Background: A powerful world empire in the 16th and 17th centuries, Spain ultimately yielded command of the seas to England, beginning with the defeat of the Armada in 1588. Spain subsequently failed to embrace the mercantile and industrial revolutions and fell behind Britain, France, and Germany in economic and political power. Spain remained neutral in World Wars I and II. In the second half of the 20th century Spain played a catch-up role in the western international community. Continuing problems are large-scale unemployment and the Basque separatist movement.

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

Geographic coordinates: 40 00 N, 4 00 W

Map references: Europe

Area:
total: 504,750 sq km
land: 499,400 sq km
water: 5,350 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

Area—comparative: slightly more than twice the size of Oregon

Land boundaries:
total: 1,919.1 km
border countries: Andorra 65 km, France 623 km, Gibraltar 1.2 km, Portugal 1,214 km, Morocco (Ceuta) 6.3 km, Morocco (Melilla) 9.6 km

Coastline: 4,964 km

Maritime claims:
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm (applies only to the Atlantic Ocean)
territorial sea: 12 nm

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

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

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pico de Teide (Tenerife) on Canary Islands 3,718 m

Natural resources: coal, lignite, iron ore, uranium, mercury, pyrites, fluorspar, gypsum, zinc, lead, tungsten, copper, kaolin, potash, hydropower

Land use:
arable land: 30%
permanent crops: 9%
permanent pastures: 21%
forests and woodland: 32%
other: 8% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 34,530 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: periodic droughts

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

Geography—note: strategic location along approaches to Strait of Gibraltar

Population: 39,167,744 (July 1999 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 15% (male 3,012,907; female 2,835,455)
15-64 years: 68% (male 13,411,046; female 13,406,214)
65 years and over: 17% (male 2,702,654; female 3,799,468) (1999 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.1% (1999 est.)

Birth rate: 9.99 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Death rate: 9.69 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Net migration rate: 0.66 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female
total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (1999 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 6.41 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 77.71 years
male: 73.97 years
female: 81.71 years (1999 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.24 children born/woman (1999 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Spaniard(s)
adjective: Spanish

Ethnic groups: composite of Mediterranean and Nordic types

Religions: Roman Catholic 99%, other 1%

Languages: Castilian Spanish 74%, Catalan 17%, Galician 7%, Basque 2%

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

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

Data code: SP

Government type: parliamentary monarchy

Capital: Madrid

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 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

Independence: 1492 (expulsion of the Moors and unification)

National holiday: National Day, 12 October

Constitution: 6 December 1978, effective 29 December 1978

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

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
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 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)
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
elections: the monarch is hereditary; president proposed by the monarch and elected by the National Assembly following legislative elections; election last held 3 March 1996 (next to be held by NA April 2000); vice presidents appointed by the monarch on proposal of the president
election results: Jose Maria AZNAR elected president; percent of National Assembly vote—NA

Legislative branch: bicameral; the General Courts or National Assembly or Las Cortes Generales consists of the Senate or Senado (256 seats—208 members directly elected by popular vote and the other 48 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)
elections: Senate—last held 3 March 1996 (next to be held by April 2000); Congress of Deputies—last held 3 March 1996 (next to be held by April 2000)
election results: Senate—percent of vote by party—NA; seats by party—PP 132, PSOE 96, CiU 11, PNV 6, IU 2, others 9; Congress of Deputies—percent of vote by party—PP 38.9%, PSOE 37.5%, IU 10.7%, CiU 4.6%; seats by party—PP 156, PSOE 141, IU 21, CiU 16, other 16

Judicial branch: Supreme Court or Tribunal Supremo

Political parties and leaders:
principal national parties, from right to left: Popular Party or PP [Jose Maria AZNAR Lopez]; Spanish Socialist Workers Party or PSOE [Joaquin ALMUNIA Amann, secretary general]; Spanish Communist Party or PCE [Julio ANGUITA Gonzalez]; United Left or IU (a coalition of parties including the PCE and other small parties) [Julio ANGUITA Gonzalez]
chief regional parties: Convergence and Union or CiU [Jordi PUJOL i Soley, secretary general] (a coalition of the Democratic Convergence of Catalonia or CDC [Jordi PUJOL i Soley] and the Democratic Union of Catalonia or UDC [Josep Antoni DURAN y LLEIDA]); Basque Nationalist Party or PNV [Xabier ARZALLUS Antia]; Canarian Coalition or CC (a coalition of five parties) [Lorenzo OLLARTE Cullen]

Political pressure groups and leaders: 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; Euskal Herritarok or EH [Herri BATASUNA]; free labor unions (authorized in April 1977); Workers Confederation or CC.OO; the Socialist General Union of Workers or UGT and the smaller independent Workers Syndical Union or USO; business and landowning interests; the Catholic Church; Opus Dei; university students

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

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Antonio OYARZABAL MARCHESI
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, and San Juan (Puerto Rico)

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Edward L. ROMERO
embassy: Serrano 75, 28006 Madrid
mailing address: APO AE 09642
telephone: [34] (91) 587-2200
FAX: [34] (91) 587-2303
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

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 deficit-to-GDP ratio is 2.1%, the debt-to-GDP ratio is around 68%, and inflation is approximately 2%. Moreover, 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 20%. 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 will pose difficult challenges to Spain in the next few years.

GDP: purchasing power parity—$645.6 billion (1998 est.)

GDP—real growth rate: 3.5% (1998 est.)

GDP—per capita: purchasing power parity—$16,500 (1998 est.)

GDP—composition by sector:
agriculture: 3.4%
industry: 33.3%
services: 63.3% (1997 est.)

Population below poverty line: NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 2.8%
highest 10%: 25.2% (1990)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2% (1998 est.)

Labor force: 16.2 million

Labor force—by occupation: services 64%, manufacturing, mining, and construction 28%, agriculture 8% (1997 est.)

Unemployment rate: 20% (1998 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $113 billion
expenditures: $139 billion, including capital expenditures of $15 billion (1995)

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

Industrial production growth rate: 5.8% (1998)

Electricity—production: 163.468 billion kWh (1996)

Electricity—production by source:
fossil fuel: 43.17%
hydro: 23.92%
nuclear: 32.74%
other: 0.17% (1996)

Electricity—consumption: 164.568 billion kWh (1996)

Electricity—exports: 5.7 billion kWh (1996)

Electricity—imports: 6.8 billion kWh (1996)

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

Exports: $111.1 billion (f.o.b., 1998 est.)

Exports—commodities: cars and trucks, other machinery and manufactured goods, foodstuffs, and other consumer goods

Exports—partners: EU 70% (France 20%, Germany 18%, Italy 10%, Portugal 9%, UK 8%), US 4.4% (1997)

Imports: $132.3 billion (f.o.b., 1998 est.)

Imports—commodities: machinery, transport equipment, fuels, semifinished goods, foodstuffs, consumer goods, chemicals (1997)

Imports—partners: EU 65% (France 17%, Germany 15%, Italy 9%, UK 8%, Benelux 7%), US 6%, Japan 3% (1997)

Debt—external: $90 billion (1993 est.)

Economic aid—donor: ODA, $1.3 billion (1995)

Currency: 1 peseta (Pta) = 100 centimos

Exchange rates: pesetas (Ptas) per US$1—143.39 (January 1999), 149.40 (1998), 146.41 (1997), 126.66 (1996), 124.69 (1995), 133.96 (1994)
note: on 1 January 1999, the European Union introduced a common currency that is now being used by financial institutions in some member countries at the rate of 0.8597 euros per US$ and a fixed rate of 166.386 pesetas per euro; the euro will replace the local currency in consenting countries for all transactions in 2002

Fiscal year: calendar year

Telephones: 12.6 million (1990 est.)

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, NA Inmarsat, and NA Marecs; tropospheric scatter to adjacent countries

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

Radios: 12 million (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 542 (382 network stations, 160 low-power stations, and one US Air Force Europe station) (1997)

Televisions: 15.7 million (1992 est.)

Railways:
total: 15,079 km
broad gauge: 12,781 km 1.668-m gauge (6,355 km electrified; 2,295 km double track)
standard gauge: 525 km 1.435-m gauge (480 km electrified)
narrow gauge: 1,773 km 1.000-m gauge (594 km electrified) (1996)

Highways:
total: 346,858 km
paved: 343,389 km (including 9,063 km of expressways)
unpaved: 3,469 km (1997 est.)

Waterways: 1,045 km, but of minor economic importance

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

Merchant marine:
total: 137 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,094,408 GRT/1,695,708 DWT
ships by type: bulk 11, cargo 29, chemical tanker 10, container 10, liquefied gas tanker 3, oil tanker 25, passenger 1, refrigerated cargo 6, roll-on/roll-off cargo 35, short-sea passenger 6, specialized tanker 1 (1998 est.)

Airports: 99 (1998 est.)

Airports—with paved runways:
total: 66
over 3,047 m: 15
2,438 to 3,047 m: 11
1,524 to 2,437 m: 16
914 to 1,523 m: 15
under 914 m: 9 (1998 est.)

Airports—with unpaved runways:
total: 33
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 11
under 914 m: 21 (1998 est.)

Heliports: 2 (1998 est.)

Military branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Civil Guard, National Police, Coastal Civil Guard

Military manpower—military age: 20 years of age

Military manpower—availability:
males age 15-49: 10,374,314 (1999 est.)

Military manpower—fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 8,346,155 (1999 est.)

Military manpower—reaching military age annually:
males: 311,350 (1999 est.)

Military expenditures—dollar figure: $6.3 billion (1995)

Military expenditures—percent of GDP: 1.4% (1995)

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

Source: 1999 CIA World Factbook