"text":"<p>Spain's powerful world empire of the 16th and 17th centuries ultimately yielded command of the seas to England. Spain remained neutral during both World Wars but suffered through a devastating civil war (1936-39) resulting in a dictatorship. A peaceful transition to democracy after the death of dictator Francisco FRANCO in 1975 and rapid economic modernization after Spain joined the EU in 1986 gave Spain a dynamic and rapidly growing economy. After a severe recession in the wake of the global financial crisis in 2008, Spain has posted solid years of GDP growth above the EU average. Unemployment has fallen but remains high, especially among youth. Spain is the euro-zone's fourth-largest economy. The country has faced increased domestic turmoil in recent years due to the independence movement in its restive Catalonia region.</p>"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> there are two autonomous cities - Ceuta and Melilla - and 17 autonomous communities including Balearic Islands and Canary Islands, and three small Spanish possessions off the coast of Morocco - Islas Chafarinas, Penon de Alhucemas, and Penon de Velez de la Gomera"
"text":"temperate; clear, hot summers in interior, more moderate and cloudy along coast; cloudy, cold winters in interior, partly cloudy and cool along coast"
},
"Terrain":{
"text":"large, flat to dissected plateau surrounded by rugged hills; Pyrenees Mountains in north"
"text":"Tagus river source (shared with Portugal [m]) - 1,006<br><strong>note</strong> – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth"
"text":"with the notable exception of Madrid, Sevilla, and Zaragoza, the largest urban agglomerations are found along the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts; numerous smaller cities are spread throughout the interior reflecting Spain's agrarian heritage; very dense settlement around the capital of Madrid, as well as the port city of Barcelona"
"text":"<p>periodic droughts, occasional flooding</p><p><strong>volcanism:</strong> volcanic activity in the Canary Islands, located off Africa's northwest coast; Teide (3,715 m) has been deemed a Decade Volcano by the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior, worthy of study due to its explosive history and close proximity to human populations; La Palma (2,426 m), which last erupted in 1971, is the most active of the Canary Islands volcanoes; Lanzarote is the only other historically active volcano</p>"
"text":"strategic location along approaches to Strait of Gibraltar; Spain controls a number of territories in northern Morocco including the enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, and the islands of Penon de Velez de la Gomera, Penon de Alhucemas, and Islas Chafarinas; Spain's Canary Islands are one of four North Atlantic archipelagos that make up Macaronesia; the others are Azores (Portugal), Madeira (Portugal), and Cabo Verde"
"text":"Castilian Spanish (official) 74%, Catalan (official in Catalonia, the Balearic Islands, and the Valencian Community) 17%, Galician (official in Galicia) 7%, Basque (official in the Basque Country and Navarre) 2%, Aranese (official in part of Catalonia) <5,000 speakers"
"text":"<br>La Libreta Informativa del Mundo, la fuente indispensable de información básica. (Spanish)<br><br>The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information."
"text":"with the notable exception of Madrid, Sevilla, and Zaragoza, the largest urban agglomerations are found along the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts; numerous smaller cities are spread throughout the interior reflecting Spain's agrarian heritage; very dense settlement around the capital of Madrid, as well as the port city of Barcelona"
"text":"pollution of the Mediterranean Sea from raw sewage and effluents from the offshore production of oil and gas and drought are negatively impacting water quality and quantity nationwide; air pollution; deforestation; desertification"
"text":"Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Heavy Metals, Air Pollution-Multi-effect Protocol, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Marine Dumping-London Protocol, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling"
},
"signed, but not ratified":{
"text":"none of the selected agreements"
}
},
"Climate":{
"text":"temperate; clear, hot summers in interior, more moderate and cloudy along coast; cloudy, cold winters in interior, partly cloudy and cool along coast"
"text":"Tagus river source (shared with Portugal [m]) - 1,006<br><strong>note</strong> – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth"
"text":"Basque Coast UNESCO; Cabo de Gata-Níjar; Cabo Ortegal; Calatrava Volcanoes. Ciudad Real; Central Catalonia; Courel Mountains; El Hierro; Granada; Lanzarote and Chinijo Islands; Las Loras; Maestrazgo; Molina-Alto; Origens; Sierra Norte de Sevilla; Sierras Subbéticas; Sobrarbe-Pirineos: Villuercas Ibores Jara (2024)"
"text":"derivation of the name \"Espana\" is uncertain, but may come from the Phoenician term \"span,\" related to the word \"spy,\" meaning \"to forge metals,\" so, \"i-spn-ya\" would mean \"place where metals are forged\"; the ancient Phoenicians long exploited the Iberian Peninsula for its mineral wealth"
}
},
"Government type":{
"text":"parliamentary constitutional monarchy"
},
"Capital":{
"name":{
"text":"Madrid"
},
"geographic coordinates":{
"text":"40 24 N, 3 41 W"
},
"time difference":{
"text":"UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)"
},
"daylight saving time":{
"text":"+1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October"
"text":"Spain has two time zones, including the Canary Islands (UTC 0)"
},
"etymology":{
"text":"the Romans named the original settlement \"Matrice\" after the river that ran through it; under Arab rule it became \"Majerit,\" meaning \"source of water\"; in medieval Romance dialects (Mozarabic) it became \"Matrit,\" which over time changed to \"Madrid\""
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla plus three small islands of Islas Chafarinas, Penon de Alhucemas, and Penon de Velez de la Gomera, administered directly by the Spanish central government, are all along the coast of Morocco and are collectively referred to as Places of Sovereignty (Plazas de Soberania)"
"text":"1492; the Iberian peninsula was characterized by a variety of independent kingdoms prior to the Muslim occupation that began in the early 8th century A.D. and lasted nearly seven centuries; the small Christian redoubts of the north began the reconquest almost immediately, culminating in the seizure of Granada in 1492; this event completed the unification of several kingdoms and is traditionally considered the forging of present-day Spain"
},
"National holiday":{
"text":"National Day (Hispanic Day), 12 October (1492); note - commemorates the arrival of COLUMBUS in the Americas"
"text":"several previous; latest approved by the General Courts 31 October 1978, passed by referendum 6 December 1978, signed by the king 27 December 1978, effective 29 December 1978"
"text":"proposed by the government, by the General Courts (the Congress or the Senate), or by the self-governing communities submitted through the government; passage requires three-fifths majority vote by both houses and passage by referendum if requested by one tenth of the members of either house; proposals disapproved by both houses are submitted to a joint committee, which submits an agreed upon text for another vote; passage requires two-thirds majority vote in Congress and simple majority vote in the Senate; amended 1992, 2011"
"text":"the monarchy is hereditary; following legislative elections, the monarch usually proposes as president the leader of the majority party or coalition, who is then indirectly elected by the Congress of Deputies; election last held on 23 July 2023 (next to be held on 31 July 2027); vice president and Council of Ministers appointed by the president"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> there is also a Council of State that is the supreme consultative organ of the government, but its recommendations are non-binding"
"text":"Supreme Court or Tribunal Supremo (consists of the court president and organized into the Civil Room, with a president and 9 judges; the Penal Room, with a president and 14 judges; the Administrative Room, with a president and 32 judges; the Social Room, with a president and 12 judges; and the Military Room, with a president and 7 judges); Constitutional Court or Tribunal Constitucional de Espana (consists of 12 judges)"
},
"judge selection and term of office":{
"text":"Supreme Court judges appointed by the monarch from candidates proposed by the General Council of the Judiciary Power, a 20-member governing board chaired by the monarch that includes presidential appointees, lawyers, and jurists confirmed by the National Assembly; judges can serve until age 70; Constitutional Court judges nominated by the National Assembly, executive branch, and the General Council of the Judiciary, and appointed by the monarch for 9-year terms"
},
"subordinate courts":{
"text":"National High Court; High Courts of Justice (in each of the autonomous communities); provincial courts; courts of first instance"
"text":"Asturias Forum or FAC<br>Basque Country Unite (Euskal Herria Bildu) or EH Bildu (coalition of 4 Basque pro-independence parties)<br>Basque Nationalist Party or PNV or EAJ<br>Canarian Coalition or CC (coalition of 5 parties)<br>Ciudadanos Party (Citizens Party) or Cs<br>Compromis - Compromise Coalition<br>Navarrese People's Union or UPN<br>Together for Catalonia or Junts<br>People's Party or PP<br>Republican Left of Catalonia or ERC<br>Spanish Socialist Workers Party or PSOE<br>Teruel Existe or TE<br>Unidas (Unite) or Sumar (electoral coalition formed in March 2022) (formerly Unidas Podemos or UP)<br>Vox or VOX"
"text":"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 is quartered to display the emblems of the traditional kingdoms of Spain (clockwise from upper left, Castile, Leon, Navarre, and Aragon) while Granada is represented by the stylized pomegranate at the bottom of the shield; the arms are framed by two columns representing the Pillars of Hercules, which are the two promontories (Gibraltar and Ceuta) on either side of the eastern end of the Strait of Gibraltar; the red scroll across the two columns bears the imperial motto of \"Plus Ultra\" (further beyond) referring to Spanish lands beyond Europe; the triband arrangement with the center stripe twice the width of the outer dates to the 18th century",
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> officially in use between 1770 and 1931, restored in 1939; the Spanish anthem is the first anthem to be officially adopted, but it has no lyrics; in the years prior to 1931 it became known as \"Marcha Real\" (The Royal March); it first appeared in a 1761 military bugle call book and was replaced by \"Himno de Riego\" in the years between 1931 and 1939; the long version of the anthem is used for the king, while the short version is used for the prince, prime minister, and occasions such as sporting events"
"text":"Cave of Altamira and Paleolithic Cave Art of Northern Spain (c); Works of Antoni Gaudí (c); Santiago de Compostela (Old Town) (c); Historic City of Toledo (c); Archaeological Ensemble of Mérida (c); Tower of Hercules (c); Doñana National Park (n); Pyrénées - Mont Perdu (m); Alhambra, Generalife, and Albayzín in Granada (c); Old City of Salamanca (c); Teide National Park (n); Historic Walled Town of Cuenca (c); Old Town of Segovia and its Aqueduct (c); Historic Cordoba (c); El Escorial (c)"
"text":"high-income core EU and eurozone economy; strong growth driven by public consumption, tourism, and other service exports; tight labor market despite high structural unemployment; government debt remains high amid deficit reductions; innovation and economic freedom ranked lower than EU and OECD peers"
"text":"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"
"note":"<b>note:</b> central government revenues (excluding grants) and expenses converted to US dollars at average official exchange rate for year indicated"
"text":"Spain’s telecom sector has tracked the performance of the overall economy, which has been one of the most heavily impacted by the pandemic in all of Europe; GDP dropped by 10.8% in 2020, while telecom revenue reversed the previous five years’ positive results by falling 5.3%; fixed-line services were the hardest hit, with revenue falling 13.7%; mobile voice services did not fare much better, falling 4.7%; this is despite relatively small shifts in the number of subscribers, though the harsh lockdown conditions resulted in a significant drop in usage; it had appeared that a return to growth might be possible in 2021 following lifting the state of emergency in May, but the most recent surge in cases and the continued restrictions on travel may once again put the brakes on growth until at least 2022; Spain’s fixed-line broadband market managed to extend its decade-long pattern of steady growth into 2020, with a slight increase in demand caused by the need for fast internet access to support working and learning from home; while most of Spain’s larger telcos delivered negative revenue and profit in 2020 (2021)"
"text":"country code - 34; landing points for the MAREA, Tata TGN-Western Europe, Pencan-9, SAT-3/WASC, Canalink, Atlantis-2, Columbus -111, Estepona-Tetouan, FLAG Europe-Asia (FEA), Balalink, ORVAL and PENBAL-5 submarine cables providing connectivity to Europe, the Middle East, Africa, South America, Asia, Southeast Asia and the US; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), Eutelsat; tropospheric scatter to adjacent countries (2019)"
"text":"<p>a mixture of both publicly operated and privately owned TV and radio stations; overall, hundreds of TV channels are available including national, regional, local, public, and international channels; satellite and cable TV systems available; multiple national radio networks, a large number of regional radio networks, and a larger number of local radio stations; overall, hundreds of radio stations</p> (2019)"
"text":"Alicante, Barcelona, Cadiz, Ceuta, Ferrol, Huelva, Las Palmas, Malaga, Palma de Mallorca, Puerto de Bilbao, Puerto de Pasajes, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Santander, Sevilla, Tarragona, Valencia, Vigo"
"text":"Spanish Armed Forces (Fuerzas Armadas de España): Army (Ejército de Tierra), Spanish Navy (Armada Espanola; includes Marine Corps), Air and Space Force (Ejército del Aire y del Espacio), Emergency Response Unit (Unidad Militar de Emergencias); Civil Guard (Guardia Civil) (2024)",
"note":"<strong>note 1:</strong> the Civil Guard is a military force with police duties (including coast guard) under both the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of the Interior; it also responds to the needs of the Ministry of Finance<br><br><strong>note 2:</strong> the Emergency Response Unit was established in 2006 as a separate branch of service for responding to natural disasters and providing disaster relief both domestically and abroad; it has personnel from all the other military services<br><br><strong>note 3:</strong> the Spanish National Police (Cuerpo Nacional de Policía, CNP) and the Civil Guard maintain internal security as well as migration and border enforcement under the authority of the Ministry of the Interior; the regional police under the authority of the Catalan and the Basque Country regional governments and municipal police throughout the country also support domestic security<br><br><strong>note 4:</strong> the military has a Common Corps of four specialized corps that provide professional services to all the branches of the Armed Forces and the Civil Guard, including comptroller, legal, medical, and music services<br><br><strong>note 5: </strong>the Royal Guard is an independent regiment of the military dedicated to the protection of the King and members of the royal family; it is made up of members of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Common Corps"
"text":"approximately 118,000 active-duty troops (70,000 Army; 25,000 Navy, including about 5,500 marines; 23,000 Air and Space Force); 80,000 Guardia Civil (2024)",
"text":"the military's inventory is comprised of weapons and equipment that were produced domestically, co-produced with or imported from other EU countries, or purchased from the US; in recent years, leading suppliers have included France, Germany, and the US; Spain's defense industry manufactures land, air, and sea weapons systems and is integrated within the European defense-industrial sector (2024)"
"text":"18 years of age for voluntary military service for men and women; 24-36 month initial obligation; women allowed to serve in all branches, including combat units; no conscription (abolished 2001), but the Spanish Government retains the right to mobilize citizens 19-25 years of age in a national emergency; 18-58 for the voluntary reserves (2024)",
"note":"<strong>note 1:</strong> as of 2024, women comprised about 13% of the military's full-time personnel<br><br><strong>note 2:</strong> the military recruits foreign nationals with residency in Spain from countries of its former empire, including Argentina, Costa Rica, Bolivia, Colombia, Chile, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela"
"text":"Spain has up to 3,000 military personnel deployed on 17 missions supporting the EU, NATO, and the UN on four continents, as well as naval missions in the Mediterranean and the seas off the Horn of Africa; its largest deployments are up to 700 troops in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and about 1,700 personnel in Eastern Europe supporting NATO missions in Latvia, Romania, and Slovakia (2024)",
"text":"the Spanish Armed Forces have a wide variety of responsibilities, including protecting the country’s national interests, sovereignty, and territory, providing support during natural disasters, and fulfilling Spain’s responsibilities to European and international security; the military conducts operations worldwide, and its air, ground, and naval forces participate in a variety of EU-, NATO-, and UN-led missions; Spain joined NATO in 1982 and is fully integrated into the NATO structure; it routinely conducts exercises with EU and NATO partners, and hosts one of NATO’s two combined air operations centers<br><br>the military is organized into commands for air, cyberspace, joint, land, maritime, and space operations; it maintains garrisons in the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands, Ceuta, and Melilla<br><br>the Spanish military has a rich history that goes back to the 13th century; the Army has an infantry regiment, formed in the 13th century, that is considered the oldest still active military unit in the Western world; the Marine Corps, which traces its roots back to 1537, is the oldest naval infantry force in the World; Spain created a Spanish Legion for foreigners in 1920, but early on the Legion was primarily filled by native Spaniards due to difficulties in recruiting foreigners, and most of its foreign members were from the Republic of Cuba; it was modeled after the French Foreign Legion and its purpose was to provide a corps of professional troops to fight in Spain's colonial campaigns in North Africa; in more recent years, it has been used in NATO peacekeeping deployments; today’s Legion includes a mix of native Spaniards and foreigners with Spanish residency (2024)"
"text":"Spanish Space Agency (AEE; became operational in April 2023); previously, the National Institute of Aerospace Technology (Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial or INTA, established 1942), a public research organization that depends on the Ministry of Defense, acted as Spain’s space agency; Space Command (Mando del Espacio or MESPA; established January 2024); Center for the Development of Industrial Technology (CDTI); Catalan Space Agency (established 2021); Valencian Space Consortium (established 2009) (2024)"
"text":"space program is integrated into the European Space Agency (ESA) and dates back to the 1940s; manufactures and operates communications, remote sensing (RS), and scientific/technology satellites; has developed sounding rockets; conducts research and development in a broad range of space-related capabilities, including astrobiology, astronomy, imaging/RS, materials, meteorology, optics, propulsion, robotics, satellites (particularly micro- and nano-satellites), satellite systems and subsystems, satellite/space launch vehicles (SLVs), and space sciences; participates in ESA, EU, and other international programs; hosts the European Space Astronomy Center (ESOC) and the ESA’s Space Surveillance and Tracking Data Centre (ESAC); cooperates with foreign space agencies and industries, including those of ESA and EU member states and the US; has a considerable commercial space industry, which is involved in a wide range of space-related research, development, and production, including satellites and SLVs; the CDTI coordinates the activities of the commercial space sector (2024)",
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> further details about the key activities, programs, and milestones of the country’s space program, as well as government spending estimates on the space sector, appear in the Space Programs reference guide"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> details about the history, aims, leadership, organization, areas of operation, tactics, targets, weapons, size, and sources of support of the group(s) appear(s) in the Terrorism reference guide"
"text":"14,994 (Syria) (mid-year 2022); 438,400 (Venezuela) (economic and political crisis; includes Venezuelans who have claimed asylum, are recognized as refugees, or have received alternative legal stay) (2022); 192,390 (Ukraine) (as of 29 February 2024)"
"text":"<p>a European transit point for cocaine from South America and for hashish from Morocco; cocaine is shipped in raw or liquid form with mixed cargo to avoid detection or altered to escape detection after which chemists within Spain extract and reconstitute any altered form of cocaine, preparing it for distribution within Europe; minor domestic drug production; occasionally synthetic drugs, including ketamine, new psychoactive substances (NPS), and MDMA transit through Spain to the United States</p>"
