# The World Factbook (1990)/Spain

pages 289–290
​Spain
See regional map V and VIII
Geography
Total area: 504,750 km²; land area: 499,400 km²; includes Balaeric Islands, Canary Islands, Ceuta, Mellila, Islas Chafarinas, Peñón de Alhucemas, and Peñón de Vélez 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:
    Extended economic zone: 200 nm
    Territorial sea: 12 nm
Disputes: Gibraltar question with UK; controls two presidios or places of sovereignty (Ceuta and Melilla) on the north coast of Morocco
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: 31% arable land; 10% permanent crops; 21% meadows and pastures; 31% forest and woodland; 7% other; includes 6% irrigated
Environment: deforestation; air pollution
Note: strategic location along approaches to Strait of Gibraltar
People
Population: 39,268,715 (July 1990), growth rate 0.3% (1990)
Birthrate: 11 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 8 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 6 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 75 years male, 82 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 1.4 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun—Spaniard(s); adjective—Spanish
Ethnic divisions: composite of Mediterranean and Nordic types
Religion: 99% Roman Catholic, 1% other sects
Language: Castilian Spanish; second languages include 17% Catalan, 7% Galician, and 2% Basque
Literacy: 97%
Labor force: 14,621,000; 53% services, 24% industry, 14% agriculture, 9% construction (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 autónomas, singular—comunidad autónoma); Andalucía, Aragón, Asturias, Canarias, Cantabria, Castilla-La Mancha, Castilla y León, Cataluña, Extremadura, Galicia, Islas Baleares, La Rioja, Madrid, Murcia, Navarra, Pais Vasco, Valenciana
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 Márquez (since 2 December 1982); Deputy Prime Minister Alfonso GUERRA González (since 2 December 1982)
Political parties and leaders: principal national parties, from right to left—Popular Party (PP), José Maria Aznar; Popular Democratic Party (PDP), Luis de Grandes; Social Democratic Center (CDS), Adolfo Suárez González; Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE), Felipe González Márquez; 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), Juan Maria Bandries Molet; Andalusian Party (PA); Independent Canary Group (AIC); Aragon Regional Party (PAR); Valencian Union (UV)
Suffrage: universal at age 18
Elections: The Courts General—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%, others 8.4%; seats—(350 total, 18 vacant pending new elections caused by voting irregularities) PSOE 176, PP 106, CiU 18, IU 17, CDS 14, PNV 5, HB 4, others 10
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: Andean Pact (observer), ASSIMER, CCC, Council of Europe, EC, ESA, FAO, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, ICES, ICO, IDA, IDB—Inter-American Development Bank, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, ILZSG, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOOC, IPU, ITC, ITU, IWC—International ​Wheat Council, NATO, OAS (observer), OECD, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WSG, WTO
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Julian SANTAMARIA; 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, Madrid 6 (mailing address is APO New York 09285); telephone [34](1) 276-3400 or 3600; 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 European Economic Community in 1986. With increases in real GNP of 5.5% in 1987 and about 5% in 1988 and 1989, 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 an estimated 7% in 1989. Another economic problem facing Spain is an unemployment rate of 16.5%, the highest in Europe.
GNP: $398.7 billion, per capita $10,100; real growth rate 4.8% (1989 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 7.0% (1989 est.)
Unemployment rate: 16.5% (1989 est.)
Budget: revenues $57.8 billion; expenditures $66.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $10.4 billion (1987)
Exports: $40.2 billion (f.o.b., 1988); commodities—foodstuffs, live animals, wood, footwear, machinery, chemicals; partners—EC 66%, US 8%, other developed countries 9%
Imports: $60.4 billion (c.i.f., 1988); commodities—petroleum, footwear, machinery, chemicals, grain, soybeans, coffee, tobacco, iron and steel, timber, cotton, transport equipment; partners—EC 57%, US 9%, other developed countries 13%, Middle East 3%
External debt: $32.7 billion (1988)
Industrial production: growth rate 3.0% (1988)
Electricity: 46,589,000 kW capacity; 157,040 million kWh produced, 3,980 kWh per capita (1989)
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 among top 20 nations
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
Currency: peseta (plural—pesetas); 1 peseta (Pta) = 100 céntimos
Exchange rates: pesetas (Ptas) per US$1—109.69 (January 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, Almería, Barcelona, Bilbao, Cádiz, Cartagena, Castellón de la Plana, Ceuta, El Ferrol del Caudillo, Puerto de Gijón, Huelva, La Coruña, Las Palmas (Canary Islands), Mahón, Málaga, Melilla, Rota, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Sagunto, Tarragona, Valencia, Vigo, and 175 minor ports
Merchant marine: 324 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 3,492,563 GRT/6,128,190 DWT; includes 2 passenger, 9 short-sea passenger, 121 cargo, 19 refrigerated cargo, 17 container, 23 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 51 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 16 chemical tanker, 10 liquefied gas, 1 specialized tanker, 1 combination ore/oil, 49 bulk, 5 vehicle carrier
Civil air: 142 major transport aircraft
Airports: 110 total, 103 usable; 62 with permanent-surface runways; 4 with runways over 3,659 m; 20 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 29 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: generally adequate, modern facilities; 15,310,000 telephones; stations—196 AM, 404 (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
Military manpower: males 15-49, 10,032,649; 8,141,384 fit for military service; 338,582 reach military age (20) annually
Defense expenditures: 2.1% of GDP, or $8.4 billion (1989 est.)