Spain
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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
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