Spain

Kingdom of Spain

parliamentary monarchyIndependence 1492 (expulsion of the Moors and unification)

Spain as the 1999 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 110 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
Position40 00 N, 4 00 W
Area504,750 sq km
LocationSouthwestern Europe, bordering the Bay of Biscay,
1999

Every edition of Spain

Populationas each edition published it
39.17 million July 1999 est. · 39.27m in 1990
Population growth% a year
0.1% 1999 est. · 0.24% in 1993
Median ageyears
Not in this edition 38.7 yrs in 2003
Life expectancyyears at birth
77.71 years 1999 est. · 77.51 yrs in 1993
Fertility ratechildren per woman
1.24 children per woman 1999 est. · 1.4 in 1990
Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births
6.41 deaths per 1,000 live births 1999 est. · 6 in 1990
GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars
$16,500 1998 est. · $13,200 in 1993
GDP real growth% a year
3.5% 1998 est. · 1% in 1993

Introduction

1 field

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.

Geography

Southwestern Europe, bordering the Bay of Biscay, | Mediterranean Sea, North Atlantic Ocean, and Pyrenees Mountains, | southwest of France

18 fields
Area
504,750sq km
land: 499,400 sq kmwater: 5,350 sq kmslightly more than twice the size of Oregon
Note
note: includes Balearic Islands, Canary Islands, and five places of sovereignty (plazas de soberania) on and off the coast of Morocco--Ceuta, Melilla, Islas Chafarinas, Penon de Alhucemas, and Penon de Velez de la Gomera
Coastline
4,964km
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm (applies only to the Atlantic Ocean)territorial sea: 12 nm
Land boundaries
1,919.1km
border countries: Andorra 65 km, France 623 km, Gibraltar 1.2 km, Portugal 1,214 km, Morocco (Ceuta) 6.3 km, Morocco (Melilla) 9.6 km
Irrigated land
34,530sq km
(1993 est.)

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

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, uranium, mercury, pyrites, fluorspar, gypsum, zinc, lead, tungsten, copper, kaolin, potash, hydropower

Land use

arable land:
30%
permanent crops:
9%
permanent pastures:
21%
forests and woodland:
32%
other:
8% (1993 est.)

Natural hazards

periodic droughts

Environment--current issues

  • 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-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified:
Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification

Geography--note

strategic location along approaches to Strait of Gibraltar

People

15 fields
Population
39,167,744
(July 1999 est.)growth rate: 0.1% (1999 est.)

Per 1,000 population(1999 est.)

Birth
9.99Death
9.69Net migration
0.66

Male · female

TotalMale · femaleLife expectancy years (1999 est.)77.71
73.97 · 81.71
TotalMale · femaleLiteracy (1986 est.)96%
98% · 94%
MaleFemaleLiteracy definition: age 15 and over can read and write

Age structure

0-14 years:
15% (male 3,012,907; female 2,835,455)
15-64 years:
68% (male 13,411,046; female 13,406,214)
65 years and over:
17% (male 2,702,654; female 3,799,468) (1999 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:
0.71 male(s)/female
total population:
0.95 male(s)/female (1999 est.)

Infant mortality rate

6.41 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)

Total fertility rate

1.24 children born/woman (1999 est.)

Nationality

noun:
Spaniard(s)
adjective:
Spanish

Ethnic groups

composite of Mediterranean and Nordic types

Religions

Roman Catholic 99%, other 1%

Languages

Castilian Spanish 74%, Catalan 17%, Galician 7%, Basque 2%

Government

Parliamentary monarchy; King JUAN CARLOS I (since 22 November 1975); President of the Government Jose Maria AZNAR Lopez (since 5 May 1996)

20 fields

Legislature, 350 seatsseats by party

-PP 156PSOE 141IU 21CiU 16other 16

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, Baleares (Balearic Islands), Canarias (Canary Islands), Cantabria, Castilla-La Mancha, Castilla y Leon, Cataluna, Communidad Valencian, Extremadura, Galicia, La Rioja, Madrid, Murcia, Navarra, Pais Vasco (Basque Country)

note: there are five places of sovereignty on and off the coast of

Morocco

  • Ceuta and Melilla are administered as autonomous communities;
  • Islas Chafarinas, Penon de Alhucemas, and Penon de Velez de la Gomera are under direct Spanish administration

Independence

1492 (expulsion of the Moors and unification)

National holiday

National Day, 12 October

Constitution

6 December 1978, effective 29 December 1978

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 Jose Maria AZNAR Lopez (since 5 May 1996);
  • First Vice President Francisco ALVAREZ CASCOS Fernandez (since 5 May 1996) and Second Vice President (and Minister of Economy and Finance) Rodrigo RATO Figaredo (since 5 May 1996)
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

elections:
  • the monarch is hereditary;
  • president proposed by the monarch and elected by the National Assembly following legislative elections;
  • election last held 3 March 1996 (next to be held by NA April 2000);
  • vice presidents appointed by the monarch on proposal of the president
election results:
Jose Maria AZNAR elected president; percent of National Assembly vote--NA

Legislative branch

bicameral; the General Courts or National Assembly or Las Cortes Generales consists of the Senate or Senado (256 seats--208 members directly elected by popular vote and the other 48 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 3 March 1996 (next to be held by April 2000); Congress of Deputies--last held 3 March 1996 (next to be held by April 2000)
election results:
  • Senate--percent of vote by party--NA;
  • seats by party--PP 132, PSOE 96, CiU 11, PNV 6, IU 2, others 9;
  • Congress of Deputies--percent of vote by party--PP 38.9%, PSOE 37.5%, IU 10.7%, CiU 4.6%;
  • seats by party--PP 156, PSOE 141, IU 21, CiU 16, other 16

Judicial branch

Supreme Court or Tribunal Supremo

Political parties and leaders

principal national parties, from right to left: Popular Party or PP Gonzalez] Soley, secretary general] (a coalition of the Democratic Convergence

Political pressure groups and leaders

  • on the extreme left, the Basque Fatherland and Liberty or ETA and the First of October Antifascist Resistance Group or GRAPO use terrorism to oppose the unions (authorized in April 1977);
  • Workers Confederation or CC.OO;
  • the Socialist General Union of Workers or UGT and the smaller independent Workers Syndical Union or USO;
  • business and landowning interests;
  • the Catholic Church;
  • Opus Dei;
  • university students

International organization participation

AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECLAC, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MTCR, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIBH, UNU, UPU, WCL, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in the US

chief of mission:
Ambassador Antonio OYARZABAL MARCHESI
chancery:
2375 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20037
consulate(s) general:
Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, and San Juan (Puerto Rico)

Diplomatic representation from the US

chief of mission:
Ambassador Edward L. ROMERO
embassy:
Serrano 75, 28006 Madrid
mailing address:
APO AE 09642
consulate(s) general:
Barcelona

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

Spain's mixed capitalist economy supports a GDP | that on a per capita basis is three-fourths that of the four leading | West European economies.

31 fields
GDP per capita, PPP
$16,500
purchasing power parity? · (1998 est.)
Real growth rate
3.5%
(1998 est.)industrial production growth: 5.8% (1998)
Unemployment rate
20%
(1998 est.)

GDP--composition by sector(1997 est.)

agriculture 3.4%industry 33.3%services 63.3% (1997 est.)

Budget

Revenues
$113 billionExpenditures
$139 billion (1995)
expenditures including capital expenditures of $15 billion

Electricity

fossil fuel 43.17%hydro 23.92%nuclear 32.74%other 0.17% (1996)
Electricity production
163.468 billion (1996)Electricity consumption
164.568 billion (1996)Electricity exports
5.7 billion (1996)Electricity imports
6.8 billion (1996)

Economy--overview

Spain's mixed capitalist economy supports a GDP that on a per capita basis is three-fourths that of the four leading West European economies. Its center-right government successfully worked to gain admission to the first group of countries launching the European single currency on 1 January 1999.

The deficit-to-GDP ratio is 2.1%, the debt-to-GDP ratio is around 68%, and inflation is approximately 2%. Moreover, the AZNAR administration has continued to advocate liberalization, privatization, and deregulation of the economy and has introduced some tax reforms to that end. Unemployment, nonetheless, remains the highest in the EU at 20%. The government, for political reasons, has made only limited progress in changing labor laws or reforming pension schemes, which are key to the sustainability of both Spain's internal economic advances and its competitiveness in a single currency area.

Adjustment to the monetary and other economic policies of an integrated Europe will pose difficult challenges to Spain in the next few years.

GDP

purchasing power parity--$645.6 billion (1998 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%:
2.8%
highest 10%:
25.2% (1990)

Labor force

16.2 million

Labor force--by occupation

services 64%, manufacturing, mining, and construction 28%, agriculture 8% (1997 est.)

Industries

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

Agriculture--products

  • grain, vegetables, olives, wine grapes, sugar beets, citrus;
  • beef, pork, poultry, dairy products;
  • fish

Exports

$111.1 billion (f.o.b., 1998 est.)

Exports--commodities

cars and trucks, other machinery and manufactured goods, foodstuffs, and other consumer goods

Exports--partners

EU 70% (France 20%, Germany 18%, Italy 10%, Portugal 9%, UK 8%), US 4.4% (1997)

Imports

$132.3 billion (f.o.b., 1998 est.)

Imports--commodities

machinery, transport equipment, fuels, semifinished goods, foodstuffs, consumer goods, chemicals (1997)

Imports--partners

EU 65% (France 17%, Germany 15%, Italy 9%, UK 8%, Benelux 7%), US 6%, Japan 3% (1997)

Debt--external

$90 billion (1993 est.)

Economic aid--donor

ODA, $1.3 billion (1995)

Currency

1 peseta (Pta) = 100 centimos

Exchange rates

pesetas (Ptas) per US$1--143.39 (January 1999), 149.40 (1998), 146.41 (1997), 126.66 (1996), 124.69 (1995), 133.96 (1994)

note: on 1 January 1999, the European Union introduced a common currency that is now being used by financial institutions in some member countries at the rate of 0.8597 euros per US$ and a fixed rate of 166.386 pesetas per euro;

the euro will replace the local currency in consenting countries for all transactions in 2002

Fiscal year

calendar year

Communications

6 fields
Fixed lines
12.6 million
(1990 est.)

Telephone 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

Radio broadcast stations

AM 190, FM 406 (repeaters 134), shortwave 0

Radios

12 million (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations

542 (382 network stations, 160 low-power stations, and one US Air Force Europe station) (1997)

Televisions

15.7 million (1992 est.)

Transportation

10 fields

Merchant marine, 137 ships by type(1998 est.)

bulk 11cargo 29chemical tanker 10container 10liquefied gas tanker 3oil tanker 25passenger 1refrigerated cargo 6roll-on/roll-off cargo 35short-sea passenger 6specialized tanker 1

Airports by runway lengthpaved only

under 914 m
9
over 3,047 m: 15 2,438 to 3,047 m: 11 1,524 to 2,437 m: 16 914 to 1,523 m: 15

Airports by runway lengthunpaved only

under 914 m
21
total: 33 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 11

Networkskm

Highways
346,858Railways
15,079Waterways
1,045
Highways: paved: 343,389 km (including 9,063 km of expressways) · unpaved: 3,469 km (1997 est.) · Railways: broad gauge: 12,781 km 1.668-m gauge (6,355 km electrified; 2,295 km double track) · standard gauge: 525 km 1.435-m gauge (480 km electrified) · narrow gauge: 1,773 km 1.000-m gauge (594 km electrified) (1996) · Waterways: , but of minor economic importance

Railways

total:
15,079 km
broad gauge:
12,781 km 1.668-m gauge (6,355 km electrified; 2,295 km double track)
standard gauge:
525 km 1.435-m gauge (480 km electrified)
narrow gauge:
1,773 km 1.000-m gauge (594 km electrified) (1996)

Highways

total:
346,858 km
paved:
343,389 km (including 9,063 km of expressways)
unpaved:
3,469 km (1997 est.)

Waterways

1,045 km, but of minor economic importance

Pipelines

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

Ports and harbors

Aviles, Barcelona, Bilbao, Cadiz, Cartagena, Castellon de la Plana, Ceuta, Huelva, La Coruna, Las Palmas (Canary Islands), Malaga, Melilla, Pasajes, Gijon, Santa Cruz de Tenerife (Canary Islands), Santander, Tarragona, Valencia, Vigo

Airports

99 (1998 est.)

Heliports

2 (1998 est.)

Military

Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Civil Guard, | National Police, Coastal Civil Guard

7 fields

Military branches

Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Civil Guard, National Police, Coastal Civil Guard

Military manpower--availability

males age 15-49: 10,374,314 (1999 est.)

Military manpower--fit for military service

males age 15-49: 8,346,155 (1999 est.)

Transnational Issues

2 fields

Disputes--international

Gibraltar issue 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 and consumer of Southwest Asian heroin

Central Intelligence Agency. “Spain.” The World Factbook 1999. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/spain/1999.

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