A form of Spanish is the first language in some 28 countries and for close to 300 million people. Also, travel and tourism is one of the main sectors for early online activity and Spain has the highest tourism revenues pro rata among the larger EU economies. A large land mass with a thinly distributed population provides an incentive for early adoption of telework, especially in applications such as medical services.
High unemployment provides another incentive to understand and use telework and teletrade methods.
Against these positive factors, Spain has the lowest level of investment in ICTs among the larger EU countries, and relatively low per capita GDP makes the technology look more expensive in relative terms. Spain is Europe's fifth largest country in population terms. The per capita GDP is much the lowest of the larger EU countries, though substantially higher than those of Greece and Portugal. This has the effect of making ICTs appear relatively expensive for consumers and small local enterprises. There are significant differences in earnings levels between the main city and industrial areas and the rural hinterland.