SPAIN
GEOGRAPHY
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
Comparative area: slightly more than twice the size of Oregon
Land boundaries: 1,903.2 km total; Andorra 65 km, France 623 km,
Gibraltar 1.2 km, Portugal 1,214 km
Coastline: 4,964 km
Maritime claims:
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 12 nm
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
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
Natural resources: coal, lignite, iron ore, uranium, mercury,
pyrites, fluorspar, gypsum, zinc, lead, tungsten, copper, kaolin,
potash, hydropower
Land use: arable land 31%; permanent crops 10%; meadows and
pastures 21%; forest and woodland 31%; other 7%; includes irrigated 6%
Environment: deforestation; air pollution
Note: strategic location along approaches to Strait of Gibraltar
PEOPLE
Population: 39,384,516 (July 1991), growth rate 0.3% (1991)
Birth rate: 11 births/1,000 population (1991)
Death rate: 8 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
Infant mortality rate: 6 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
Life expectancy at birth: 75 years male, 82 years female (1991)
Total fertility rate: 1.5 children born/woman (1991)
Nationality: noun--Spaniard(s); adjective--Spanish
Ethnic divisions: composite of Mediterranean and Nordic types
Religion: Roman Catholic 99%, other sects 1%
Language: Castilian Spanish; second languages include
Catalan 17%, Galician 7%, Basque 2%
Literacy: 95% (male 97%, female 93%) age 15 and over can
read and write (1990 est.)
Labor force: 14,621,000; services 53%, industry 24%, agriculture
14%, constrction 9% (1988)
Organized labor: less 10% of labor force (1988)
GOVERNMENT
Long-form name: Kingdom of Spain
Type: parliamentary monarchy
Capital: Madrid
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
Independence: 1492 (expulsion of the Moors and unification)
Constitution: 6 December 1978, effective 29 December 1978
Legal system: civil law system, with regional applications;
does not accept compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
National holiday: National Day, 12 October
Executive branch: monarch, president of the government (prime
minister), deputy prime minister, Council of Ministers (cabinet),
Council of State
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)
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)
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
ECONOMY
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.
GDP: $435.9 billion, per capita $11,100; real growth rate 3.7%
(1990)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 6.7% (1990)
Unemployment rate: 16.3% (1990)
Budget: revenues $100.1 billion; expenditures $111.6 billion,
including capital expenditures of $NA (1990)
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%
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%
External debt: $37 billion (1990 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate 3.5% (1990 est.)
Electricity: 46,589,000 kW capacity; 141,000 million kWh produced,
3,590 kWh per capita (1990)
Industries: textiles and apparel (including footwear), food and
beverages, metals and metal manufactures, chemicals, shipbuilding,
automobiles, machine tools
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
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
Currency: peseta (plural--pesetas); 1 peseta (Pta) =
100 centimos
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)
Fiscal year: calendar year
COMMUNICATIONS
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
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
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
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
Civil air: 172 major transport aircraft
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
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
DEFENSE FORCES
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Civil Guard
Manpower availability: males 15-49, 10,134,256; 8,222,987 fit for
military service; 339,749 reach military age (20) annually
Defense expenditures: $8.6 billion, 2% of GDP (1990)