Spain

parliamentary monarchyIndependence 1492 (expulsion of the Moors and unification)

Spain as the 1991 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 71 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

Populationas each edition published it

39.38 million July 1991 · 39.27m in 1990

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

1.5 children per woman 1991 · 1.4 in 1990

Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births

6 deaths per 1,000 live births 1991 · 6 in 1990

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

11 fields

Land boundaries

1,903.2km total

Andorra 65 km, France 623 km, Gibraltar 1.2 km, Portugal 1,214 km

Total area

504,750 km2;
land area: 499,400 km2;
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

Coastline

4,964 km Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm; Territorial sea: 12 nm

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

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%;
includes irrigated 6%

Environment

deforestation; air pollution

Note

strategic location along approaches to Strait of Gibraltar

People

14 fields

Population

39,384,516

(July 1991), growth rate 0.3% (1991)

Per 1,000 population(1991)

Birth

11Death

8Net migration

Literacy

95%

(male 97%, female 93%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)

Infant mortality rate

6 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)

Life expectancy at birth

75 years male, 82 years female (1991)

Total fertility rate

1.5 children born/woman (1991)

Nationality

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

Ethnic divisions

composite of Mediterranean and Nordic types

Religion

Roman Catholic 99%, other sects 1%

Language

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

Labor force

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

Organized labor

less 10% of labor force (1988)

Government

Parliamentary monarchy

18 fields

Congress of Deputies, 350 seats, elected 29 October 1989seats by party

PSOE 175PP 106CiU 18IU 17CDS 14PNV 5HB 4other 11

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%other 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, 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)

Constitution

6 December 1978, effective 29 December 1978

Legal system

civil law system, with regional applications; does not accept compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

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 Narcis SERRA (since 13 March 1991)

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;
Socialist Democracy Party (DS), Ricardo Garcia DAMBORENEA;
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), Kepa AULESTIA;
Andalusian Party (PA), Pedro PACHECO;
Independent Canary Group (AIC);
Aragon Regional Party (PAR);
Valencian Union (UV)

Suffrage

universal at age 18 Senate --last held 29 October 1989 (next to be held October 1993);
results--NA;
seats (208) PSOE 106, PP 79, CiU 10, PNV 4, HB 3, AIC 1, other 5;
Congress of Deputies--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%, other 8.4%;
seats--(350 total) PSOE 175, PP 106, CiU 18, IU 17, CDS 14, PNV 5, HB 4, other 11

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

AG (observer), AsDB, BIS, CCC, CE, CERN, CSCE, EBRD, EC, ECE, ECLAC, EIB, ESA, FAO, G-8, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), LORCS, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, OAS (observer), OECD, PCA, UN, UNAVEM, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation

Ambassador Jaime de OJEDA;
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, 28006 Madrid (mailing address is APO New York 09285);
telephone [34] (1) 577-4000;
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 EC in 1986.

16 fields

GDP, purchasing power parity

$435.9billion

per capita $11,100; real growth rate 3.7% (1990)

Inflation, consumer prices

6.7%

(1990)

Unemployment rate

16.3%

(1990)

External debt

$37billion

(1990 est.)

Budget

Revenues

$100.1 billionExpenditures

$111.6 billion

expenditures, including capital expenditures of $NA (1990)

Overview

This Western capitalistic economy has done well since Spain joined the EC in 1986. With annual increases in real GNP averaging about 5% in the 1987-90 period, 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 almost 7% in 1989-90. Another economic problem facing Spain is an unemployment rate of 16.3%, the highest in Europe.

Exports

$55.6 billion (f.o.b., 1990);
commodities--foodstuffs, live animals, wood, footwear, machinery, chemicals;
partners--EC 67.8%, US 6.5%, other developed countries 9%

Imports

$87.7 billion (c.i.f., 1990);
commodities--petroleum, footwear, machinery, chemicals, grain, soybeans, coffee, tobacco, iron and steel, timber, cotton, transport equipment;
partners--EC 59.7%, US 8.5%, other developed countries 11.5%, Middle East 3.4%

Industrial production

growth rate 3.5% (1990 est.)

Electricity

46,589,000 kW capacity; 141,000 million kWh produced, 3,590 kWh per capita (1990)

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 is among top 20 nations

Economic 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;
not currently a recipient

Currency

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

Exchange rates

pesetas (Ptas) per US$1--95.20 (January 1991), 101.93 (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, 304 ships by type

passenger 2short-sea passenger 9cargo 105refrigerated cargo 17container 14roll-on/roll-off cargo 29vehicle carrier 4petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker 50chemical tanker 14liquefied gas 7combination ore/oil 1specialized tanker 4bulk 48304 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 3,367,529 GRT/5,984,306 DWT

Airports, 104 total, 98 usable

permanent-surface runways

61runways over 3,659 m

4runways 2,440-3,659 m

22runways 1,220-2,439 m

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

172 major transport aircraft

Telecommunications

generally adequate, modern facilities;
15,350,464 telephones;
stations--206 AM, 411 (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