Demographics

Spain has the fifth largest population in the European Union. It has a notably young population, bolstered by the sharp increase in immigration. The main figures are given in the table below.

POPULATION
Total Population	46,745,807
Growth Rate	1.3%
Distribution by Age	0-15 15.5%
	16-64 67.80%
	65+ 16.7%
Population Density	92.60 inhabitants/km2
Urban Population	77.40%
Working Population	59.76%
Working Population by Industry(See more)	Agriculture 4.19%
	Industry 14.38%
	Construction 9.67%
	Services 71.76%
Demographic Composition (See more)	87.92% Spaniards / 12.08% foreign population
Religion	76.6% - Catholic
Official Language	Castilian is the official State language. Other Spanish languages also have official status in their respective Autonomous Communities, in accordance with their Charters of Autonomy. (Article 3 of the Constitution)

Source: National Statistics Institute. Provisional Data at January 1, 2009. Municipal Register report. Working population with data from Q4 of 2009.

Variation in working population by industry (%)

	2007	2008	2009
Agriculture	4.42	4.05	4.19
Industry	16.01	15.32	14.38
Construction	13.16	10.98	9.67
Services	66.41	69.65	71.76

Source: National Statistics Institute. Q4 2009.

Foreigners resident in Spain by continent of origin

	2007	2008	2009
Europe	1,661,636	1,917,069	1,963,108
The Americas	1,234,688	1,354,158	1,466,121
Asia	238,740	270,210	295,668
Africa	841,561	922,635	980,964
Oceania	1,989	1,839	1,923
Unknown	1,130	7,588	7,973
TOTAL	3,979,744	4,473,499	4,715,757

Source: Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. Figures at September 30, 2009

 

Political Structure

POLITICAL FRAMEWORK
Political structure of State	Parliamentary Monarchy
Head of State	King Juan Carlos I
Prime Minister	José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, since April 17th, 2004 and has been reelected on March 9th, 2008.
Parliament	Lower House (350 members) and Upper House (259 members)
Party in power	Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE)
Territorial organization	Territorially, the State is organized into municipalities, provinces and autonomous communities. There are 17 autonomous communities and two cities (Ceuta and Melilla).
European Union	Member State since 1986

 

Economy

Spain is a dynamic country with an advanced economic model, in which the services sector and industry account for over 80% of GDP.

ECONOMIC DATA
Currency	Euro, divided into 100 cents
Real growth in GDP	-4.0%*
GDP per capita (2008)	23,874 euros
Inflation	-0.8**
Public Accounts	Budget surplus of 6.8 % in 2009 (Bank of Spain)***

* Data 3Q 2009
** Aggregate average until December 2009
*** Until May the State recorded a deficit of 6.8% until November 2009 of Spain's GDP (Bank of Spain)

Source: Eurostat, National Statistics Institute, Bank of Spain

 

Trade and investment

In recent years, the rapid growth in imports and exports has made Spain one of the most internationally-oriented countries in the world, with figures for Spanish foreign investment reaching $77,000 million in 2008¹.

Spain's main trading partners are the 27-nation EU Member States, accounting for 69.3% of total exports and 58.3% of imports, followed by Asia and Africa (respectively accounting for 6.8% and 5.8% of total exports and for 17.44% and 8% of total imports) which have displaced Latin and North America from their traditional role as Spain’s main trade partners outside the EU².

Spain is one of the most active countries trading goods and services. With regards to the trading of goods, it is ranked 17th in the world as an exporter and 12th as an importer; while in the trading of services it occupies 7th place as an exporter and 9th place as an importer.

The Spanish share in global export and import of goods (Spanish exports/global exports) is 1.70% and 2.40% respectively. The Spanish share in global export and import of services stands at 3.80% and 3.00%³.

The breakdown by industry of foreign trade is relatively diversified, as can be seen in the following table:

Breakdown of main exports and imports in 2008* (as % of total)

EXPORTS		IMPORTS
Capital goods	20.4%	Capital goods	20.6%
Automobile industry	17.6%	Energy products	16.2%
Food	15.6%	Chemical products	15.6%
Chemical products	14.6%	Automobile industry	12.5%
Semi-manufactured non-chemical products	11.3%	Food	11.1%
Consumer goods	9.3%	Consumer goods	10.9%
Energy products	4.5%	Semi-manufactured non-chemical products	6.9%
Other goods	2.7%	Durable consumer goods	3.1%
Durable consumer goods	2.1%	Raw materials	2.7%
Raw materials	1.9%	Other goods	0.4%

* Data available at January-November 2009
Source: Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Trade

With regard to investment, it is worth highlighting the increase in inward investment received since 1996. In recent years, Spain has been one of the main recipients of foreign direct investment. According to the World International Report 2009, in 2008 Spain ranked fourth among the top developed-country recipients of foreign direct investment. FDI increased to $66 billion, reaching a new record high.

Proof of how highly developed the Spanish economy is, is the fact that, since 1997, the outward investment flows have outstripped inward investment flows.

Source: Bank of Spain
* Data available at January-November 2009.

With regard to the graphic above the data by the end of January-November 2009 is the following: Direct Investment 16.33; Portfolio Investment 52.92; Total 69.25 (in € billion).

Infrastructure

Spain is ranked 3rd in the EU in terms of the number of high-capacity toll roads and highways and 2nd in terms of the number of kilometers of high-speed railway tracks. In addition, it boasts 49 airports and 53 international ports which, when combined with the countries geostrategic position, make Spain one of the leading hubs for passenger and goods transportation.

Of even greater importance is the Transportation Infrastructure Strategic Plan, with total investments of €248 billion projected for the 2005-2020 period. In this regard, with an accumulated investment of €62 billion, more than 25% of the Plan has been executed in the 4 years that it has existed, thereby exceeding its objectives, both in terms of the total executed and the percentage of GDP of such execution.

The table below sets out some of the more noteworthy facts and figures relating to Spain's infrastructure:

INFRASTRUCTURE
Investment	248,892 million until 2020
Highways	14,000 km (high capacity)
Railway	16,530 km
Airports	250 airlines at 49 airports
Ports	53 international ports
Technology	Extensive fiber optic cable network and one of the largest undersea cable and satellite-link networks.

¹ World Investment Report 2009.
² Data available Jan-Nov. 2009. Source: Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Trade.
³ Internacional Trade Statistics 2009.

 

For more information you can download the following document:

Spain profile (922kb.)

Prepared by Garrigues

Last updated: 24|02|2010