2000 Edition

Background

Spain's powerful world empire of the 16th and 17th centuries ultimately yielded command of the seas to England. Subsequent failure to embrace the mercantile and industrial revolutions caused the country to fall behind Britain, France, and Germany in economic and political power. Spain remained neutral in World Wars I and II, but suffered through a devastating Civil War (1936-39). In the second half of the 20th century, it has played a catch-up role in the western international community. Continuing concerns are large-scale unemployment and the Basque separatist movement.

Area

land

499,542 sq km

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

total

504,782 sq km

water

5,240 sq km

Area - comparative

slightly more than twice the size of Oregon

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

Elevation extremes

highest point

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

lowest point

Atlantic Ocean 0 m

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

Geographic coordinates

40 00 N, 4 00 W

Geography - note

strategic location along approaches to Strait of Gibraltar

Irrigated land

34,530 sq km (1993 est.)

Land boundaries

border countries

Andorra 63.7 km, France 623 km, Gibraltar 1.2 km, Portugal 1,214 km, Morocco (Ceuta) 6.3 km, Morocco (Melilla) 9.6 km

total

1,917.8 km

Land use

arable land

30%

forests and woodland

32%

other

8% (1993 est.)

permanent crops

9%

permanent pastures

21%

Location

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

Map references

Europe

Maritime claims

contiguous zone

24 nm

exclusive economic zone

200 nm (applies only to the Atlantic Ocean)

territorial sea

12 nm

Natural hazards

periodic droughts

Natural resources

coal, lignite, iron ore, uranium, mercury, pyrites, fluorspar, gypsum, zinc, lead, tungsten, copper, kaolin, potash, hydropower, arable land

Terrain

large, flat to dissected plateau surrounded by rugged hills; Pyrenees in north

Age structure

0-14 years: 15% (male 3,046,379; female 2,866,712) 15-64 years: 68% (male 13,702,947; female 13,618,766) 65 years and over: 17% (male 2,830,607; female 3,931,260) (2000 est.)

Birth rate

9.22 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Death rate

9.03 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Ethnic groups

composite of Mediterranean and Nordic types

Infant mortality rate

4.99 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)

Languages

Castilian Spanish (official) 74%, Catalan 17%, Galician 7%, Basque 2%

Life expectancy at birth

female

82.49 years (2000 est.)

male

75.32 years

total population

78.79 years

Literacy

definition

age 15 and over can read and write

female

NA%

male

NA%

total population

97%

Nationality

adjective

Spanish

noun

Spaniard(s)

Net migration rate

0.88 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Population

39,996,671 (July 2000 est.)

Population growth rate

0.11% (2000 est.)

Religions

Roman Catholic 99%, other 1%

Sex ratio

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 (2000 est.)

Total fertility rate

1.15 children born/woman (2000 est.)

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

Capital

Madrid

Constitution

6 December 1978, effective 29 December 1978

Country name

conventional long form

Kingdom of Spain

conventional short form

Spain

local short form

Espana

Data code

SP

Diplomatic representation from the US

chief of mission

Ambassador Edward L. ROMERO

embassy

Serrano 75, 28006 Madrid

mailing address

APO AE 09642

telephone

(91) 587-2200

Diplomatic representation in the US

chancery

2375 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20037

chief of mission

Ambassador Antonio OYARZABAL MARCHESI

telephone

(202) 452-0100, 728-2340

Executive branch

cabinet

Council of Ministers designated by the president

chief of state

King JUAN CARLOS I (since 22 November 1975); Heir Apparent Prince FELIPE, son of the monarch, born 30 January 1968

election results

Jose Maria AZNAR Lopez (PP) elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - 44%

elections

the monarch is hereditary; president proposed by the monarch and elected by the National Assembly following legislative elections; election last held 12 March 2000 (next to be held NA 2004); vice presidents appointed by the monarch on proposal of the president

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)

note

there is also a Council of State that is the supreme consultative organ of the government

FAX

(202) 833-5670

(91) 587-2303

consulate(s) general

Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, and San Juan (Puerto Rico)

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

Government type

parliamentary monarchy

Independence

1492 (expulsion of the Moors and unification)

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), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNTAET, UNU, UPU, WCL, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC

Judicial branch

Supreme Court or Tribunal Supremo

Legal system

civil law system, with regional applications; does not accept compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Legislative branch

bicameral; General Courts or National Assembly or Las Cortes Generales consists of the Senate or Senado (259 seats - 208 members directly elected by popular vote and the other 51 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)

election results

Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PP 127, PSOE 61, CiU 8, PNV 6, CC 5, PIL 1; Congress of Deputies - percent of vote by party - PP 44.5%, PSOE 34%, CiU 4.2%, IU 5.4%, PNV 1.5%, CC 1%, BNG 1.3%; seats by party - PP 183, PSOE 125, CiU 15, IU 8, PNV 7, CC 4, BNG 3, other 5

elections

Senate - last held 12 March 2000 (next to be held NA March 2004); Congress of Deputies - last held 12 March 2000 (next to be held NA March 2004)

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

National holiday

National Day, 12 October

Political parties and leaders

Basque Nationalist Party or PNV [Xabier ARZALLUS Antia]; Canarian Coalition or CC (a coalition of five parties) ; Convergence and Union or CiU [Jordi PUJOL i Soley, secretary general] (a coalition of the Democratic Convergence of Catalonia or CDC and the Democratic Union of Catalonia or UDC ); Galician Nationalist Bloc or BNG ; Party of Independents from Lanzarote or PIL ; Popular Party or PP ; Spanish Communist Party or PCE [Francisco FRUTOS]; Spanish Socialist Workers Party or PSOE [Joaquin ALMUNIA Amann, secretary general]; United Left or IU (a coalition of parties including the PCE and other small parties)

Political pressure groups and leaders

business and landowning interests; Catholic Church; Euskal Herritarok or EH ; free labor unions (authorized in April 1977); 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 government; Opus Dei; Socialist General Union of Workers or UGT and the smaller independent Workers Syndical Union or USO; university students; Workers Confederation or CC.OO

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Agriculture - products

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

Budget

expenditures

$125 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1998 est.)

revenues

$115 billion

Currency

1 peseta (Pta) = 100 centimos

Debt - external

$90 billion (1993 est.)

Economic aid - donor

ODA, $1.3 billion (1995)

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 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 16%. 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 - and reducing the unacceptably high level of unemployment - will pose difficult challenges to Spain in the next few years.

Electricity - consumption

170.306 billion kWh (1998)

Electricity - exports

5.6 billion kWh (1998)

Electricity - imports

9 billion kWh (1998)

Electricity - production

179.468 billion kWh (1998)

Electricity - production by source

fossil fuel

48.23%

hydro

19.16%

nuclear

31.23%

other

1.38% (1998)

Exchange rates

euros per US$1 - 0.9867 (January 2000), 0.9386 (1999); pesetas (Ptas) per US$1 - 143.39 (January 1999), 149.40 (1998), 146.41 (1997), 126.66 (1996), 124.69 (1995)

note

on 1 January 1999, the EU introduced a common currency that is now being used by financial institutions in some member countries at a fixed rate of 166.386 pesetas per euro; the euro will replace the local currency in consenting countries for all transactions in 2002

Exports

$112.3 billion (f.o.b., 1999 est.)

Exports - commodities

machinery, motor vehicles; foodstuffs, other consumer goods

Exports - partners

EU 72% (France 20%, Germany 14%, Italy 9%, Portugal 9%, UK 8%), Latin America 7%, US 4% (1998)

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP

purchasing power parity - $677.5 billion (1999 est.)

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture

3.2%

industry

33.6%

services

63.2% (1998 est.)

GDP - per capita

purchasing power parity - $17,300 (1999 est.)

GDP - real growth rate

3.6% (1999 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

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

Imports

$137.5 billion (f.o.b., 1999 est.)

Imports - commodities

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

Imports - partners

EU 67% (France 18%, Germany 15%, Italy 10%, UK 8%, Benelux 8%), US 6%, OPEC 5%, Japan 3%, Latin America 4% (1998)

Industrial production growth rate

2.7% (1999 est.)

Industries

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

2.3% (1999 est.)

Labor force

16.2 million (1997 est.)

Labor force - by occupation

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

Population below poverty line

NA%

Unemployment rate

16% (1999 est.)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs)

49 (1999)

Radio broadcast stations

AM 208, FM 715, shortwave 1 (1998)

Radios

13.1 million (1997)

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; tropospheric scatter to adjacent countries

Telephones - main lines in use

17.336 million (1999)

Telephones - mobile cellular

8.394 million (1999)

Television broadcast stations

228 (plus 2,112 repeaters); note - these figures include 11 television broadcast stations and 89 repeaters in the Canary Islands (September 1995)

Televisions

16.2 million (1997)

Airports

105 (1999 est.)

Airports - with paved runways

total

70 over 3,047 m: 15 2,438 to 3,047 m: 11 1,524 to 2,437 m: 17 914 to 1,523 m: 17 under 914 m: 10 (1999 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways

total

35 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 9 under 914 m: 25 (1999 est.)

Heliports

2 (1999 est.)

Highways

paved

343,389 km (including 9,063 km of expressways)

total

346,858 km

unpaved

3,469 km (1997 est.)

Merchant marine

ships by type

bulk 11, cargo 24, chemical tanker 9, container 9, liquified gas 2, livestock carrier 1, passenger 1, petroleum tanker 24, refrigerated cargo 5, roll-on/roll-off 36, short-sea passenger 7, specialized tanker 1 (1999 est.)

total

130 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,131,648 GRT/1,688,996 DWT

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

Railways

broad gauge

12,781 km 1.668-m gauge (6,358 km electrified; 2,295 km double track)

narrow gauge

644 km 1.000-m gauge (438 km electrified) (1998)

standard gauge

525 km 1.435-m gauge (525 km electrified)

total

13,950 km

Waterways

1,045 km, but of minor economic importance

Military branches

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

Military expenditures - dollar figure

$6 billion (FY97)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP

1.1% (FY97)

Military manpower - availability

males age 15-49: 10,569,785 (2000 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service

males age 15-49: 8,481,690 (2000 est.)

Military manpower - military age

20 years of age

Military manpower - reaching military age annually

males

295,335 (2000 est.)

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

SPRATLY ISLANDS