1995 Edition

Area

total area: 504,750 sq km land area: 499,400 sq km comparative area: slightly more than twice the size of Oregon note: 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

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

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

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

Irrigated land

33,600 sq km (1989 est.)

Land boundaries

total 1,903.2 km, 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%

Location

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

Map references

Europe

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

Age structure

0-14 years: 17% (female 3,214,606; male 3,446,643) 15-64 years: 68% (female 13,377,839; male 13,457,683) 65 years and over: 15% (female 3,461,367; male 2,446,210) (July 1995 est.)

Birth rate

11.21 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Death rate

8.86 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Ethnic divisions

composite of Mediterranean and Nordic types

Infant mortality rate

6.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

Labor force

14.621 million by occupation: services 53%, industry 24%, agriculture 14%, construction 9% (1988)

Languages

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

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 77.91 years male: 74.67 years female: 81.39 years (1995 est.)

Literacy

age 15 and over can read and write (1986) total population: 96% male: 98% female: 94%

Nationality

noun: Spaniard(s) adjective: Spanish

Net migration rate

0.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Population

39,404,348 (July 1995 est.)

Population growth rate

0.27% (1995 est.)

Religions

Roman Catholic 99%, other sects 1%

Total fertility rate

1.41 children born/woman (1995 est.)

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

Congress of Deputies (Congreso de los Diputados)

elections last held 6 June 1993 (next to be held by June 1997); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (350 total) PSOE 159, PP 141, IU 18, CiU 17, PNV 5, CC 4, HB 2, other 4

Constitution

6 December 1978, effective 29 December 1978

Council of State

is the supreme consultative organ of the government

Digraph

SP

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

Executive branch

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 y Serra (since 13 March 1991) cabinet: Council of Ministers; designated by the prime minister

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)

[34] (1) 577-5735 consulate(s) general: Barcelona consulate(s): Bilbao

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)

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)

Member of

AfDB, AG (observer), AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CE, CERN, EBRD, EC, ECE, ECLAC, EIB, ESA, FAO, G- 8, GATT, 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, ONUSAL, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIH, UNOMOZ, UNPROFOR, UNU, UPU, WCL, WEU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

Names

conventional long form: Kingdom of Spain conventional short form: Spain local short form: Espana

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); business and landowning interests; the Catholic Church; Opus Dei; university students

Political parties and leaders

principal national parties, from right to left: Popular Party (PP), Jose Maria AZNAR Lopez; Democratic Social Center (CDS), Rafael CALVO Ortega; Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE), Felipe GONZALEZ Marquez, secretary general; Socialist Democracy Party (DS), Ricardo GARCIA Damborenea; 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), Miquel ROCA i Junyent, secretary general; Basque Nationalist Party (PNV), Xabier ARZALLUS Antia and Jose Antonio ARDANZA; Basque United People (HB), Jon IDIGORAS Guerricabeitia and Inaki ESNAOLA; Canarian Coalition (CC), a coalition of five parties

Senate (Senado)

elections last held 6 June 1993 (next to be held by June 1997); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (255 total) PSOE 117, PP 107, CiU 15, PNV 5, IU 2, other 9

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Type

parliamentary monarchy

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

Agriculture

accounts for about 5% of GDP 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: $97.7 billion expenditures: $128 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1993 est.)

Currency

1 peseta (Pta) = 100 centimos

Economic aid

recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-87), $1.9 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-79), $545 million note: not currently a recipient

Electricity

capacity: 43,800,000 kW production: 148 billion kWh consumption per capita: 3,545 kWh (1993)

Exchange rates

pesetas (Ptas) per US$1 - 132.61 (January 1995), 133.96 (1994), 127.26 (1993), 102.38 (1992), 103.91 (1991), 101.93 (1990)

Exports

$72.8 billion (f.o.b., 1993) commodities: cars and trucks, semifinished manufactured goods, foodstuffs, machinery partners: EC 71.2%, US 4.8%, other developed countries 7.9% (1992)

External debt

$90 billion (1993 est.)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Illicit drugs

key European gateway country for Latin American cocaine and North African hashish entering the European market; transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin

Imports

$92.5 billion (c.i.f., 1993) commodities: machinery, transport equipment, fuels, semifinished goods, foodstuffs, consumer goods, chemicals partners: EC 60.7%, US 7.4%, other developed countries 11.5%, Middle East 5.9% (1992)

Industrial production

growth rate 4% (1994 est.)

Industries

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

4.9% (1994)

National product

GDP - purchasing power parity - $515.8 billion (1994 est.)

National product per capita

$13,120 (1994 est.)

National product real growth rate

1.8% (1994 est.)

Overview

Spain, with a per capita output approximately two-thirds that of the four leading economies of Western Europe, has shared with these countries the recession of the early 1990s and the upturn of their economic fortunes in 1994. But whereas unemployment in these countries has hovered just above 10%, Spain has been forced to cope with a 25% unemployment rate. Continued political turmoil has complicated the establishment of stable government policies toward budgetary restraint, interest rates, labor law reform, and Spain's role in the evolving economic integration of Western Europe. Because the recession has been so deep, the growth in industrial output, tourism, and other sectors in 1994, while welcome, falls far short of the growth required to bring unemployment down to, say, 10%. The recovery in the economies of major trade partners, the comparatively low inflation rate, lower interest rates, and prospects in the tourist sector suggest that Spain can make substantial progress in 1995.

Unemployment rate

24.5% (yearend 1994)

Radio

broadcast stations: AM 190, FM 406 (repeaters 134), shortwave 0 radios: NA

Telephone system

15,350,464 telephones; generally adequate, modern facilities local: NA intercity: NA international: 22 coaxial submarine cables; 2 earth stations for INTELSAT (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean); earth stations for working the EUTELSAT, INMARSAT, and MARECS satellite communications systems; microwave tropospheric scatter links to adjacent countries

Television

broadcast stations: 100 (repeaters 1,297) televisions: NA

Airports

total: 106 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 15 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 11 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 16 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 12 with paved runways under 914 m: 34 with unpaved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 1 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 16

Highways

total: 331,961 km paved: 328,641 km (2,700 km of expressways) unpaved: 3,320 km (1991)

Inland waterways

1,045 km, but of minor economic importance

Merchant marine

total: 157 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 868,326 GRT/1,382,335 DWT ships by type: bulk 12, cargo 41, chemical tanker 11, container 9, liquefied gas tanker 4, oil tanker 25, passenger 2, refrigerated cargo 12, roll-on/roll-off cargo 34, short-sea passenger 5, specialized tanker 2

Pipelines

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

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

Railroads

total: 14,400 km broad gauge: 12,111 km 1.668-m gauge (6,404 km electrified; 2,295 km double track) standard gauge: 515 km 1.435-m gauge (515 km electrified) narrow gauge: 1,774 km (privately owned: 1,727 km 1.000-m gauge, 560 km electrified; 28 km 0.914-m gauge, 28 km electrified; government owned: 19 km 1.000-m gauge, all electrified)

Branches

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

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - $8 billion, 1.6% of GDP (1994) ________________________________________________________________________ SPRATLY ISLANDS

Manpower availability

males age 15-49 10,435,970; males fit for military service 8,434,460; males reach military age (20) annually 335,967 (1995 est.)