Data at glance of Spain - average on period

History

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.

Environment

Area: 505,370 km2

Climate: temperate; clear, hot summers in interior, more moderate and cloudy along coast; cloudy, cold winters in interior, partly cloudy and cool along coast

Natural resources: coal, lignite, iron ore, copper, lead, zinc, uranium, tungsten, mercury, pyrites, magnesite, fluorspar, gypsum, sepiolite, kaolin, potash, hydropower, arable land

Ethnic characteristics

Groups: Spanish 84.8%, Moroccan 1.7%, Romanian 1.2%, other 12.3% (2021 est.)note: data represent population by country of birth

Languages: 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 speakersmajor-language sample(s): La Libreta Informativa del Mundo, la fuente indispensable de información básica. (Spanish)The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.note: Aragonese, Aranese Asturian, Calo, and Valencian are also recognized as regional languages 

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

Government

Capital: Madrid

Government type: parliamentary constitutional monarchy

Executive branch

Chief of state: King FELIPE VI (since 19 June 2014)

Head of government: President of the Government of Spain (prime minister-equivalent) Pedro SANCHEZ PEREZ-CASTEJON (since 2 June 2018)cabinet: Council of Ministers designated by the presidentelection/appointment process: 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; vice president and Council of Ministers appointed by the presidentmost recent election date: 23 July 2023election results: Congress of Deputies vote - 179 to 171 (16 November 2023)expected date of next election: 31 July 2027note: there is also a Council of State that is the supreme consultative organ of the government, but its recommendations are non-binding

Legislative branch

Description: legislature name: The Cortes (Las Cortes Generales)legislative structure: bicameral