Relocation at Spain One Stop
The one stop shop for your relocation to Spain.
Introduction To Spain
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, Spain has played a catch-up role in the western international community; it joined the EU in 1986. Continuing challenges include Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA) terrorism and further reductions in unemployment.
Geography Of Spain
| 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: 504,782 sq km water: 5,240 sq km note: there are 19 autonomous communities including Balearic Islands and Canary Islands, and three small Spanish possessions off the coast of Morocco - Islas Chafarinas, Penon de Alhucemas, and Penon de Velez de la Gomera land: 499,542 sq km |
| Area comparative | slightly more than twice the size of Oregon |
| Land boundaries | total: 1,917.8 km 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 |
| Coastline | 4,964 km |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm (applies only to the Atlantic Ocean) |
| 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, copper, lead, zinc, uranium, tungsten, mercury, pyrites, magnesite, fluorspar, gypsum, sepiolite, kaolin, potash, hydropower, arable land |
| Land use | arable land: 26.07% permanent crops: 9.87% other: 64.06% (2001) |
| Irrigated land | 36,400 sq km (1998 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-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants |
| Geography note | strategic location along approaches to Strait of Gibraltar |
People Of Spain
| Population | 40,280,780 (July 2004 est.) |
| Age structure | 0-14 years: 14.4% (male 2,989,053; female 2,811,350) 15-64 years: 68% (male 13,748,998; female 13,652,852) 65 years and over: 17.6% (male 2,958,387; female 4,120,140) (2004 est.) |
| Median age | total: 39.1 years male: 37.8 years female: 40.5 years (2004 est.) |
| Population growth rate | 0.16% (2004 est.) |
| Birth rate | 10.11 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
| Death rate | 9.55 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
| Net migration rate | 0.99 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
| 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 (2004 est.) |
| Infant mortality rate | total: 4.48 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.06 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) male: 4.88 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 79.37 years male: 76.03 years female: 82.94 years (2004 est.) |
| Total fertility rate | 1.27 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate | 0.5% (2001 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS | 130,000 (2001 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - deaths | 2,300 (2001 est.) |
| Nationality | noun: Spaniard(s) adjective: Spanish |
| Ethnic groups | composite of Mediterranean and Nordic types |
| Religions | Roman Catholic 94%, other 6% |
| Languages | Castilian, Spanish 74%, Catalan 17%, Galician 7%, Basque 2% note: Castilian is the official language nationwide; the other languages are official regionally |
| Literacy | conventional long form: Kingdom of Spain conventional short form: Spain local short form: Espana |
Government Of Spain
| Country name | conventional long form: Kingdom of Spain conventional short form: Spain local short form: Espana |
| Government type | parliamentary monarchy |
| Capital | Madrid |
| Administrative divisions | 19 autonomous communities (comunidades autonomas, singular - comunidad autonoma); Andalucia, Aragon, Asturias, Baleares (Balearic Islands), Ceuta, Canarias (Canary Islands), Cantabria, Castilla-La Mancha, Castilla y Leon, Cataluna, Communidad Valenciana, Extremadura, Galicia, La Rioja, Madrid, Melilla, Murcia, Navarra, Pais Vasco (Basque Country) note: three small Spanish possessions are located off the coast of Morocco: Islas Chafarinas, Penon de Alhucemas, and Penon de Velez de la Gomera; Ceuta and Melilla on the coast of North Africa gained limited autonomous status in 1994 |
| Independence | the Iberian peninsula was characterized by a variety of independent kingdoms prior to the Moslem occupation that began in the early 8th Century A. D. and lasted nearly seven centuries; the small Christian redoubts of the north began the reconquest almost immediately, culminating in the seizure of Granada in 1492; this event completed the unification of several kingdoms and is traditionally considered the forging of present-day Spain |
| National holiday | National Day, 12 October |
| Constitution | 6 December 1978, effective 29 December 1978 |
| Legal system | civil law system, with regional applications; has not accepted 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 Luis RODRIGUEZ ZAPATERO (since 17 April 2004); First Vice President (and Minister of the Presidency) Maria Teresa FERNANDEZ DE LA VEGA(since 18 April 2004) and Second Vice President (and Minister of Economy and Finance) Pedro SOLBES (since 18 April 2004) 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 election results: Jose Luis RODRIGUEZ ZAPATERO (PSOE) elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - 52.29% elections: the monarch is hereditary; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually proposed president by the monarch and elected by the National Assembly; election last held 14 March 2004 (next to be held NA March 2008); vice presidents appointed by the monarch on the proposal of the president |
| 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 102, PSOE 81, Entesa Catalona de Progress 12, CiU 4, PNV 4, CC 3, other 2; Congress of Deputies - percent of vote by party - PSOE 42.6%, PP 37.6%, CiU 3.2%, ERC 2.5%, PNV 1.6%, IU 5.0%, CC 0.9%; seats by party - PSOE 164, PP 148, CiU 10, ERC 8 PNV 7, IU 5, CC 3, other 5 elections: Senate - last held 14 March 2004 (next to be held NA March 2008); Congress of Deputies - last held 14 March 2004 (next to be held NA March 2008) |
| Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Tribunal Supremo |
| Political parties and leaders | Basque Nationalist Party or PNV [Josu Jon IMAZ]; Canarian Coalition or CC (a coalition of five parties) [Paulino RIVERO Baute]; Convergence and Union or CiU [Artur MAS i Gavarro] (a coalition of the Democratic Convergence of Catalonia or CDC [Artur MAS i Gavarro] and the Democratic Union of Catalonia or UDC [Josep Antoni DURAN y LLEIDA]); Entesa Catalonia de Progress [leader NA]; Galician Nationalist Bloc or BNG [Anxo Manuel QUINTANA]; Party of Independents from Lanzarote or PIL [Dimas MARTIN Martin]; Popular Party or PP [Mariano RAJOY]; Republican Left of Catalonia [leader NA]; Spanish Socialist Workers Party or PSOE [Jose Luis RODRIGUEZ ZAPATERO]; United Left or IU (a coalition of parties including the PCE and other small parties) [Gaspar LLAMAZARES] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | business and landowning interests; Catholic Church; free labor unions (authorized in April 1977); Socialist General Union of Workers or UGT and the smaller independent Workers Syndical Union or USO; university students; Workers Confederation or CC.OO; Nunca Mais (Galician for "Never Again"; formed in response to the oil tanker Prestige oil spill) |
| International organization participation | AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CE, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MONUC, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIK, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Carlos WESTENDORP chancery: 2375 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20037 consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, and San Juan (Puerto Rico) FAX: [1] (202) 833-5670 telephone: [1] , 728-2340 |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador George L. ARGYROS embassy: Serrano 75, 28006 Madrid mailing address: PSC 61, APO AE 09642 telephone: [34] 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 Of Spain
| Economy overview | Spain's mixed capitalist economy supports a GDP that on a per capita basis is 80% that of the four leading West European economies. The center-right government of former President AZNAR successfully worked to gain admission to the first group of countries launching the European single currency (the euro) on 1 January 1999. The AZNAR administration continued to advocate liberalization, privatization, and deregulation of the economy and introduced some tax reforms to that end. Unemployment fell steadily under the AZNAR administration but remains high at 11.7%. Growth of 2.4% in 2003 was satisfactory given the background of a faltering European economy. Incoming President RODRIGUEZ ZAPATERO, whose party won the election three days after the Madrid train bombings in March, plans to reduce government intervention in business, combat tax fraud, and support innovation, research and development, but also intends to reintroduce labor market regulations that had been scraped by the AZNAR government. Adjusting to the monetary and other economic policies of an integrated Europe - and reducing unemployment - will pose challenges to Spain over the next few years. |
| GDP | purchasing power parity - $885.5 billion (2004 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 2.4% (2004 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $22,000 (2004 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 3.6% industry: 28.6% services: 67.8% (2004 est.) |
| Investment gross fixed | 25.6% of GDP (2004 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | NA |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.8% highest 10%: 25.2% (1990) |
| Distribution of family income - Gini index | 32.5 (1990) |
| Inflation rate consumer prices | 3% (2004 est.) |
| Labor force | 18.82 million (2004 est.) |
| Labor force by occupation | agriculture 7%, manufacturing, mining, and construction 29%, services 64% (2001 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 11.3% (2004 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $330.7 billion expenditures: $335.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $12.8 billion (2004 est.) |
| Public debt | 62.7% of GDP (2004 est.) |
| Agriculture products | grain, vegetables, olives, wine grapes, sugar beets, citrus; beef, pork, poultry, dairy products; fish |
| Industries | textiles and apparel (including footwear), food and beverages, metals and metal manufactures, chemicals, shipbuilding, automobiles, machine tools, tourism |
| Industrial production growth rate | 1.6% (2004 est.) |
| Electricity production | 222.5 billion kWh (2001) |
| Electricity production by source | fossil fuel: 50.4% hydro: 18.2% other: 4.1% (2001) nuclear: 27.2% |
| Electricity consumption | 210.4 billion kWh (2001) |
| Electricity exports | 4.138 billion kWh (2001) |
| Electricity imports | 7.588 billion kWh (2001) |
| Oil production | 7,099 bbl/day (2001 est.) |
| Oil consumption | 1.497 million bbl/day (2001 est.) |
| Oil exports | 135,100 bbl/day (2001) |
| Oil imports | 1.582 million bbl/day (2001) |
| Oil proved reserves | 10.5 million bbl (1 January 2002) |
| Natural gas production | 516 million cu m (2001 est.) |
| Natural gas consumption | 17.96 billion cu m (2001 est.) |
| Natural gas exports | 0 cu m (2001 est.) |
| Natural gas imports | 17.26 billion cu m (2001 est.) |
| Natural gas proved reserves | 254.9 million cu m (1 January 2002) |
| Current account balance | $-23.77 billion (2004 est.) |
| Exports | $159.4 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.) |
| Exports commodities | machinery, motor vehicles; foodstuffs, other consumer goods |
| Exports partners | France 19.2%, Germany 11.9%, Italy 9.7%, UK 9.4%, Portugal 9.3%, US 4.2% (2003) |
| Imports | $197.1 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.) |
| Imports commodities | machinery and equipment, fuels, chemicals, semifinished goods; foodstuffs, consumer goods |
| Imports partners | France 16.8%, Germany 16.6%, Italy 8.8%, UK 6.5%, Netherlands 4.9% (2003) |
| Reserves of foreign exchange gold | $26.81 billion (2004 est.) |
| Debt external | $718.4 billion (2004 est.) |
| Economic aid recipient | |
| Currency | euro (EUR) note: on 1 January 1999, the European Monetary Union introduced the euro as a common currency to be used by the financial institutions of member countries; on 1 January 2002, the euro became the sole currency for everyday transactions with the member countries |
| Currency code | EUR |
| Exchange rates | euros per US dollar - 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999) |
| Fiscal year | calendar year |
Communications Of Spain
| Telephones main lines in use | 17,567,500 (2003) |
| Telephones mobile cellular | 37,506,700 (2003) |
| Telephone system | general assessment: generally adequate, modern facilities; teledensity is 44 main lines for each 100 persons domestic: NA international: country code - 34; 22 coaxial submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), NA Eutelsat; tropospheric scatter to adjacent countries |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 208, FM 715, shortwave 1 (1998) |
| Radios | 13.1 million (1997) |
| Television broadcast stations | 224 (plus 2,105 repeaters) note: these figures include 11 television broadcast stations and 88 repeaters in the Canary Islands (1995) |
| Televisions | 16.2 million (1997) |
| Internet country code | .es |
| Internet hosts | 1,056,950 (2004) |
| Internet Service Providers ISPs | 56 (2000) |
| Internet users | 9.789 million (2003 |
Transportation Of Spain
| Railways | |
| Highways | |
| Waterways | 1,045 km (2003) |
| Pipelines | gas 7,290 km; oil 730 km; refined products 3,110 km; unknown (oil/water) 397 km (2003) |
| Ports and harbors | Aviles, Barcelona, Bilbao, Cadiz, Cartagena, Castellon de la Plana, Ceuta, Huelva, A Coruna, Las Palmas (Canary Islands), Malaga, Melilla, Pasajes, Gijon, Santa Cruz de Tenerife (Canary Islands), Santander, Tarragona, Valencia, Vigo |
| Merchant marine | total: 149 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,740,974 GRT/2,157,551 DWT by type: bulk 9, cargo 29, chemical tanker 13, container 17, liquefied gas 6, livestock carrier 1, passenger 1, petroleum tanker 21, refrigerated cargo 5, roll on/roll off 32, short-sea/passenger 7, specialized tanker 1, vehicle carrier 7 registered in other countries: 115 (2003 est.) foreign-owned: Chile 1, Cuba 1, Denmark 1, Germany 9, Italy 2, Netherlands 1, Norway 6, Sweden 1, Uruguay 1 |
| Airports | 156 (2003 est.) |
| Airports with paved runways | total: 94 over 3,047 m: 15 2,438 to 3,047 m: 10 914 to 1,523 m: 23 under 914 m: 27 (2003 est.) 1,524 to 2,437 m: 19 |
| Airports with unpaved runways | total: 62 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 15 under 914 m: 45 (2003 est.) |
| Heliports | 8 (2003 est.) |
Military Of Spain
| Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force (Ejercito del Aire, EdA), Marines |
| Military manpower - military age | 20 years of age (2004 est.) |
| Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 10,482,753 (2004 est.) |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 8,336,273 (2004 est.) |
| Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 245,007 (2004 est.) |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $9,906.5 million (2003) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.2% (2003) |
