"text":"<p>Spain's powerful world empire of the 16th and 17th centuries ultimately yielded command of the seas to England. Subsequent failure to embrace the mercantile and industrial revolutions caused the country to fall behind Britain, France, and Germany in economic and political power. Spain remained neutral in World War I and II but suffered through a devastating civil war (1936-39). A peaceful transition to democracy following the death of dictator Francisco FRANCO in 1975, and rapid economic modernization (Spain joined the EU in 1986) gave Spain a dynamic and rapidly growing economy, and made it a global champion of freedom and human rights. More recently, Spain has emerged from a severe economic recession that began in mid-2008, posting 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 nationwide) 74%, Catalan (official in Catalonia, the Balearic Islands, and the Valencian Community (where it is known as Valencian)) 17%, Galician (official in Galicia) 7%, Basque (official in the Basque Country and in the Basque-speaking area of Navarre) 2%, Aranese (official in the northwest corner of Catalonia (Vall d'Aran) along with Catalan, <5,000 speakers); note - Aragonese, Aranese Asturian, Basque, Calo, Catalan, Galician, and Valencian are recognized as regional languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages"
"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":"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"
},
"Constitution":{
"history":{
"text":"previous 1812; 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":"President of the Government (Prime Minister-equivalent) Pedro SANCHEZ PEREZ-CASTEJON (since 2 June 2018); Vice President Nadia Maria CALVINO Santamaria (since 12 July 2021)"
"text":"the monarchy is hereditary; following legislative elections, the monarch usually proposes as president the leader of the party or coalition with the largest number of seats, who is then indirectly elected by the Congress of Deputies; election last held on 10 November 2019 (next to be held December 2023); 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":"bicameral General Courts or Las Cortes Generales consists of:<br>Senate or Senado (265 seats; 208 members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by simple majority vote and 57 members indirectly elected by the legislatures of the autonomous communities; members serve 4-year terms)<br>Congress of Deputies or Congreso de los Diputados (350 seats; 348 members directly elected in 50 multi-seat constituencies by closed-list proportional representation vote, with a 3% threshold needed to gain a seat, and 2 directly elected from the North African Ceuta and Melilla enclaves bysimple majorityvote; members serve 4-year terms or until the government is dissolved)"
"text":"<br>Senate - last held on 10 November 2019 (next to be held no later than 30 November 2023)<br>Congress of Deputies - last held on 10 November 2019 (next to be held no later than 30 November 2023)"
"text":"<br>Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PSOE 113, PP 101, ERC 14, PNV 10, Junts 5, Cs 3, Vox 3, other 16; composition (as of mid-2022) - men 161, women 104; percent of women 39.3%<br>Congress of Deputies - percent of vote by party - PSOE 34.3%, PP 25.1%, Vox 14.9%, UP 9.4%, ERC 3.7%, Cs 2.9%, PNV 1.7%, EH-Bildu 1.4%, other 4.3%; seats by party - PSOE 120, PP 88, Vox 52, UP 33, ERC 13, Cs 9, PNV 6, EH-Bildu 5, other 15; men 196, women 154, percent of women 44%; note - overall General Courts percent of women 42%"
"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 [Carmen MORIYON]<br>Basque Country Unite (Euskal Herria Bildu) or EH Bildu [Arnaldo OTEGI] (coalition of 4 Basque pro-independence parties)<br>Basque Nationalist Party or PNV or EAJ [Andoni ORTUZAR]<br>Canarian Coalition or CC [Fernando Clavijo BATLLE] (coalition of 5 parties)<br>Ciudadanos Party (Citizens Party) or Cs [Adrian Vazquez LAZARA]<br>Compromis - Compromise Coalition [Enric MORERA i Català]<br>Together for Catalonia or JuntsxCat [Laura BORRAS]<br>People's Party or PP [Albert Nunez FEIJOO]<br>Republican Left of Catalonia or ERC [Oriol JUNQUERAS]<br>Spanish Socialist Workers Party or PSOE [Pedro SANCHEZ]<br>Teruel Existe or TE [Tomas GUITARTE]<br>Unidas Podemos (United We Can) or UP [Ione BELARRA] (formerly Podemos IU; electoral coalition formed for May 2016 election)<br>Union of People of Navarra or UPN [Javier ESPARZA]<br>Vox or VOX [Santiago ABASCAL]"
"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 economy; diversified trade portfolio; continental tourism locale; high government spending and debt; prone to political financing corruption; negatively impacted by COVID-19; important port and customs infrastructure; key clothing/footwear supplier"
"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"
"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)"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> paved runways have a concrete or asphalt surface but not all have facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control; the length of a runway required for aircraft to safely operate depends on a number of factors including the type of aircraft, the takeoff weight (including passengers, cargo, and fuel), engine types, flap settings, landing speed, elevation of the airport, and average maximum daily air temperature; paved runways can reach a length of 5,000 m (16,000 ft.), but the “typical” length of a commercial airline runway is between 2,500-4,000 m (8,000-13,000 ft.)"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> unpaved runways have a surface composition such as grass or packed earth and are most suited to the operation of light aircraft; unpaved runways are usually short, often less than 1,000 m (3,280 ft.) in length; airports with unpaved runways often lack facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control"
"text":"<br><em>Atlantic Ocean:</em> Bilbao, Huelva; Las Palmas, Santa Cruz de Tenerife (in the Canary Islands)<br><em>Mediterranean Sea:</em> Algeciras, Barcelona, Cartagena, Tarragona, Valencia"
"text":"Spanish Armed Forces: Army (Ejército de Tierra), Spanish Navy (Armada Espanola; includes Marine Corps), Air and Space Force (Ejército del Aire y del Espacio); Civil Guard (Guardia Civil) (2023)",
"note":"<strong>note:</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"
"text":"approximately 120,000 active-duty troops (72,000 Army; 25,000 Navy, including about 5,000 marines; 23,000 Air and Space Force); 80,000 Guardia Civil (2023)",
"note":"<strong>note: </strong>a 2007 law established a maximum strength of 130,000 military personnel"
"text":"the military's inventory is comprised of domestically produced and imported Western weapons systems; 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 (2023)"
"text":"18-26 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 (2022)",
"note":"<strong>note 1:</strong> as of 2019, 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":"approximately 200 Iraq (NATO/EU training assistance); up to 600 Latvia (NATO); 650 Lebanon (UNIFIL); approximately 200 Romania (NATO); approximately 500 Mali (EUTM); 150 Turkey (NATO) (2022)",
"note":"<strong>note: </strong>in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, some NATO countries, including Spain, have sent additional troops and equipment to the battlegroups deployed in NATO territory in eastern Europe"
"text":"Spain joined NATO in 1982 but refrained from participating in the integrated military structure until 1996; the Spanish Marine Corps, established in 1537, is the oldest marine corps in the world; the Spanish Army has an infantry regiment, formed in the 13th century, that is considered the oldest still active military unit in the western world<br><br>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 (2023)"
"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 Appendix-T"
"text":"<p><em>Spain-Andorra</em>: none identified</p> <p><em>Spain-France</em>: none identified</p> <p><em>Spain-Gibraltar (UK)</em>: in 2002, Gibraltar residents voted overwhelmingly by referendum to reject any \"shared sovereignty\" arrangement; the Government of Gibraltar insists on equal participation in talks between the UK and Spain; Spain does not recognize British sovereignty beyond the original fortified perimeter of the city and disapproves of UK plans to grant Gibraltar greater autonomy; after voters in the UK chose to leave the EU in a June 2016 referendum, Spain again proposed shared sovereignty of Gibraltar; UK officials rejected Spain’s joint sovereignty proposal</p> <p><em>Spain-Morocco</em>: Morocco protests Spain's control over the coastal enclaves of Ceuta, Melilla, and the islands of Penon de Velez de la Gomera, Penon de Alhucemas, and Islas Chafarinas, and surrounding waters; both countries claim Isla Perejil (Leila Island), which remains unoccupied but was the site of a military standoff in 2002; Morocco serves as the primary embarkation area for illegal migration into mainland Spain from North Africa</p> <p><em>Spain-Portugal</em>: Portugal does not recognize Spanish sovereignty over the territory of Olivenza based on a difference of interpretation of the 1815 Congress of Vienna and the 1801 Treaty of Badajoz</p>"
"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); 185,120 (Ukraine) (as of 9 July 2023)"
"text":"<p>a primary 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 Spanish chemists reconstitute it and distribute to Europe; minor domestic drug production; synthetic drugs, including ketamine, new psychoactive substances (NPS), and MDMA transit from Spain to the United States</p>"
