Kingdom of Spain

National name: Reino de España

Ruler: King Juan Carlos I (1975)

Prime Minister: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero (2004)

Land area: 192,873 sq mi (499,542 sq km); total area: 194,897 sq mi (504,782 sq km)1

Population (2006 est.): 40,397,842 (growth rate: 0.1%); birth rate: 10.1/1000; infant mortality rate: 4.4/1000; life expectancy: 79.7; density per sq mi: 210

Capital and largest city (2003 est.): Madrid, 5,130,000 (metro. area), 3,169,400 (city proper)

Other large cities: Barcelona, 1,528,800; Valencia, 741,100; Seville, 679,100

Monetary unit: Euro (formerly peseta)

Languages: Castilian Spanish 74% (official nationwide); Catalan 17%, Galician 7%, Basque 2% (each official regionally)

Ethnicity/race: composite of Mediterranean and Nordic types

Religions: Roman Catholic 94%, other 6%

Literacy rate: 98% (2003 est.)

Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2005 est.): $1.017 trillion; per capita $25,200. Real growth rate: 3.4%. Inflation: 3.4%. Unemployment: 10.1%. Arable land: 27%. Agriculture: grain, vegetables, olives, wine grapes, sugar beets, citrus; beef, pork, poultry, dairy products; fish. Labor force: 20.67 million; agriculture 5.3%, manufacturing, mining, and construction 30.1%, services 64.6% (2004 est.). 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. Natural resources: coal, lignite, iron ore, uranium, mercury, pyrites, fluorspar, gypsum, zinc, lead, tungsten, copper, kaolin, potash, hydropower, arable land. Exports: $194.3 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.): machinery, motor vehicles; foodstuffs, pharmaceuticals, medicines, other consumer goods. Imports: $271.8 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.): machinery and equipment, fuels, chemicals, semifinished goods, foodstuffs, consumer goods, measuring and medical control instruments. Major trading partners: France, Germany, Portugal, Italy, UK, Netherlands (2004).

Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 17.336 million (1999); mobile cellular: 8.394 million (1999). Radio broadcast stations: AM 208, FM 715, shortwave 1 (1998). Radios: 13.1 million (1997). Television broadcast stations: 224 (plus 2,105 repeaters); note: these figures include 11 television broadcast stations and 88 repeaters in the Canary Islands (1995). Televisions: 16.2 million (1997). Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 56 (2000). Internet users: 7.89 million (2002).

Transportation: Railways: total: 14,189 km (2002). Highways: total: 663,795 km; paved: 657,157 km (including 10,317 km of expressways); unpaved: 6,638 km (1999). Waterways: 1,045 km. Ports and harbors: Aviles, Barcelona, Bilbao, Cadiz, Cartagena, Castellon de la Plana, Ceuta, Huelva, La Coruna, Las Palmas (Canary Islands), Malaga, Melilla, Pasajes, Gijon, Santa Cruz de Tenerife (Canary Islands), Santander, Tarragona, Valencia, Vigo. Airports: 152 (2002).

International disputes: Gibraltar residents vote overwhelmingly in referendum against “total shared sovereignty” arrangement worked out between Spain and UK to change 300-year rule over colony; Morocco protests Spain's control over the coastal enclaves of Ceuta, Melilla, and Penon de Velez de la Gomera, the islands of Penon de Alhucemas and Islas Chafarinas, and surrounding waters; Morocco also rejected Spain's unilateral designation of a median line from the Canary Islands in 2002 to set limits to undersea resource exploration and refugee interdiction; Morocco allowed Spanish fishermen to fish temporarily off the coast of Western Sahara after an oil spill soiled Spanish fishing grounds; Portugal has periodically reasserted claims to territories around the town of Olivenza, Spain.

 

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