Spain

• temperate;
• clear, hot summers in interior, more moderate and cloudy along coast;
• cloudy, cold winters in interior, partly cloudy and cool along coast

lowest point:

Atlantic Ocean 0 m

highest point:

Pico de Teide (Tenerife) on Canary Islands 3,718 m

total:

37.22 cu km/yr (13%/19%/68%)

per capita:

864 cu m/yr (2002)

• 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

• strategic location along approaches to Strait of Gibraltar;
• Spain controls a number of territories in northern Morocco including the enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, and the islands of Penon de Velez de la Gomera, Penon de Alhucemas, and Islas Chafarinas

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 (2009 est.)

noun:

Spaniard(s)

adjective:

Spanish

conventional long form:

Kingdom of Spain

conventional short form:

Spain

local long form:

Reino de Espana

local short form:

Espana

name:

Madrid

geographic coordinates:

40 24 N, 3 41 W

time difference:

UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

daylight saving time:

+1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October

note: Spain is divided into two time zones including the Canary Islands

• 1492;
• the Iberian peninsula was characterized by a variety of independent kingdoms prior to the Muslim 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

• approved by legislature 31 October 1978;
• passed by referendum 6 December 1978;
• signed by the king 27 December 1978

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 (Prime Minister equivalent) Jose Luis Rodriguez ZAPATERO (since 17 April 2004);
• First Vice President (and Minister of the Presidency) Maria Teresa FERNANDEZ DE LA VEGA (since 18 April 2004), Second Vice President (and Minister of Economy and Finance) Elena SALGADO Mendez (since 8 April 2009), and Third Vice President (and Minister of Regional Affairs) Manuel CHAVES Gonzalez (since 8 April 2009)

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 on 9 and 11 April 2008 (next to be held in March 2012);
• vice presidents appointed by the monarch on the proposal of the president

election results:

Jose Luis Rodriguez ZAPATERO reelected President of the Government; percent of National Assembly vote - 46.94%

• Aragonese Party or CHA [Bizen FUSTER];
• Basque Nationalist Party or PNV or EAJ [Inigo URKULLU];
• Basque Solidarity or EA [Begona ERRAZTI];
• Canarian Coalition or CC [Jose Torres STINGA] (a coalition of five parties);
• 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 i LLEIDA]);
• Entesa Catalonia de Progress (a Senate coalition grouping four Catalan parties - PSC, ERC, ICV, EUA);
• Galician Nationalist Bloc or BNG [Anxo Manuel QUINTANA Gonzalez];
• Initiative for Catalonia Greens or ICV [Joan SAURA i Laporta];
• Navarra yes or Na Bai [Uxue BARKOS Berruezo] (a coalition of four Navarran parties);
• Popular Party or PP [Mariano RAJOY Brey];
• Republican Left of Catalonia or ERC [Joan RIDAO];
• Spanish Socialist Workers Party or PSOE [Jose Luis Rodriguez ZAPATERO];
• United Left or IU [Cayo LARA] (a coalition of parties including the Communist Party of Spain or PCE and other small parties)

• Association for Victims of Terrorism or AVT (grassroots organization devoted primarily to opposing ETA terrorist attacks and supporting its victims);
• Basta Ya (Spanish for "Enough is Enough"; grassroots organization devoted primarily to opposing ETA terrorist attacks and supporting its victims);
• Nunca Mais (Galician for "Never Again"; formed in response to the oil Tanker Prestige oil spill);
• Socialist General Union of Workers or UGT and the smaller independent Workers Syndical Union or USO;
• Trade Union Confederation of Workers' Commissions or CC.OO.

other:

• business and landowning interests;
• Catholic Church;
• free labor unions (authorized in April 1977);
• university students

chief of mission:

Ambassador Jorge DEZCALLAR de Mazarredo

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, San Juan (Puerto Rico)

chief of mission:

Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Arnold A. CHACON

embassy:

Serrano 75, 28006 Madrid

mailing address:

PSC 61, APO AE 09642

telephone:

[34] (91) 587-2200

FAX:

[34] (91) 587-2303

consulate(s) general:

Barcelona

• 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 is quartered to display the emblems of the traditional kingdoms of Spain (clockwise from upper left, Castile, Leon, Navarre, and Aragon) while Granada is represented by the stylized pomegranate at the bottom of the shield;
• the arms are framed by two columns representing the Pillars of Hercules, which are the two promontories (Gibraltar and Ceuta) on either side of the eastern end of the Strait of Gibraltar;
• the red scroll across the two columns bears the imperial motto of "Plus Ultra" (further beyond) referring to Spanish lands beyond Europe

agriculture:

4%

industry:

26.4%

services:

69.5% (2008 est.)

lowest 10%:

2.6%

highest 10%:

26.6% (2000)

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

general assessment:

well developed, modern facilities; fixed-line teledensity is roughly 50 per 100 persons

domestic:

combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular teledensity is nearly 175 telephones per 100 persons

international:

• country code - 34;
• submarine cables provide connectivity to Europe, Middle East, Asia, and US;
• satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), NA Eutelsat;
• tropospheric scatter to adjacent countries

total:

15,288 km

country comparison to the world: 18

broad gauge:

11,919 km 1.668-m gauge (6,950 km electrified)

standard gauge:

1,392 km 1.435-m gauge (1,054 km electrified)

narrow gauge:

1,949 km 1.000-m gauge (815 km electrified); 28 km 0.914-m gauge (28 km electrified) (2008)

total:

681,224 km

country comparison to the world: 10

paved:

681,224 km (includes 13,872 km of expressways) (2006)

males age 16-49:

10,033,069

females age 16-49:

9,764,937 (2008 est.)

males age 16-49:

8,139,020

females age 16-49:

7,899,157 (2009 est.)

male:

199,124

female:

187,224 (2009 est.)

• in 2002, 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;
• Portugal does not recognize Spanish sovereignty over the territory of Olivenza based on a difference of interpretation of the 1815 Congress of Vienna and the 1801 Treaty of Badajoz

• despite rigorous law enforcement efforts, North African, Latin American, Galician, and other European traffickers take advantage of Spain's long coastline to land large shipments of cocaine and hashish for distribution to the European market;
• consumer for Latin American cocaine and North African hashish;
• destination and minor transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin;
• money-laundering site for Colombian narcotics trafficking organizations and organized crime