1990 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1990 (Project Gutenberg)
Geography
Climate
temperate; clear, hot summers in interior, more moderate and cloudy along coast; cloudy, cold winters in interior, partly cloudy and cool along coast
Coastline
4,964 km
Comparative area
slightly more than twice the size of Oregon
Disputes
Gibraltar question with UK; controls two presidios or places of sovereignty (Ceuta and Melilla) on the north coast of Morocco
Environment
deforestation; air pollution
Extended economic zone
200 nm;
Land boundaries
1,903.2 km total; Andorra 65 km, France 623 km, Gibraltar 1.2 km, Portugal 1,214 km
Land use
31% arable land; 10% permanent crops; 21% meadows and pastures; 31% forest and woodland; 7% other; includes 6% irrigated
Natural resources
coal, lignite, iron ore, uranium, mercury, pyrites, fluorspar, gypsum, zinc, lead, tungsten, copper, kaolin, potash, hydropower
Note
strategic location along approaches to Strait of Gibraltar
Terrain
large, flat to dissected plateau surrounded by rugged hills; Pyrenees in north
Territorial sea
12 nm
Total area
504,750 km2; land area: 499,400 km2; includes Balaeric Islands, Canary Islands, Ceuta, Mellila, Islas Chafarinas, Penon de Alhucemas, and Penon de Velez de la Gomera
People and Society
Birth rate
11 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate
8 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Ethnic divisions
composite of Mediterranean and Nordic types
Infant mortality rate
6 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Labor force
14,621,000; 53% services, 24% industry, 14% agriculture, 9% construction (1988)
Language
Castilian Spanish; second languages include 17% Catalan, 7% Galician, and 2% Basque
Life expectancy at birth
75 years male, 82 years female (1990)
Literacy
97%
Nationality
noun--Spaniard(s); adjective--Spanish
Net migration rate
0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Organized labor
less 10% of labor force (1988)
Population
39,268,715 (July 1990), growth rate 0.3% (1990)
Religion
99% Roman Catholic, 1% other sects
Total fertility rate
1.4 children born/woman (1990)
Government
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
Capital
Madrid
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
Constitution
6 December 1978, effective 29 December 1978
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
Elections
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
Executive branch
monarch, president of the government (prime minister), deputy prime minister, Council of Ministers (cabinet), Council of State
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
Independence
1492 (expulsion of the Moors and unification)
Judicial branch
Supreme Court (Tribunal Supremo)
Leaders
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)
Legal system
civil law system, with regional applications; does not accept compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
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)
Long-form name
Kingdom of Spain
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
National holiday
National Day, 12 October
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
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
Type
parliamentary monarchy
Economy
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
Budget
revenues $57.8 billion; expenditures $66.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $10.4 billion (1987)
Currency
peseta (plural--pesetas); 1 peseta (Pta) = 100 centimos
Electricity
46,589,000 kW capacity; 157,040 million kWh produced, 3,980 kWh per capita (1989)
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)
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%
External debt
$32.7 billion (1988)
Fiscal year
calendar year
GNP
$398.7 billion, per capita $10,100; real growth rate 4.8% (1989 est.)
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)
Industries
textiles and apparel (including footwear), food and beverages, metals and metal manufactures, chemicals, shipbuilding, automobiles, machine tools
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
7.0% (1989 est.)
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.
Unemployment rate
16.5% (1989 est.)
Communications
Airports
110 total, 103 usable; 62 with permanent-surface runways; 4 with runways over 3,659 m; 20 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 29 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Civil air
142 major transport aircraft
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
Merchant marine
324 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 3,492,563 GRT/6,128,190 DWT; includes 2 passenger, 9 short-sea passenger, 121 cargo, 19 refrigerated cargo, 17 container, 23 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 51 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 16 chemical tanker, 10 liquefied gas, 1 specialized tanker, 1 combination ore/oil, 49 bulk, 5 vehicle carrier
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
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
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
Military and Security
Branches
Army, Navy, Air Force
Defense expenditures
2.1% of GDP, or $8.4 billion (1989 est.)
Military manpower
males 15-49, 10,032,649; 8,141,384 fit for military service; 338,582 reach military age (20) annually