GENERAL:

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). A peaceful transition to democracy following the death of dictator Francisco FRANCO in 1975, and rapid economic modernization (Spain joined the EU in 1986), have given Spain one of the most dynamic economies in Europe and made it a global champion of freedom.

Continuing challenges include Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA) terrorism and relatively high unemployment.


GEOGRAPHY:

Location:	South-western 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
	land:	499,542 sq km
	water:	5,240 sq km
	note:	there are 2 autonomous cities - Ceuta and Melilla - and 17 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 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:	27.18%
	permanent crops:	9.85%
	other:	62.97%

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

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


PEOPLE:

Population:	40,397,842

Age structure:	0-14 years:	14.4% (male 3,000,686/female 2,821,325)
	15-64 years:	67.8% (male 13,751,963/female 13,653,426)
	65 years and over:	17.7% (male 2,993,496/female 4,176,946)

Median age:	total:	39.9 years
	male:	38.6 years
	female:	41.3 years

Population growth rate:	0.13%

Birth rate:	10.06 births/1,000 population

Death rate:	9.72 deaths/1,000 population

Net migration rate:	0.99 migrant(s)/1,000 population

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

Infant mortality rate:	total:	4.37 deaths/1,000 live births
	male:	4.76 deaths/1,000 live births
	female:	3.95 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:	total population:	79.65 years
	male:	76.32 years
	female:	83.2 years

Total fertility rate:	1.28 children born/woman

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:	definition:	age 15 and over can read and write
	total population:	97.90%
	male:	98.70%
	female:	97.20%


GOVERNMENT:

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

Government type:	parliamentary monarchy

Capital:	Madrid

Administrative divisions:	17 autonomous communities (comunidades autonomas, singular - comunidad autonoma)and 2 autonomous cities* (ciudades autonomas, singular - ciudad autonoma); Andalucia, Aragon, Asturias, Baleares (Balearic Islands), Ceuta, Canarias (Canary Islands), Cantabria, Castilla-La Mancha, Castilla y Leon, Cataluna, Comunidad Valenciana, Extremadura, Galicia, La Rioja, Madrid, Melilla, Murcia, Navarra, Pais Vasco (Basque Country)
note:	the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla plus three small islands of Islas Chafarinas, Penon de Alhucemas, and Penon de Velez de la Gomera, administered directly by the Spanish central government, are all located along the coast of Morocco and are collectively referred to as Places of Sovereignty (Plazas de Soberania)

Independence:	the Iberian peninsula was characterized by a variety of independent kingdoms prior to the Muslim occupation that began in the early 8th century AD 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; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

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 and Prime Minister Jose Luis RODRIGUEZ ZAPATERO (since 17 April 2004); First Vice President and Deputy Prime Minister (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, but its recommendations are non-binding
elections:	the monarchy 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 March 2008); vice presidents appointed by the monarch on the proposal of the president
election results:	Jose Luis RODRIGUEZ ZAPATERO (PSOE) elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - 52.29%

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)
Senate -	last held 14 March 2004 (next to be held March 2008); Congress of Deputies - last held 14 March 2004 (next to be held March 2008)
Senate -	percent of vote by party - PP 49%, PSOE 38.9%, Entesa Catalona de Progress 5.7%, CiU 1.99%, PNV 2.8%, CC 1.4%; seats by party - PP 102, PSOE 81, Entesa Catalona de Progress 12, CiU 4, PNV 6, CC 3; Congress of Deputies - percent of vote by party - PSOE 43.3%, PP 37.8%, CiU 3.2%, ERC 2.5%, PNV 1.6%, IU 3.2%, CC 0.9%; seats by party - PSOE 164, PP 148, CiU 10, ERC 8, PNV 7, IU 2, CC 3, other 8

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 (a Senate coalition grouping four Catalan parties - PSC, ERC, ICV, EUA) [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 or ERC [Josep-Lluis CAROD-ROVIRA]; 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]

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:

Economy - overview:	The Spanish economy boomed from 1986 to 1990, averaging five percent annual growth. After a European-wide recession in the early 1990s, the Spanish economy resumed moderate growth starting in 1994. 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 10.1%. Growth of 2.5% in 2003, 2.6% in 2004, and 3.4% in 2005 was satisfactory given the background of a faltering European economy. The socialist president, RODRIGUEZ ZAPATERO, has initiated economic and social reforms that are generally popular among the masses of people, but that are anathema to religious and other conservative elements. Adjusting to the monetary and other economic policies of an integrated Europe, reducing unemployment, and absorbing widespread social changes will pose challenges to Spain over the next few years.

GDP - real growth rate:	3.40%

GDP - per capita (PPP):	$25,200

GDP - composition by sector:	agriculture:	3.40%
	industry:	28.70%
	services:	67.90%

Labor force:	20.67 million

Labor force - by occupation:	agriculture 5.3%, manufacturing, mining, and construction 30.1%, services 64.6%

Unemployment rate:	10.10%

Inflation rate (consumer prices):	3.40%

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, clay and refractory products, footwear, pharmaceuticals, medical equipment

Industrial production growth rate:	1.60%

Exports - commodities:	machinery, motor vehicles; foodstuffs, pharmaceuticals, medicines, other consumer goods

Exports - partners:	France 19.3%, Germany 11.7%, Portugal 9.6%, UK 9%, Italy 9%, US 4%

Imports - commodities:	machinery and equipment, fuels, chemicals, semifinished goods, foodstuffs, consumer goods, measuring and medical control instruments

Imports - partners:	Germany 16.6%, France 15.8%, Italy 8.9%, UK 6.3%, Netherlands 4.8%

Currency (code):	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

Fiscal year:	calendar year


TRANSNATIONAL ISSUES:

Disputes - international:	in 2003, Gibraltar residents voted overwhelmingly by referendum to remain a British colony and against a "total shared sovereignty" arrangement while demanding participation in talks between the UK and Spain; Spain disapproves of UK plans to grant Gibraltar greater autonomy; Morocco protests Spain's control over the coastal enclaves of Ceuta, Melilla, and the islands of Penon de Velez de la Gomera, Penon de Alhucemas and Islas Chafarinas, and surrounding waters; Morocco serves as the primary launching site of illegal migration into Spain from North Africa; Portugal does not recognize Spanish sovereignty over the territory of Olivenza based on a difference of interpretation of the 1815 Congress of Vienna and the 1801 Treaty of Badajoz

Illicit drugs:	key European gateway country and consumer for Latin American cocaine and North African hashish entering the European market; destination and minor transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin; money-laundering site for Colombian narcotics trafficking organizations and organized crime