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 Basque Fatherland and
Liberty (ETA) terrorism and further reductions in unemployment.
Geography
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 references:
Europe
Area:
total:
504,782 sq km land: 499,542 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
Area -
comparative:
slightly more than
twice the size of Oregon
Land boundaries:
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
Coastline:
4,964 km
Maritime claims:
territorial sea:
12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm (applies only to the
Atlantic Ocean)
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 highest point: Pico de Teide (Tenerife) on Canary Islands
3,718 m
Natural
resources:
coal, lignite, iron
ore, copper, lead, zinc, uranium, tungsten, mercury, pyrites,
magnesite, fluorspar, gypsum, sepiolite, kaolin, potash,
hydropower, arable land
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
Environment -
international agreements:
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
Geography -
note:
strategic location
along approaches to Strait of Gibraltar
total: 39.51
years male: 38.18 years female: 40.93 years (2005 est.)
Population
growth rate:
0.15% (2005 est.)
Birth rate:
10.1 births/1,000
population (2005 est.)
Death rate:
9.63 deaths/1,000
population (2005 est.)
Net migration
rate:
0.99 migrant(s)/1,000
population (2005 est.)
Sex ratio:
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 (2005 est.)
Infant mortality
rate:
total: 4.42
deaths/1,000 live births male: 4.82 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Life expectancy
at birth:
total
population: 79.52 years male: 76.18 years female: 83.08 years (2005 est.)
Total fertility
rate:
1.28 children
born/woman (2005 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult
prevalence rate:
0.7% (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS -
people living with HIV/AIDS:
140,000 (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS -
deaths:
less than 1,000
(2003 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
Spaniard(s) adjective: Spanish
Ethnic groups:
composite of
Mediterranean and Nordic types
Religions:
Roman Catholic 94%,
other 6%
Languages:
Castilian Spanish
74%, Catalan 17%, Galician 7%, Basque 2%; note - Castilian is
the official language nationwide; the other languages are
official regionally
Literacy:
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 97.9% male: 98.7% female: 97.2% (2003 est.)
Government
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)and 2 autonomous cities* (ciudades autonomas, singular
- ciudad autonoma); Andalucia, Aragon, Asturias, Baleares
(Balearic Islands), Ceuta*, Canarias (Canary Islands), Cantabria,
Castilla-La Mancha, Castilla y Leon, Cataluna, Comunidad
Valenciana, Extremadura, Galicia, La Rioja, Madrid, Melilla*,
Murcia, Navarra, Pais Vasco (Basque Country) note: the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla plus
three small islands of Islas Chafarinas, Penon de Alhucemas, and
Penon de Velez de la Gomera, administered directly by the
Spanish central government, are all located off the coast of
Morocco and are collectively referred to as Places of
Sovereignty (Plazas de Soberania)
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:
National 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
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 and Prime
Minister Jose Luis RODRIGUEZ ZAPATERO (since 17 April 2004);
First Vice President and Deputy Prime Minister (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, but its
recommendations are non-binding elections: the monarchy 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 March 2008); vice
presidents appointed by the monarch on the proposal of the
president election results: Jose Luis RODRIGUEZ ZAPATERO (PSOE)
elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - 52.29%
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) elections: Senate - last held 14 March 2004 (next to be
held March 2008); Congress of Deputies - last held 14 March 2004
(next to be held March 2008) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - PP
49%, PSOE 38.9%, Entesa Catalona de Progress 5.7%, CiU 1.99%,
PNV 2.8%, CC 1.4%; seats by party - PP 102, PSOE 81, Entesa
Catalona de Progress 12, CiU 4, PNV 6, CC 3; Congress of
Deputies - percent of vote by party - PSOE 43.3%, PP 37.8%, CiU
3.2%, ERC 2.5%, PNV 1.6%, IU 3.2%, CC 0.9%; seats by party -
PSOE 164, PP 148, CiU 10, ERC 8, PNV 7, IU 2, CC 3, other 8
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court or
Tribunal Supremo
Political
parties and leaders:
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 (a Senate coalition
grouping four Catalan parties - PSC, ERC, ICV, EUA) [leader NA];
Galician Nationalist Bloc or BNG [Anxo Manuel QUINTANA]; Party
of Independents from Lanzarote or PIL [Dimas MARTIN Martin];
Popular Party or PP [Mariano RAJOY]; Republican Left of
Catalonia or ERC [Josep-Lluis CAROD-ROVIRA]; 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]
Political
pressure groups and leaders:
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; Trade Union Confederation of Workers'
Commissions or CC.OO.; Nunca Mas (Galician for "Never Again";
formed in response to the oil tanker Prestige oil spill)
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
Economy -
overview:
The Spanish economy
boomed from 1986 to 1990, averaging five percent annual growth.
After a European-wide recession in the early 1990s, the Spanish
economy resumed moderate growth starting in 1994. 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
10.4%. Growth of 2.5% in 2003 and 2.6% in 2004 was satisfactory
given the background of a faltering European economy. The
socialist president, RODRIGUEZ ZAPATERO, has initiated economic
and social reforms that are generally popular among the masses
of people but that are anathema to religious and other
conservative elements. Adjusting to the monetary and other
economic policies of an integrated Europe, reducing
unemployment, and absorbing widespread social changes will pose
challenges to Spain over the next few years.
GDP:
purchasing power
parity - $937.6 billion (2004 est.)
textiles and
apparel (including footwear), food and beverages, metals and
metal manufactures, chemicals, shipbuilding, automobiles,
machine tools, tourism, clay and refractory products, footwear,
pharmaceuticals, medical equipment
machinery, motor
vehicles; foodstuffs, pharmaceuticals, medicines, other consumer
goods
Exports -
partners:
France 19.3%,
Germany 11.7%, Portugal 9.6%, UK 9.1%, Italy 9.1% (2004)
Imports:
$222 billion f.o.b.
(2004 est.)
Imports -
commodities:
machinery and
equipment, fuels, chemicals, semifinished goods; foodstuffs,
consumer goods; measuring and medical control instruments
Imports -
partners:
Germany 16.5%,
France 15.7%, Italy 8.8%, UK 6.3%, Netherlands 4.8% (2004)
Reserves of
foreign exchange and gold:
$19.7 billion (2004
est.)
Debt - external:
$771.1 billion
(2004 est.)
Economic aid -
donor:
ODA, $1.33 billion
(1999)
Currency (code):
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
Currency code:
EUR
Exchange rates:
euros per US dollar
- 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001),
1.0854 (2000)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
Communications
Telephones -
main lines in use:
17,567,500 (2003)
Telephones -
mobile cellular:
37,506,700 (2003)
Telephone
system:
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
Radio broadcast
stations:
AM 208, FM 715,
shortwave 1 (1998)
Radios:
13.1 million (1997)
Television
broadcast stations:
224 (plus 2,105
repeaters) note: these figures include 11 television broadcast
stations and 88 repeaters in the Canary Islands (1995)
Televisions:
16.2 million (1997)
Internet country
code:
.es
Internet hosts:
1,056,950 (2004)
Internet Service
Providers (ISPs):
56 (2000)
Internet users:
9.789 million
(2003)
Transportation
Railways:
total:
14,781 km (7,718 km electrified) broad gauge: 11,829 km 1.668-m gauge (6,950 km
electrified) standard gauge: 998 km 1.435-m gauge (998 km electrified)
narrow gauge: 1,926 km 1.000-m gauge (815 km
electrified); 28 km 0.914-m gauge (28 km electrified) (2004)
Highways:
total:
664,852 km paved: 658,203 km (including 11,152 km of expressways)
unpaved: 6,649 km (2001)
Waterways:
1,045 km (2003)
Pipelines:
gas 7,306 km; oil
730 km; refined products 3,512 km (2004)
Ports and
harbors:
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
Merchant marine:
total: 182
ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,740,974 GRT/2,157,551 DWT by type: bulk carrier 10, cargo 22, chemical tanker 16,
container 19, liquefied gas 8, passenger 2, passenger/cargo 47,
petroleum tanker 20, refrigerated cargo 6, roll on/roll off 25,
vehicle carrier 7 foreign-owned: 29 (Cuba 2, Denmark 1, Germany 9, Italy 2,
Norway 6, United States 7, Uruguay 2) registered in other countries: 192 (2005)
Airports:
156 (2004 est.)
Airports - with
paved runways:
total: 95
over 3,047 m: 15 2,438 to 3,047 m: 10 1,524 to 2,437 m: 19 914 to 1,523 m: 23 under 914 m: 28 (2004 est.)
Airports - with
unpaved runways:
total: 61
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 15 under 914 m: 44 (2004 est.)
Heliports:
8 (2004 est.)
Military
Military
branches:
Army, Navy, Air
Force (Ejercito del Aire, EdA), Naval Infantry
Military
manpower - military age and obligation:
20 years of age
(2004)
Military
manpower - availability:
males age 20-49:
9,366,588 (2005 est.)
Military
manpower - fit for military service:
males age 20-49:
7,623,356 (2005 est.)
Military
manpower - reaching military age annually:
males:
233,384 (2005 est.)
Military
expenditures - dollar figure:
$9,906.5 million
(2003)
Military
expenditures - percent of GDP:
1.2% (2003)
Transnational Issues
Disputes -
international:
in 2003, Gibraltar
residents voted overwhelmingly by referendum to remain a British
colony and against a "total shared sovereignty" arrangement
while demanding participation in talks between the UK and Spain;
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 site
of illegal migration into Spain from North Africa
Illicit drugs:
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
100+ Important Documents in United States History
