1991 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1991 (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; 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
Environment
deforestation; air pollution
Land boundaries
1,903.2 km total; Andorra 65 km, France 623 km, Gibraltar 1.2 km, Portugal 1,214 km
Land use
arable land 31%; permanent crops 10%; meadows and pastures 21%; forest and woodland 31%; other 7%; includes irrigated 6%
Maritime claims
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm; Territorial sea: 12 nm
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
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
People and Society
Birth rate
11 births/1,000 population (1991)
Death rate
8 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
Ethnic divisions
composite of Mediterranean and Nordic types
Infant mortality rate
6 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
Labor force
14,621,000; services 53%, industry 24%, agriculture 14%, constrction 9% (1988)
Language
Castilian Spanish; second languages include Catalan 17%, Galician 7%, Basque 2%
Life expectancy at birth
75 years male, 82 years female (1991)
Literacy
95% (male 97%, female 93%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
Nationality
noun--Spaniard(s); adjective--Spanish
Net migration rate
0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
Organized labor
less 10% of labor force (1988)
Population
39,384,516 (July 1991), growth rate 0.3% (1991)
Religion
Roman Catholic 99%, other sects 1%
Total fertility rate
1.5 children born/woman (1991)
Government
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
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 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
Elections
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
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 Narcis SERRA (since 13 March 1991)
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
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
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; 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
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 is among top 20 nations
Budget
revenues $100.1 billion; expenditures $111.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1990)
Currency
peseta (plural--pesetas); 1 peseta (Pta) = 100 centimos
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
Electricity
46,589,000 kW capacity; 141,000 million kWh produced, 3,590 kWh per capita (1990)
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)
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%
External debt
$37 billion (1990 est.)
Fiscal year
calendar year
GDP
$435.9 billion, per capita $11,100; real growth rate 3.7% (1990)
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.)
Industries
textiles and apparel (including footwear), food and beverages, metals and metal manufactures, chemicals, shipbuilding, automobiles, machine tools
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
6.7% (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.
Unemployment rate
16.3% (1990)
Communications
Airports
104 total, 98 usable; 61 with permanent-surface runways; 4 with runways over 3,659 m; 22 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 25 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Civil air
172 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
304 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 3,367,529 GRT/5,984,306 DWT; includes 2 passenger, 9 short-sea passenger, 105 cargo, 17 refrigerated cargo, 14 container, 29 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 4 vehicle carrier, 50 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 14 chemical tanker, 7 liquefied gas, 1 combination ore/oil, 4 specialized tanker, 48 bulk
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; 15,350,464 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
Military and Security
Branches
Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Civil Guard
Defense expenditures
$8.6 billion, 2% of GDP (1990) _%_
Manpower availability
males 15-49, 10,134,256; 8,222,987 fit for military service; 339,749 reach military age (20) annually