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Compare Laos (2002) - Spain (2004)

Compare Laos (2002) z Spain (2004)

 Laos (2002)Spain (2004)
 LaosSpain
Administrative divisions 16 provinces (khoueng, singular and plural), 1 municipality* (kampheng nakhon, singular and plural), and 1 special zone** (khetphiset, singular and plural); Attapu, Bokeo, Bolikhamxai, Champasak, Houaphan, Khammouan, Louangnamtha, Louangphabang, Oudomxai, Phongsali, Salavan, Savannakhet, Viangchan*, Viangchan, Xaignabouli, Xaisomboun**, Xekong, Xiangkhoang 17 autonomous communities (comunidades autonomas, singular - comunidad autonoma)and 2 autonomous cities* (ciudades autonomas, singular - ciudad autonoma); Andalucia, Aragon, Asturias, Baleares (Balearic Islands), Ceuta*, Canarias (Canary Islands), Cantabria, Castilla-La Mancha, Castilla y Leon, Cataluna, Comunidad Valenciana, Extremadura, Galicia, La Rioja, Madrid, Melilla*, Murcia, Navarra, Pais Vasco (Basque Country)


note: three small Spanish possessions of Islas Chafarinas, Penon de Alhucemas, and Penon de Velez de la Gomera, administered directly by the Spanish central government, are all located off the coast of Morocco and are collectively referred to as Places of Sovereignty (Plazas de Soberania)
Age structure 0-14 years: 42.5% (male 1,233,659; female 1,219,872)


15-64 years: 54.2% (male 1,543,246; female 1,591,419)


65 years and over: 3.3% (male 86,375; female 102,609) (2002 est.)
0-14 years: 14.4% (male 2,989,053; female 2,811,350)


15-64 years: 68% (male 13,748,998; female 13,652,852)


65 years and over: 17.6% (male 2,958,387; female 4,120,140) (2004 est.)
Agriculture - products sweet potatoes, vegetables, corn, coffee, sugarcane, tobacco, cotton; tea, peanuts, rice; water buffalo, pigs, cattle, poultry grain, vegetables, olives, wine grapes, sugar beets, citrus; beef, pork, poultry, dairy products; fish
Airports 51 (2001) 156 (2003 est.)
Airports - with paved runways total: 9


2,438 to 3,047 m: 1


1,524 to 2,437 m: 5


914 to 1,523 m: 3 (2002)
total: 95


over 3,047 m: 15


2,438 to 3,047 m: 10


1,524 to 2,437 m: 19


914 to 1,523 m: 23


under 914 m: 28 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways total: 42


1,524 to 2,437 m: 1


914 to 1,523 m: 15


under 914 m: 26 (2002)
total: 61


1,524 to 2,437 m: 2


914 to 1,523 m: 15


under 914 m: 44 (2004 est.)
Area total: 236,800 sq km


land: 230,800 sq km


water: 6,000 sq km
total: 504,782 sq km


land: 499,542 sq km


water: 5,240 sq km


note: there are 19 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
Area - comparative slightly larger than Utah slightly more than twice the size of Oregon
Background In 1975, the Communist Pathet Lao took control of the government, ending a six-century-old monarchy. Initial closer ties to Vietnam and socialization were replaced with a gradual return to private enterprise, an easing of foreign investment laws, and the admission into ASEAN in 1997. 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 Wars I and II, but suffered through a devastating civil war (1936-39). In the second half of the 20th century, Spain has played a catch-up role in the western international community; it joined the EU in 1986. Continuing challenges include Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA) terrorism and further reductions in unemployment.
Birth rate 37.39 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) 10.11 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Budget revenues: $211 million


expenditures: $462 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY98/99 est.)
revenues: $330.7 billion


expenditures: $335.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $12.8 billion (2003 est.)
Capital Vientiane Madrid
Climate tropical monsoon; rainy season (May to November); dry season (December to April) temperate; clear, hot summers in interior, more moderate and cloudy along coast; cloudy, cold winters in interior, partly cloudy and cool along coast
Coastline 0 km (landlocked) 4,964 km
Constitution promulgated 14 August 1991 6 December 1978, effective 29 December 1978
Country name conventional long form: Lao People's Democratic Republic


conventional short form: Laos


local long form: Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao


local short form: none
conventional long form: Kingdom of Spain


conventional short form: Spain


local short form: Espana
Currency kip (LAK) euro (EUR)


note: on 1 January 1999, the European Monetary Union introduced the euro as a common currency to be used by the financial institutions of member countries; on 1 January 2002, the euro became the sole currency for everyday transactions with the member countries
Death rate 12.71 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) 9.55 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Debt - external $2.53 billion (1999) $718.4 billion (2003 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US chief of mission: Ambassador Douglas A. HARTWICK


embassy: 19 Rue Bartholonie, B. P. 114, Vientiane


mailing address: American Embassy, Box V, APO AP 96546


telephone: [856] (21) 212581, 212582, 212585


FAX: [856] (21) 212584
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires J. Robert MANZANARES


embassy: Serrano 75, 28006 Madrid


mailing address: PSC 61, APO AE 09642


telephone: [34] (91) 587-2200


FAX: [34] (91) 587-2303


consulate(s) general: Barcelona
Diplomatic representation in the US chief of mission: Ambassador PHANTHONG Phommahaxay


chancery: 2222 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008


telephone: [1] (202) 332-6416


FAX: [1] (202) 332-4923
chief of mission: Ambassador Carlos WESTENDORP


chancery: 2375 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20037


telephone: [1] (202) 452-0100, 728-2340


FAX: [1] (202) 833-5670


consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, and San Juan (Puerto Rico)
Disputes - international demarcation of boundaries with Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam is nearing completion, but with Thailand, several areas including Mekong River islets, remain in dispute; ongoing disputes with Thailand and Vietnam over squatters since Gibraltar residents voted overwhelmingly by referendum in 2003 against a "total shared sovereignty" arrangement, talks between the UK and Spain over the fate of the 300-year old UK colony have stalled; 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; Morocco serves as the primary launching area of illegal migration into Spain from North Africa; Morocco rejected Spain's unilateral designation of a median line from the Canary Islands in 2002 to set limits to undersea resource exploration and refugee interdiction, but agreed in 2003 to discuss a comprehensive maritime delimitation; some Portuguese groups assert dormant claims to territories ceded to Spain around the town of Olivenza
Economic aid - donor - ODA, $1.33 billion (1999)
Economic aid - recipient $345 million (1999 est.) -
Economy - overview The government of Laos - one of the few remaining official Communist states - began decentralizing control and encouraging private enterprise in 1986. The results, starting from an extremely low base, were striking - growth averaged 7% in 1988-2001 except during the short-lived drop caused by the Asian financial crisis beginning in 1997. Despite this high growth rate, Laos remains a country with a primitive infrastructure; it has no railroads, a rudimentary road system, and limited external and internal telecommunications. Electricity is available in only a few urban areas. Subsistence agriculture accounts for half of GDP and provides 80% of total employment. The economy will continue to benefit from aid from the IMF and other international sources and from new foreign investment in food-processing and mining. Spain's mixed capitalist economy supports a GDP that on a per capita basis is 80% that of the four leading West European economies. The center-right government of former President AZNAR successfully worked to gain admission to the first group of countries launching the European single currency (the euro) on 1 January 1999. The AZNAR administration continued to advocate liberalization, privatization, and deregulation of the economy and introduced some tax reforms to that end. Unemployment fell steadily under the AZNAR administration but remains high at 11.7%. Growth of 2.4% in 2003 was satisfactory given the background of a faltering European economy. Incoming President RODRIGUEZ ZAPATERO, whose party won the election three days after the Madrid train bombings in March, plans to reduce government intervention in business, combat tax fraud, and support innovation, research and development, but also intends to reintroduce labor market regulations that had been scrapped by the AZNAR government. Adjusting to the monetary and other economic policies of an integrated Europe - and reducing unemployment - will pose challenges to Spain over the next few years.
Electricity - consumption 690.6 million kWh (2000) 210.4 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports 400 million kWh (2000) 4.138 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports 142 million kWh (2000) 7.588 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production 1.02 billion kWh (2000) 222.5 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source fossil fuel: 2%


hydro: 98%


nuclear: 0%


other: 0% (2000)
-
Elevation extremes lowest point: Mekong River 70 m


highest point: Phou Bia 2,817 m
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m


highest point: Pico de Teide (Tenerife) on Canary Islands 3,718 m
Environment - current issues unexploded ordnance; deforestation; soil erosion; a majority of the population does not have access to potable water pollution of the Mediterranean Sea from raw sewage and effluents from the offshore production of oil and gas; water quality and quantity nationwide; air pollution; deforestation; desertification
Environment - international agreements party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection


signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling


signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants
Ethnic groups Lao Loum (lowland) 68%, Lao Theung (upland) 22%, Lao Soung (highland) including the Hmong ("Meo") and the Yao (Mien) 9%, ethnic Vietnamese/Chinese 1% composite of Mediterranean and Nordic types
Exchange rates kips per US dollar - 9,467.00 (December 2001), 8,954.58 (2001), 7,887.64 (2000), 7,102.03 (1999), 3,298.33 (1998), 1,259.98 (1997) euros per US dollar - 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999)
Executive branch chief of state: President Gen. KHAMTAI Siphandon (since 26 February 1998) and Vice President Lt. Gen. CHOUMMALI Saignason (since 27 March 2001)


head of government: Prime Minister BOUNGNANG Volachit (since 27 March 2001); First Deputy Prime Minister Maj. Gen. ASANG Laoli (since NA May 2002), Deputy Prime Minister THONGLOUN Sisolit (since 27 March 2001), and Deputy Prime Minister SOMSAVAT Lengsavat (since 26 February 1998)


cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president, approved by the National Assembly


elections: president elected by the National Assembly for a five-year term; election last held 24 February 2002 (next to be held NA 2007); prime minister appointed by the president with the approval of the National Assembly for a five-year term


election results: KHAMTAI Siphandon elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - NA%
chief of state: King JUAN CARLOS I (since 22 November 1975); Heir Apparent Prince FELIPE, son of the monarch, born 30 January 1968


head of government: President of the Government Jose Luis RODRIGUEZ ZAPATERO (since 17 April 2004); First Vice President (and Minister of the Presidency) Maria Teresa FERNANDEZ DE LA VEGA(since 18 April 2004) and Second Vice President (and Minister of Economy and Finance) Pedro SOLBES (since 18 April 2004)


cabinet: Council of Ministers designated by the president


note: there is also a Council of State that is the supreme consultative organ of the government, but its recommendations are non-binding


elections: the monarch is hereditary; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually proposed president by the monarch and elected by the National Assembly; election last held 14 March 2004 (next to be held NA March 2008); vice presidents appointed by the monarch on the proposal of the president


election results: Jose Luis RODRIGUEZ ZAPATERO (PSOE) elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - 52.29%
Exports $325 million (2001 est.) 135,100 bbl/day (2001)
Exports - commodities wood products, garments, electricity, coffee, tin machinery, motor vehicles; foodstuffs, other consumer goods
Exports - partners Thailand 20%, France 7.5%, Germany 5.9%, UK 4.1%, Belgium 4% (2000) France 19.2%, Germany 11.9%, Italy 9.7%, UK 9.4%, Portugal 9.3%, US 4.2% (2003)
Fiscal year 1 October - 30 September calendar year
Flag description three horizontal bands of red (top), blue (double width), and red with a large white disk centered in the blue band 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 includes the royal seal framed by the Pillars of Hercules, which are the two promontories (Gibraltar and Ceuta) on either side of the eastern end of the Strait of Gibraltar
GDP purchasing power parity - $9.2 billion (2001 est.) purchasing power parity - $885.5 billion (2003 est.)
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 53%


industry: 22%


services: 25% (2000 est.)
agriculture: 3.6%


industry: 28.6%


services: 67.8% (2003 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $1,630 (2001 est.) purchasing power parity - $22,000 (2003 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 5% (2001 est.) 2.4% (2003 est.)
Geographic coordinates 18 00 N, 105 00 E 40 00 N, 4 00 W
Geography - note landlocked; most of the country is mountainous and thickly forested; the Mekong forms a large part of the western boundary with Thailand strategic location along approaches to Strait of Gibraltar
Heliports - 8 (2003 est.)
Highways total: 14,000 km


paved: 3,360 km


unpaved: 10,640 km (1991)
total: 663,795 km


paved: 657,157 km (including 10,317 km of expressways)


unpaved: 6,638 km (1999)
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: 3%


highest 10%: 31% (1997)
lowest 10%: 2.8%


highest 10%: 25.2% (1990)
Illicit drugs world's third-largest illicit opium producer (estimated cultivation in 2002 - 23,200 hectares, a 5% increase over 2001; estimated potential production in 2002 - 180 metric tons, a 10% decrease from 2001); potential heroin producer; transshipment point for heroin and methamphetamine produced in Burma; illicit producer of cannabis; growing methamphetamine abuse problem key European gateway country and consumer for Latin American cocaine and North African hashish entering the European market; destination and minor transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin; money laundering site for European earnings of Colombian narcotics trafficking organizations
Imports $540 million f.o.b. (2000 est.) 1.582 million bbl/day (2001)
Imports - commodities machinery and equipment, vehicles, fuel machinery and equipment, fuels, chemicals, semifinished goods; foodstuffs, consumer goods
Imports - partners Thailand 52%, Singapore 3.9%, Japan 1.6%, Hong Kong 1.5%, China 0.8% (2000) France 16.8%, Germany 16.6%, Italy 8.8%, UK 6.5%, Netherlands 4.9% (2003)
Independence 19 July 1949 (from France) the Iberian peninsula was characterized by a variety of independent kingdoms prior to the Moslem 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
Industrial production growth rate 7.5% (1999 est.) 1.6% (2003 est.)
Industries tin and gypsum mining, timber, electric power, agricultural processing, construction, garments, tourism textiles and apparel (including footwear), food and beverages, metals and metal manufactures, chemicals, shipbuilding, automobiles, machine tools, tourism
Infant mortality rate 90.98 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) total: 4.48 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 4.88 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 4.06 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 10% (2001 est.) 3% (2003 est.)
International organization participation ACCT, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BCIE, BIS, CE, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MIGA, MINUSTAH, MONUC, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, ONUB, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIK, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) 1 (2000) -
Irrigated land 1,640 sq km


note: rainy season irrigation - 2,169 sq km; dry season irrigation - 750 sq km (1998 est.)
36,400 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch People's Supreme Court (the president of the People's Supreme Court is elected by the National Assembly on the recommendation of the National Assembly Standing Committee; the vice president of the People's Supreme Court and the judges are appointed by the National Assembly Standing Committee) Supreme Court or Tribunal Supremo
Labor force 2.4 million (1999) 18.82 million (2003)
Labor force - by occupation agriculture 80% (1997 est.) agriculture 7%, manufacturing, mining, and construction 29%, services 64% (2001 est.)
Land boundaries total: 5,083 km


border countries: Burma 235 km, Cambodia 541 km, China 423 km, Thailand 1,754 km, Vietnam 2,130 km
total: 1,917.8 km


border countries: Andorra 63.7 km, France 623 km, Gibraltar 1.2 km, Portugal 1,214 km, Morocco (Ceuta) 6.3 km, Morocco (Melilla) 9.6 km
Land use arable land: 3.47%


permanent crops: 0.23%


other: 96.3% (1998 est.)
arable land: 26.07%


permanent crops: 9.87%


other: 64.06% (2001)
Languages Lao (official), French, English, and various ethnic languages Castilian Spanish 74%, Catalan 17%, Galician 7%, Basque 2%


note: Castilian is the official language nationwide; the other languages are official regionally
Legal system based on traditional customs, French legal norms and procedures, and Socialist practice civil law system, with regional applications; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch unicameral National Assembly (109 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms; note - total number of seats increased from 99 to 109 for the 2002 election)


elections: last held 24 February 2002 (next to be held NA 2007)


election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - LPRP or LPRP-approved (independent, non-party members) 109
bicameral; General Courts or National Assembly or Las Cortes Generales consists of the Senate or Senado (259 seats - 208 members directly elected by popular vote and the other 51 appointed by the regional legislatures to serve four-year terms) and the Congress of Deputies or Congreso de los Diputados (350 seats; members are elected by popular vote on block lists by proportional representation to serve four-year terms)


elections: Senate - last held 14 March 2004 (next to be held March 2008); Congress of Deputies - last held 14 March 2004 (next to be held March 2008)


election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - PP 49%, PSOE 38.9%, Entesa Catalona de Progress 5.7%, CiU 1.99%, PNV 2.8%, CC 1.4%; seats by party - PP 102, PSOE 81, Entesa Catalona de Progress 12, CiU 4, PNV 6, CC 3; Congress of Deputies - percent of vote by party - PSOE 43.3%, PP 37.8%, CiU 3.2%, ERC 2.5%, PNV 1.6%, IU 3.2%, CC 0.9%; seats by party - PSOE 164, PP 148, CiU 10, ERC 8, PNV 7, IU 2, CC 3, other 8
Life expectancy at birth total population: 53.88 years


male: 51.95 years


female: 55.87 years (2002 est.)
total population: 79.37 years


male: 76.03 years


female: 82.94 years (2004 est.)
Literacy definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 57%


male: 70%


female: 44% (1999 est.)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 97.9%


male: 98.7%


female: 97.2% (2003 est.)
Location Southeastern Asia, northeast of Thailand, west of Vietnam Southwestern Europe, bordering the Bay of Biscay, Mediterranean Sea, North Atlantic Ocean, and Pyrenees Mountains, southwest of France
Map references Southeast Asia Europe
Maritime claims none (landlocked) territorial sea: 12 nm


contiguous zone: 24 nm


exclusive economic zone: 200 nm (applies only to the Atlantic Ocean)
Merchant marine total: 1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,370 GRT/3,110 DWT


ships by type: cargo 1 (2002 est.)
total: 149 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,740,974 GRT/2,157,551 DWT


by type: bulk 9, cargo 29, chemical tanker 13, container 17, liquefied gas 6, livestock carrier 1, passenger 1, petroleum tanker 21, refrigerated cargo 5, roll on/roll off 32, short-sea/passenger 7, specialized tanker 1, vehicle carrier 7


foreign-owned: Chile 1, Cuba 1, Denmark 1, Germany 9, Italy 2, Netherlands 1, Norway 6, Sweden 1, Uruguay 1


registered in other countries: 115 (2004 est.)
Military branches Lao People's Army (LPA; including Riverine Force), Air Force, National Police Department Army, Navy, Air Force (Ejercito del Aire, EdA), Marines
Military expenditures - dollar figure $55 million (FY98) $9,906.5 million (2003)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 4.2% (FY96/97) 1.2% (2003)
Military manpower - availability males age 15-49: 1,365,027 (2002 est.) males age 15-49: 10,482,753 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service males age 15-49: 734,945 (2002 est.) males age 15-49: 8,336,273 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - military age 18 years of age (2002 est.) -
Military manpower - reaching military age annually males: 64,437 (2002 est.) males: 245,007 (2004 est.)
National holiday Republic Day, 2 December (1975) National Day, 12 October
Nationality noun: Lao(s) or Laotian(s)


adjective: Lao or Laotian
noun: Spaniard(s)


adjective: Spanish
Natural hazards floods, droughts periodic droughts
Natural resources timber, hydropower, gypsum, tin, gold, gemstones coal, lignite, iron ore, copper, lead, zinc, uranium, tungsten, mercury, pyrites, magnesite, fluorspar, gypsum, sepiolite, kaolin, potash, hydropower, arable land
Net migration rate 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) 0.99 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Pipelines petroleum products 136 km gas 7,306 km; oil 730 km; refined products 3,512 km (2004)
Political parties and leaders Lao People's Revolutionary Party or LPRP [KHAMTAI Siphandon, party president]; other parties proscribed Basque Nationalist Party or PNV [Josu Jon IMAZ]; Canarian Coalition or CC (a coalition of five parties) [Paulino RIVERO Baute]; Convergence and Union or CiU [Artur MAS i Gavarro] (a coalition of the Democratic Convergence of Catalonia or CDC [Artur MAS i Gavarro] and the Democratic Union of Catalonia or UDC [Josep Antoni DURAN y LLEIDA]); Entesa Catalonia de Progress (a Senate coalition grouping four Catalan parties - PSC, ERC, ICV, EUA) [leader NA]; Galician Nationalist Bloc or BNG [Anxo Manuel QUINTANA]; Party of Independents from Lanzarote or PIL [Dimas MARTIN Martin]; Popular Party or PP [Mariano RAJOY]; Republican Left of Catalonia or ERC [Josep-Lluis CAROD-ROVIRA]; Spanish Socialist Workers Party or PSOE [Jose Luis RODRIGUEZ ZAPATERO]; United Left or IU (a coalition of parties including the PCE and other small parties) [Gaspar LLAMAZARES]
Political pressure groups and leaders noncommunist political groups proscribed; most opposition leaders fled the country in 1975 business and landowning interests; Catholic Church; free labor unions (authorized in April 1977); Socialist General Union of Workers or UGT and the smaller independent Workers Syndical Union or USO; university students; Workers Confederation or CC.OO; Nunca Mas (Galician for "Never Again"; formed in response to the oil tanker Prestige oil spill)
Population 5,777,180 (July 2002 est.) 40,280,780 (July 2004 est.)
Population below poverty line 40% (2001 est.) NA
Population growth rate 2.47% (2002 est.) 0.16% (2004 est.)
Ports and harbors none Aviles, Barcelona, Bilbao, Cadiz, Cartagena, Castellon de la Plana, Ceuta, Huelva, A Coruna, Las Palmas (Canary Islands), Malaga, Melilla, Pasajes, Gijon, Santa Cruz de Tenerife (Canary Islands), Santander, Tarragona, Valencia, Vigo
Radio broadcast stations AM 12, FM 1, shortwave 4 (1998) AM 208, FM 715, shortwave 1 (1998)
Radios 730,000 (1997) -
Railways 0 km (2001) total: 14,268 km (7,718 km electrified)


broad gauge: 11,804 km 1.668-m gauge (6,409 km electrified)


standard gauge: 526 km 1.435-m gauge (526 km electrified)


narrow gauge: 1,910 km 1.000-m gauge (755 km electrified); 28 km 0.914-m gauge (28 km electrified) (2003)
Religions Buddhist 60%, animist and other 40% (including various Christian denominations 1.5%) Roman Catholic 94%, other 6%
Sex ratio at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.84 male(s)/female


total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female


total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2004 est.)
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal 18 years of age; universal
Telephone system general assessment: service to general public is poor but improving, with over 20,000 telephones currently in service and an additional 48,000 expected by 2001; the government relies on a radiotelephone network to communicate with remote areas


domestic: radiotelephone communications


international: satellite earth station - 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region)
general assessment: generally adequate, modern facilities; teledensity is 44 main lines for each 100 persons


domestic: NA


international: country code - 34; 22 coaxial submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), NA Eutelsat; tropospheric scatter to adjacent countries
Telephones - main lines in use 25,000 (1997) 17,567,500 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular 4,915 (1997) 37,506,700 (2003)
Television broadcast stations 4 (1999) 224 (plus 2,105 repeaters)


note: these figures include 11 television broadcast stations and 88 repeaters in the Canary Islands (1995)
Terrain mostly rugged mountains; some plains and plateaus large, flat to dissected plateau surrounded by rugged hills; Pyrenees in north
Total fertility rate 5.03 children born/woman (2002 est.) 1.27 children born/woman (2004 est.)
Unemployment rate 5.7% (1997 est.) 11.3% (2003 est.)
Waterways 4,587 km approximately


note: primarily Mekong and tributaries; 2,897 additional km are intermittently navigable by craft drawing less than 0.5 m
1,045 km (2003)
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