:Spain People
Population:
39,118,399 (July 1992), growth rate 0.2% (1992)
Birth rate:
11 births/1,000 population (1992)
Death rate:
9 deaths/1,000 population (1992)
Net migration rate:
NEGL migrants/1,000 population (1992)
Infant mortality rate:
7 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)
Life expectancy at birth:
74 years male, 81 years female (1992)
Total fertility rate:
1.4 children born/woman (1992)
Nationality:
noun - Spaniard(s); adjective - Spanish
Ethnic divisions:
composite of Mediterranean and Nordic types
Religions:
Roman Catholic 99%, other sects 1%
Languages:
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%, construction 9%
(1988)
Organized labor:
less 10% of labor force (1988)
:Spain 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), Rafael Calvo ORTEGA; 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 NA October 1993); results -
percent of vote by party NA; seats - (208 total) PSOE 106, PP 79, CiU 10,
PNV 4, HB 3, AIC 1, other 5
:Spain Government
Congress of Deputies:
last held 29 October 1989 (next to be held NA October 1993); results - PSOE
39.6%, PP 25.8%, CDS 9%, Communist-led coalition (IU) 9%, CiU 5%, PNV 1.2%,
HB 1%, PA 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, COCOM, 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 AE 09642); telephone [34] (1) 577-4000, FAX [34] (1)
577-5735; 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
:Spain Economy
Overview:
Spain has done well since joining the EC in 1986. In accordance with its
accession treaty, Spain has almost wholly liberalized trade and capital
markets. Foreign and domestic investment has spurred average growth of 4%
per year. Beginning in 1989, Madrid implemented a tight monetary policy to
fight inflation - around 7% in 1989 and 1990. As a result growth slowed to
2.5% in 1991. Spanish policymakers remain concerned with inflation - still
hovering at 6%. Government officials also are worried about 16%
unemployment, although many people listed as unemployed work in the
underground economy. Spanish economists believe that structural adjustments
due to the ongoing integration of the European market are likely to lead to
more displaced workers.
GDP:
purchasing power equivalent - $487.5 billion, per capita $12,400; real
growth rate 2.5% (1991 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
5.9% (1991 est.)
Unemployment rate:
16.0% (1991 est.)
Budget:
revenues $111.0 billion; expenditures $115.9 billion, including capital
expenditures of $20.8 billion (1991 est.)
Exports:
$60.1 billion (f.o.b., 1991)
commodities:
cars and trucks, semifinished manufactured goods, foodstuffs, machinery
partners:
EC 71.0%, US 4.9%, other developed countries 7.9%
Imports:
$93.1 billion (c.i.f., 1990)
commodities:
machinery, transport equipment, fuels, semifinished goods, foodstuffs,
consumer goods, chemicals
partners:
EC 60.0%, US 8.0%, other developed countries 11.5%, Middle East 2.6%
External debt:
$45 billion (1991 est.)
Industrial production:
growth rate 2.0% (1991 est.)
Electricity:
46,589,000 kW capacity; 157,040 million kWh produced, 3,980 kWh per capita
(1991)
Industries:
textiles and apparel (including footwear), food and beverages, metals and
metal manufactures, chemicals, shipbuilding, automobiles, machine tools,
tourism
Agriculture:
accounts for about 5% of GDP 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
Illicit drugs:
key European gateway country for Latin American cocaine entering the
European market
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
:Spain Economy
Currency:
peseta (plural - pesetas); 1 peseta (Pta) = 100 centimos
Exchange rates:
pesetas (Ptas) per US$1 - 104.79 (March 1992), 103.91 (1991), 101.93 (1990),
118.38 (1989), 116.49 (1988), 123.48 (1987)
Fiscal year:
calendar year