Spain

parliamentary monarchyIndependence 1492 (expulsion of the Moors and unification)

Spain as the 1990 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 73 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.

field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe open editionEach field below ends in its editions, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down.

CapitalMadrid
Area504,750 km2
1990

Every edition of Spain

Populationas each edition published it
39.27 million July 1990 · 47.28m in 2025
Population growth% a year
Not in this edition 0.24% in 1993
Median ageyears
Not in this edition 38.7 yrs in 2003
Life expectancyyears at birth
Not in this edition 77.51 yrs in 1993
Fertility ratechildren per woman
1.4 children per woman 1990 · 1.32 in 2025
Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births
6 deaths per 1,000 live births 1990 · 2.4 in 2025
GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars
Not in this edition $13,200 in 1993
GDP real growth% a year
Not in this edition 1% in 1993

Geography

13 fields
Total area
504,750km2
land area: 499,400 km2; includes Balaeric Islands, Canary Islands, Ceuta, Mellila, Islas Chafarinas, Penon de Alhucemas, and Penon de Velez de la GomeraComparative area: slightly more than twice the size of Oregon
Coastline
4,964km
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Land boundaries
1,903.2km total
Andorra 65 km, France 623 km, Gibraltar 1.2 km, Portugal 1,214 km

Disputes

Gibraltar question with UK; controls two presidios or places of sovereignty (Ceuta and Melilla) on the north coast of Morocco

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

  • 31% arable land;
  • 10% permanent crops;
  • 21% meadows and pastures;
  • 31% forest and woodland;
  • 7% other;
  • includes 6% irrigated

Environment

deforestation; air pollution

Note

strategic location along approaches to Strait of Gibraltar

People

14 fields
Population
39,268,715
(July 1990), growth rate 0.3% (1990)

Per 1,000 population(1990)

Birth
11Death
8Net migration
0

Religion

Roman Catholic 99%other sects 1%

Infant mortality rate

6 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth

75 years male, 82 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate

1.4 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality

noun--Spaniard(s); adjective--Spanish

Ethnic divisions

composite of Mediterranean and Nordic types

Language

Castilian Spanish; second languages include 17% Catalan, 7% Galician, and 2% Basque

Labor force

14,621,000; 53% services, 24% industry, 14% agriculture, 9% construction (1988)

Organized labor

less 10% of labor force (1988)

Government

Parliamentary monarchy

18 fields

The Courts General, 350 seats, elected 29 October 1989seats by party

(350 total, 18 vacant pending new elections caused by voting irregularities) PSOE 176PP 106CiU 18IU 17CDS 14PNV 5HB 4others 10

Percent of vote

PSOE 39.6%PP 25.8%CDS 9%Communist-led coalition (IU) 9%CiU 5%Basque Nationalist Party 1.2%HB 1%Andalusian Party 1%others 8.4%

Long-form name

Kingdom of Spain

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, Extremadura, Galicia, Islas Baleares, La Rioja, Madrid, Murcia, Navarra, Pais Vasco, Valenciana

Independence

1492 (expulsion of the Moors and unification)

Constitution

6 December 1978, effective 29 December 1978

National holiday

National Day, 12 October

Executive branch

monarch, president of the government (prime minister), deputy prime minister, Council of Ministers (cabinet), Council of State

Legislative branch

bicameral The General Courts or National Assembly (Las Cortes Generales) consists of an upper house or Senate (Senado) and a lower house or Congress of Deputies (Congreso de los Diputados)

Judicial branch

  • Supreme Court (Tribunal Supremo) 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 Alfonso GUERRA Gonzalez (since 2 December 1982)

Political parties and leaders

  • principal national parties, from right to left--Popular Party (PP), Jose Maria Aznar;
  • Popular Democratic Party (PDP), Luis de Grandes;
  • Social Democratic Center (CDS), Adolfo Suarez Gonzalez;
  • Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE), Felipe Gonzalez Marquez;
  • Spanish Communist Party (PCE), Julio Anguita;
  • chief regional parties--Convergence and Unity (CiU), Jordi Pujol Saley, in Catalonia;
  • Basque Nationalist Party (PNV), Xabier Arzallus;
  • Basque Solidarity (EA), Carlos Garaicoetxea Urizza;
  • Basque Popular Unity (HB), Jon Idigoras;
  • Basque Left (EE), Juan Maria Bandries Molet;
  • Andalusian Party (PA);
  • Independent Canary Group (AIC);
  • Aragon Regional Party (PAR);
  • Valencian Union (UV)

Suffrage

  • universal at age 18 The Courts General--last held 29 October 1989 (next to be held October 1993);
  • results--PSOE 39.6%, PP 25.8%, CDS 9%, Communist-led coalition (IU) 9%, CiU 5%, Basque Nationalist Party 1.2%, HB 1%, Andalusian Party 1%, others 8.4%;
  • seats--(350 total, 18 vacant pending new elections caused by voting irregularities) PSOE 176, PP 106, CiU 18, IU 17, CDS 14, PNV 5, HB 4, others 10

Communists

  • PCE membership declined from a possible high of 160,000 in 1977 to roughly 60,000 in 1987;
  • the party gained almost 1 million voters and 10 deputies in the 1989 election;
  • voters came mostly from the disgruntled socialist left;
  • remaining strength is in labor, where it dominates the Workers Commissions trade union (one of the country's two major labor centrals), which claims a membership of about 1 million;
  • experienced a modest recovery in 1986 national election, nearly doubling the share of the vote it received in 1982

Other political or pressure groups

  • on the extreme left, the Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA) and the First of October Antifascist Resistance Group (GRAPO) use terrorism to oppose the government;
  • free labor unions (authorized in April 1977) include the Communist-dominated Workers Commissions (CCOO);
  • the Socialist General Union of Workers (UGT), and the smaller independent Workers Syndical Union (USO);
  • the Catholic Church;
  • business and landowning interests;
  • Opus Dei;
  • university students

Member of

Andean Pact (observer), ASSIMER, CCC, Council of Europe, EC, ESA, FAO, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, ICES, ICO, IDA, IDB--Inter-American Development Bank, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, ILZSG, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOOC, IPU, ITC, ITU, IWC--International Wheat Council, NATO, OAS (observer), OECD, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WSG, WTO

Diplomatic representation

  • Ambassador Julian SANTAMARIA;
  • Chancery at 2700 15th Street NW, Washington DC 20009;
  • telephone (202) 265-0190 or 0191;
  • there are Spanish Consulates General in Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, and San Juan (Puerto Rico);
  • US--Ambassador Joseph ZAPPALA;
  • Embassy at Serrano 75, Madrid 6 (mailing address is APO New York 09285);
  • telephone [34] (1) 276-3400 or 3600;
  • there is a US Consulate General in Barcelona and a Consulate in Bilbao

Flag

  • 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

This Western capitalistic economy has done well since Spain joined the European Economic Community in 1986.

16 fields
Unemployment rate
16.5%
(1989 est.)
External debt
$32.7billion
(1988)

Budget

Revenues
$57.8 billionExpenditures
$66.7 billion
expenditures, including capital expenditures of $10.4 billion (1987)

Overview

This Western capitalistic economy has done well since Spain joined the European Economic Community in 1986. With increases in real GNP of 5.5% in 1987 and about 5% in 1988 and 1989, Spain has been the fastest growing member of the EC. Increased investment--both domestic and foreign--has been the most important factor pushing the economic expansion.

Inflation moderated to 4.8% in 1988, but an overheated economy caused inflation to reach an estimated 7% in 1989. Another economic problem facing Spain is an unemployment rate of 16.5%, the highest in Europe.

GNP

$398.7 billion, per capita $10,100; real growth rate 4.8% (1989 est.)

Exports

  • $40.2 billion (f.o.b., 1988);
  • commodities--foodstuffs, live animals, wood, footwear, machinery, chemicals;
  • partners--EC 66%, US 8%, other developed countries 9%

Imports

  • $60.4 billion (c.i.f., 1988);
  • commodities--petroleum, footwear, machinery, chemicals, grain, soybeans, coffee, tobacco, iron and steel, timber, cotton, transport equipment;
  • partners--EC 57%, US 9%, other developed countries 13%, Middle East 3%

Industrial production

growth rate 3.0% (1988)

Electricity

46,589,000 kW capacity; 157,040 million kWh produced, 3,980 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries

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

Agriculture

  • accounts for 5% of GNP 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 among top 20 nations

Aid

US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-87), $1.9 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-79), $545.0 million

Currency

peseta (plural--pesetas); 1 peseta (Pta) = 100 centimos

Exchange rates

pesetas (Ptas) per US$1--109.69 (January 1990), 118.38 (1989), 116.49 (1988), 123.48 (1987), 140.05 (1986), 170.04 (1985)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Communications

9 fields

Merchant marine, 324 ships by type

passenger 2short-sea passenger 9cargo 121refrigerated cargo 19container 17roll-on/roll-off cargo 23petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker 51chemical tanker 16liquefied gas 10specialized tanker 1combination ore/oil 1bulk 49vehicle carrier 5324 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 3,492,563 GRT/6,128,190 DWT

Airports, 110 total, 103 usable

permanent-surface runways
62runways over 3,659 m
4runways 2,440-3,659 m
20runways 1,220-2,439 m
29

Networkskm

Inland waterways
1,045Pipelines
265
Inland waterways: , but of minor economic importance · Pipelines: ; 1,794 km refined products; 1,666 km natural gas

Railroads

  • 15,430 km total;
  • Spanish National Railways (RENFE) operates 12,691 km 1.668-meter gauge, 6,184 km electrified, and 2,295 km double track;
  • FEVE (government-owned narrow-gauge railways) operates 1,821 km of predominantly 1.000-meter gauge and 441 km electrified;
  • privately owned railways operate 918 km of predominantly 1.000-meter gauge, 512 km electrified, and 56 km double track

Highways

150,839 km total; 82,513 km national (includes 2,433 km limited-access divided highway, 63,042 km bituminous treated, 17,038 km intermediate bituminous, concrete, or stone block) and 68,326 km provincial or local roads (bituminous treated, intermediate bituminous, or stone block)

Inland waterways

1,045 km, but of minor economic importance

Pipelines

  • 265 km crude oil;
  • 1,794 km refined products;
  • 1,666 km natural gas

Ports

Algeciras, Alicante, Almeria, Barcelona, Bilbao, Cadiz, Cartagena, Castellon de la Plana, Ceuta, El Ferrol del Caudillo, Puerto de Gijon, Huelva, La Coruna, Las Palmas (Canary Islands), Mahon, Malaga, Melilla, Rota, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Sagunto, Tarragona, Valencia, Vigo, and 175 minor ports

Civil air

142 major transport aircraft

Telecommunications

  • generally adequate, modern facilities;
  • 15,310,000 telephones;
  • stations--196 AM, 404 (134 relays) FM, 143 (1,297 relays) TV;
  • 17 coaxial submarine cables;
  • communications satellite earth stations operating in INTELSAT (5 Atlantic Ocean, 1 Indian Ocean), MARISAT, and ENTELSAT systems

Defense Forces

Army, Navy, Air Force

3 fields

Military manpower

males 15-49
10,032,649fit for military service
8,141,384reach military age (20) annually
338,582
Defense expenditures
2.1%of GDP
or $8.4 billion (1989 est.)

Branches

Army, Navy, Air Force

Central Intelligence Agency. “Spain.” The World Factbook 1990. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/spain/1990.

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