Overview:
After the economic boom of 1986-90, the Spanish economy fell into
recession along with the economies of other EU member states. Real GDP
barely grew in 1992 and declined by approximately 1% in 1993.
Unemployment, now nearly one-fourth of the workforce, and the sharp
downturn in business investment have contributed to sagging domestic
demand. Devaluation of the peseta since September 1992 has made
Spanish exports more competitive, but an export-led recovery in 1994
will depend largely on economic recovery in Spain's major market - the
other EU nations. A solid recovery will also require appropriate
domestic policy actions, including controlling the budget deficit and
wage increases, reforming labor market regulations, and possibly
loosening monetary policy another notch. Foreign investors,
principally from other EU countries, have invested over $60 billion in
Spain since 1986. Despite the recession, inflation remained at about
5% in 1993. The main source of inflationary pressure is the fiscal
deficit.
National product:
GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $498 billion (1993)
National product real growth rate:
-1% (1993)
National product per capita:
$12,700 (1993)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
4.5% (1993 est.)
Unemployment rate:
22% (yearend 1993)
Budget:
revenues:
$97.7 billion
expenditures:
$128 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1993 est.)
Exports:
$72.8 billion (f.o.b., 1993)
commodities:
cars and trucks, semifinished manufactured goods, foodstuffs,
machinery
partners:
EC 71.2%, US 4.8%, other developed countries 7.9% (1992)
Imports:
$92.5 billion (c.i.f., 1993)
commodities:
machinery, transport equipment, fuels, semifinished goods, foodstuffs,
consumer goods, chemicals
partners:
EC 60.7%, US 7.4%, other developed countries 11.5%, Middle East 5.9%
(1992)
External debt:
$90 billion (1993 est.)
Industrial production:
growth rate -1.7% (1992)
Electricity:
capacity:
46,600,000 kW
production:
157 billion kWh
consumption per capita:
4,000 kWh (1992)
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 and North
African hashish entering the European market
Economic aid:
recipient:
US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-87), $1.9 billion; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-79), $545
million
note:
not currently a recipient
Currency:
1 peseta (Pta) = 100 centimos
Exchange rates:
pesetas (Ptas) per US$1 - 136.6 (May 1994), 127.26 (1993), 102.38
(1992), 103.91 (1991), 101.93 (1990), 118.38 (1989)
Fiscal year:
calendar year

@Spain, Communications

Railroads:
15,430 km total; Spanish National Railways (RENFE) operates 12,691 km
(all 1,668-mm gauge, 6,184 km electrified, and 2,295 km double track);
FEVE (government-owned narrow-gauge railways) operates 1,821 km
(predominantly 1,000-mm gauge, 441 km electrified); privately owned
railways operate 918 km (predominantly 1,000-mm gauge, 512 km
electrified, and 56 km double track)
Highways:
total:
318,022 km (1988)
paved:
178,092 km (including 2,142 km of expressways)
unpaved:
139,930 km
Inland 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:
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:
192 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,328,730 GRT/2,213,671 DWT,
bulk 21, cargo 55, chemical tanker 14, container 11, liquefied gas 5,
oil tanker 29, passenger 2, refrigerated cargo 12, roll-on/roll-off
cargo 33, short-sea passenger 6, specialized tanker 3, vehicle carrier
1
Airports:
total:
105
usable:
99
with permanent-surface runways:
60
with runways over 3,659 m:
4
with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
22
with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
26
Telecommunications:
generally adequate, modern facilities; 15,350,464 telephones;
broadcast stations - 190 AM, 406 (134 repeaters) FM, 100 (1,297
repeaters) TV; 22 coaxial submarine cables; 2 communications satellite
earth stations operating in INTELSAT (Atlantic Ocean and Indian
Ocean); MARECS, INMARSAT, and EUTELSAT systems; tropospheric links

@Spain, Defense Forces

Branches:
Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Civil Guard, National Police, Coastal
Civil Guard
Manpower availability:
males age 15-49 10,377,990; fit for military service 8,396,405; reach
military age (20) annually 337,764 (1994 est.)
Defense expenditures:
exchange rate conversion - $5.8 billion, 1.3% of GDP (1994 est.)

@Spratly Islands, Geography

Location:
Southeastern Asia, in the South China Sea, between Vietnam and the
Philippines
Map references:
Asia, Southeast Asia
Area:
total area:
NA sq km but less than 5 km2
land area:
less than 5 sq km
comparative area:
NA
note:
includes 100 or so islets, coral reefs, and sea mounts scattered over
the South China Sea
Land boundaries:
0 km
Coastline:
926 km
Maritime claims:
NA
International disputes:
all of the Spratly Islands are claimed by China, Taiwan, and Vietnam;
parts of them are claimed by Malaysia and the Philippines; in 1984,
Brunei established an exclusive economic zone, which encompasses
Louisa Reef, but has not publicly claimed the island
Climate:
tropical
Terrain:
flat
Natural resources:
fish, guano, undetermined oil and natural gas potential
Land use:
arable land:
0%
permanent crops:
0%
meadows and pastures:
0%
forest and woodland:
0%
other:
100%
Irrigated land:
0 sq km
Environment:
current issues:
NA
natural hazards:
subject to typhoons
international agreements:
NA
Note:
strategically located near several primary shipping lanes in the
central South China Sea; serious navigational hazard; includes
numerous small islands, atolls, shoals, and coral reefs

@Spratly Islands, People

Population: no indigenous inhabitants; note - there are scattered garrisons

@Spratly Islands, Government