Spain
Kingdom of Spain
parliamentary monarchyIndependence 1492 (expulsion of the Moors and unification)
Spain as the 1996 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 92 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.
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Geography
Southwestern Europe, bordering the Bay of Biscay, | Mediterranean Sea, and North Atlantic Ocean, southwest of France
15 fieldsNote
Location
Southwestern Europe, bordering the Bay of Biscay, Mediterranean Sea, and North Atlantic Ocean, southwest of France
International disputes
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
- lowest point:
- Atlantic Ocean 0 m
- highest point:
- Pico de Teide on Canary Islands 3,718 m
Natural resources
coal, lignite, iron ore, uranium, mercury, pyrites, fluorspar, gypsum, zinc, lead, tungsten, copper, kaolin, potash, hydropower
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
- natural hazards:
- periodic droughts
- 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
People
15 fieldsPer 1,000 population(1996 est.)
Male · female(1996 est.)
Age structure
- 0-14 years:
- 16% (male 3,237,942; female 3,055,881)
- 15-64 years:
- 68% (male 13,380,956; female 13,352,582)
- 65 years and over:
- 16% (male 2,566,728; female 3,587,025) (July 1996 est.)
Sex ratio
- at birth:
- 1.07 male(s)/female
- under 15 years:
- 1.06 male(s)/female
- 15-64 years:
- 1 male(s)/female
- 65 years and over:
- 0.72 male(s)/female
- all ages:
- 0.96 male(s)/female (1996 est.)
Government
Parliamentary monarchy; King JUAN CARLOS I (since 22 November 1975) is a hereditary monarch; Prime Minister Jose Maria AZNAR (since 5 May 1996) was proposed by the king and voted into office by the National Assembly on 4 May 1996
24 fieldsPresidential electionpercent of vote
Legislature, 256 seatsone dot, one seat
Legislature, 350 seatsseats by party
Name of country
- conventional long form:
- Kingdom of Spain
- conventional short form:
- Spain
- local short form:
- Espana
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
Legal system
civil law system, with regional applications; does not accept compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Executive branch
- chief of state:
- King JUAN CARLOS I (since 22 November 1975) is a hereditary monarch
- head of government:
- Prime Minister Jose Maria AZNAR (since 5 May 1996) was proposed by the king and voted into office by the National Assembly on 4 May 1996;
- AZNAR's Popular Party defeated Felipe GONZALEZ Marques's Socialist Workers Party in the 3 March 1996 legislative election;
- Deputy Prime Minister (vacant)
- cabinet:
- Council of Ministers was designated by the prime minister
Senate (Senado)
- elections last held 3 March 1996 (next to be held by March 2000);
- results - percent of vote by party NA;
- seats - (256 total) PP 132, PSOE 96, CiU 11, PNV 6, IU 2, others 9
Congress of Deputies (Congreso de los Diputados)
- elections last held 3 March 1996 (next to be held by March 2000);
- results - PP 38.9%, PSOE 37.5%, IU 10.7%, CiU 4.6%;
- seats - (350 total) PSOE 141, PP 156, IU 21, CiU 16, other 16
Political parties and leaders
- principal national parties from right to left:
- Popular Party (PP), Jose Maria AZNAR Lopez;
- Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE), Felipe GONZALEZ Marquez, secretary general;
- Spanish Communist Party (PCE), Julio ANGUITA Gonzalez;
- United Left (IU - a coalition of parties including the PCE, a branch of the PSOE, and other small parties), Julio ANGUITA Gonzalez
- chief regional parties:
- Convergence and Union (CiU), Jordi PUJOL, secretary general (a coalition of the Democratic Convergence of Catalonia (CDC), Pere ESTEVE, and the Democratic Union of Catalonia (UDC), Josep Antoni DURAN LLEIDA);
- Basque Nationalist Party (PNV), Xabier ARZALLUS Antia and Jose Antonio ARDANZA;
- Basque United People (HB or Herri Batasuna, ETA's political wing), Juan Cruz IDIGORAS;
- Canarian Coalition (CC), a coalition of five parties
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);
- Workers Confederation (CC.OO);
- the Socialist General Union of Workers (UGT), and the smaller independent Workers Syndical Union (USO);
- business and landowning interests;
- the Catholic Church;
- Opus Dei;
- university students
International organization participation
AfDB, AG (observer), AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CE, CERN, EBRD, ECE, ECLAC, EIB, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 8, 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, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCRO, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNPREDEP, UNPROFOR, UNU, UPU, WCL, WEU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in US
- chief of mission:
- Ambassador Jaime De OJEDA Eiseley
- chancery:
- 2375 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20037
- telephone:
- [1] (202) 452-0100, 728-2340
FAX
[1] (202) 833-5670; consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, and San Juan (Puerto Rico)
US diplomatic representation
- chief of mission:
- Ambassador Richard N. GARDNER
- embassy:
- Serrano 75, 28006 Madrid
- mailing address:
- APO AE 09642
- telephone:
- [34] (1) 577-4000, 577-2301
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
21 fieldsGDP composition by sector(1995 est.)
Installed generating capacity, 43,800,000 kW
Economic overview
Spain, with a mixed capitalist economy and a per capita GDP two-thirds that of the four leading economies of Western Europe, has shared with these countries the recession of the early 1990s, the gradual upturn of 1994-95, and the ongoing controversies over the timing and terms of European economic union.
Reduction of the budget deficit - at 5.9% of GDP in 1995 - to meet the Maastricht monetary convergence criterion of 3% by 1997 remains the primary goal of Spanish economic policy, but political pressures had kept the Socialist government from implementing the full range of reforms necessary to meet this goal.
Spain's official unemployment rate of 23% is the highest in the EU, and the troubled Socialists had been reluctant to cut social spending. Parliament rejected the administration's proposed 1996 budget because of political wrangling - not because of great differences with the substance of the spending plan - forcing the government to continue spending at 1995 levels and use piecemeal decrees to raise consumption taxes to a level consistent with inflation.
The conservative opposition Popular Party, now in power after ending 13 years of Socialist rule in the spring of 1996, has promised to cut government spending, loosen regulations on financial markets, and lower taxes to spur job creation. The conservatives have stated support for Spain's role in the EU but also have cautioned against harming Spain's economy by moving too quickly to meet the criteria for monetary union.
Labor force
11.837 million; by occupation: services 59%, industry 21%, agriculture 11%, construction 9% (1993 est.)
Industries
textiles and apparel (including footwear), food and beverages, metals and metal manufactures, chemicals, shipbuilding, automobiles, machine tools, tourism
Agriculture
- grain, vegetables, olives, wine grapes, sugar beets, citrus;
- beef, pork, poultry, dairy products;
- fish catch of 1.4 million metric tons is among top 20 nations
Illicit drugs
key European gateway country for Latin American cocaine and North African hashish entering the European market; transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin
Exports
$85 billion (f.o.b., 1995)
- commodities:
- cars and trucks, semifinished manufactured goods, foodstuffs, machinery
- partners:
- EU 68.7%, US 4.9%, other developed countries 7.9% (1994)
Imports
$110 billion (c.i.f., 1995)
- commodities:
- machinery, transport equipment, fuels, semifinished goods, foodstuffs, consumer goods, chemicals
- partners:
- EU 60.9%, US 7.3%, other developed countries 11.5%, Middle East 6.2% (1994)
Exchange rates
pesetas (Ptas) per US$1 - 123.19 (January 1996), 124.69 (1995), 133.96 (1994), 127.26 (1993), 102.38 (1992), 103.91 (1991)
Transportation
8 fieldsAirports by runway lengthpaved left, unpaved right · 96 in all
Networkskm
Railways
- total:
- 14,343 km
- broad gauge:
- 12,139 km 1.668-m gauge (6,510 km electrified; 2,295 km double track)
- standard gauge:
- 488 km 1.435-m gauge (488 km electrified)
- narrow gauge:
- 1,716 km (privately owned: 1,669 km 1.000-m gauge, 489 km electrified; 28 km 0.914-m gauge, 28 km electrified; government
- owned:
- 19 km 1.000-m gauge, all electrified)
Highways
- total:
- 331,961 km
- paved:
- 328,641 km (including 2,700 km of expressways)
- unpaved:
- 3,320 km (1991 est.)
Ports
Aviles, Barcelona, Bilbao, Cadiz, Cartagena, Castellon de la Plana, Ceuta, Huelva, La Coruna, Las Palmas (Canary Islands), Malaga, Melilla, Pasajes, Puerto de Gijon, Santa Cruz de Tenerife (Canary Islands), Santander, Tarragona, Valencia, Vigo
Merchant marine
- total:
- 147 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 874,688 GRT/1,391,421 DWT
- ships by type:
- bulk 9, cargo 36, chemical tanker 11, combination ore/oil 1, container 8, liquefied gas tanker 4, oil tanker 25, passenger 2, refrigerated cargo 12, roll-on/roll-off cargo 32, short-sea passenger 6, specialized tanker 1 (1995 est.)
Communications
Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Civil Guard, National | Police, Coastal Civil Guard
9 fieldsTelephone system
generally adequate, modern facilities
- domestic:
- NA
- international:
- 22 coaxial submarine cables;
- satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), NA Eutelsat, NA Inmarsat, and NA Marecs;
- tropospheric scatter to adjacent countries
Manpower availability
- males age 15-49:
- 10,360,209
- males fit for military service:
- 8,370,197
- males reach military age (20) annually:
- 341,670 (1996 est.)
Cite this entry
Central Intelligence Agency. “Spain.” The World Factbook 1996. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/spain/1996.