries 11.5%, Middle East 5.9% (1992)

Debt external: $90 billion (1993 est.)

Exchange rates: pesetas (Ptas) per US$1 - 132.61 (January 1995), 133.96 (1994), 127.26 (1993), 102.38 (1992), 103.91 (1991), 101.93 (1990)

Electricity
Capacity: 43,800,000 kW
Production: 148 billion kWh
Production consumption per capita: 3,545 kWh (1993)

Telephone system: 15,350,464 telephones; generally adequate, modern facilities
Local: NA
Intercity: NA
International: 22 coaxial submarine cables; 2 earth stations for INTELSAT (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean); earth stations for working the EUTELSAT, INMARSAT, and MARECS satellite communications systems; microwave tropospheric scatter links to adjacent countries

Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $8 billion, 1.6% of GDP (1994)

Airports: 106
With paved runways over 3047 m: 15
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 11
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 16
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 12
With paved runways under 914 m: 34
With unpaved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 1
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2438 m: 1
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 16

Pipelines: crude oil 265 km; petroleum products 1,794 km; natural gas 1,666 km

Waterways: 1,045 km, but of minor economic importance

Merchant marine
Total: 157 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 868,326 GRT/1,382,335 DWT
Ships by type: bulk 12, cargo 41, chemical tanker 11, container 9, liquefied gas tanker 4, oil tanker 25, passenger 2, refrigerated cargo 12, roll-on/roll-off cargo 34, short-sea passenger 5, specialized tanker 2

Disputes international: Gibraltar question 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

Illicit drugs: key European gateway country for Latin American cocaine and North African hashish entering the European market; transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin