Spain | Facts & Information

Updated September 9, 2022 | Infoplease Staff

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Facts & Figures

  • Ruler: King Felipe VI (2014)

    Prime Minister: Pedro Sanchez Perez-Castejon(2018)

    Land area: 192,657 sq mi (498,980 sq km); total area: 195,124 sq mi (505,370 sq km)1

    Population (2022 est.): 47,163,418 (growth rate: 0.13%); birth rate: 7.13/1000; infant mortality rate: 2.47/1000; life expectancy: 82.55

    Capital and largest city (2022 est.): Madrid, 6.714 million

    Other large cities: Barcelona, 5.658 million; Valencia, 837,000

    Monetary unit: Euro (formerly peseta)

    National name: Reino de España

    Current government officials

    Languages: 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)

    Ethnicity/race: Spanish 84.8%, Moroccan 1.7%, Romanian 1.2%, other 12.3% (2021 est.)

    Religions: Roman Catholic 58.2%, atheist 16.2%, agnostic 10.8%, other 2.7%, non-believer 10.5%, unspecified 1.7% (2021 est.)

    Literacy rate: 98.6% (2020 est.)

    Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2020 est.): $1,714,860,000,000; per capita $36,200. Real growth rate: 1.95%. Inflation: 0.7%. Unemployment: 14.13%. Arable land: 24.9%. Agriculture: grain, vegetables, olives, wine grapes, sugar beets, citrus; beef, pork, poultry, dairy products; fish. Labor force: 19.057 million (2020 est.); agriculture 4.2%, manufacturing, mining, and construction 24%, services 71.7% (2009 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, copper, lead, zinc, uranium, tungsten, mercury, pyrites, magnesite, fluorspar, gypsum, sepiolite, kaolin, potash, hydropower, arable land. Exports: $392.85 billion (2020 est.): machinery, motor vehicles; foodstuffs, pharmaceuticals, medicines, other consumer goods. Major trading partners (exports): France 15%, Germany 11%, Portugal 8%, Italy 8%, United Kingdom 7%, United States 5% (2019). Imports: $373.67 billion (2020 est.): machinery and equipment, fuels, chemicals, semifinished goods, foodstuffs, consumer goods, measuring and medical control instruments. Major trading partners (imports): Germany 13%, France 11%, China 8%, Italy 7% (2019).

    Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 19,455,658 (2020); mobile cellular: 55,354,900 (2019). Broadcast Media: 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 (2019). Televisions: 16.2 million (1997). Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 4.228 million (2012). Internet users: 44,047,980 (2020).

    Transportation: Railways: total: 15,111 km (2017) (9,699 km electrified). Highways: total: 683,175 km; paved: 683,175 km (2011) (includes 16,205 km of expressways). Waterways: 1,000 km (2012). 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: 135 (2021).

    International disputes: 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 disapproves of UK plans to grant Gibraltar greater autonomy; 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); Morocco serves as the primary launching site of illegal migration into Spain from North Africa; 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.

    Major sources and definitions

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