Main page Compare countries Index countries Index fields

Query:
Jah-Jah.pl / Index countries / Lesotho (2002) - Spain (2002) / Compare countries
##ciekawa_strona##

Compare Lesotho (2002) - Spain (2002)

Compare Lesotho (2002) z Spain (2002)

 Lesotho (2002)Spain (2002)
 LesothoSpain
Administrative divisions 10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohales Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka 19 autonomous communities (comunidades autonomas, singular - comunidad autonoma); Andalucia, Aragon, Asturias, Baleares (Balearic Islands), Ceuta, Canarias (Canary Islands), Cantabria, Castilla-La Mancha, Castilla y Leon, Cataluna, Communidad Valencian, Extremadura, Galicia, La Rioja, Madrid, Melilla, Murcia, Navarra, Pais Vasco (Basque Country)


note: three small Spanish possessions are located off the coast of Morocco: Islas Chafarinas, Penon de Alhucemas, and Penon de Velez de la Gomera
Age structure 0-14 years: 39% (male 433,229; female 427,926)


15-64 years: 56.3% (male 600,476; female 642,538)


65 years and over: 4.7% (male 43,691; female 60,094) (2002 est.)
0-14 years: 14.5% (male 2,993,747; female 2,812,498)


15-64 years: 68.1% (male 13,699,383; female 13,592,717)


65 years and over: 17.4% (male 2,922,452; female 4,056,303) (2002 est.)
Agriculture - products corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock grain, vegetables, olives, wine grapes, sugar beets, citrus; beef, pork, poultry, dairy products; fish
Airports 28 (2001) 133 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways total: 4


over 3,047 m: 1


914 to 1,523 m: 1


under 914 m: 2 (2002)
total: 93


over 3,047 m: 15


2,438 to 3,047 m: 10


1,524 to 2,437 m: 18


914 to 1,523 m: 23


under 914 m: 27 (2002)
Airports - with unpaved runways total: 24


914 to 1,523 m: 4


under 914 m: 20 (2002)
total: 59


1,524 to 2,437 m: 2


914 to 1,523 m: 14


under 914 m: 43 (2002)
Area total: 30,355 sq km


land: 30,355 sq km


water: 0 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 smaller than Maryland slightly more than twice the size of Oregon
Background Basutoland was renamed the Kingdom of Lesotho upon independence from the UK in 1966. King MOSHOESHOE was exiled in 1990. Constitutional government was restored in 1993 after 23 years of military rule. 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. Continuing concerns are Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA) terrorism and further reductions in unemployment.
Birth rate 30.72 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) 9.29 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Budget revenues: $76 million


expenditures: $80 million, including capital expenditures of $15 million
revenues: $105 billion


expenditures: $109 billion, including capital expenditures of $12.8 billion (2000 est.)
Capital Maseru Madrid
Climate temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers 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 2 April 1993 6 December 1978, effective 29 December 1978
Country name conventional long form: Kingdom of Lesotho


conventional short form: Lesotho


former: Basutoland
conventional long form: Kingdom of Spain


conventional short form: Spain


local short form: Espana
Currency loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR) euro (EUR); Spanish peseta (ESP)


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 16.81 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) 9.22 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Debt - external $715 million (2001 est.) $90 billion (1993 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US chief of mission: Ambassador Robert G. LOFTIS


embassy: 254 Kingsway, Maseru West (Consular Section)


mailing address: P. O. Box 333, Maseru 100, Lesotho


telephone: [266] 312666


FAX: [266] 310116
chief of mission: Ambassador George L. ARGYROS


embassy: Serrano 75, 28006 Madrid


mailing address: 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 Dr. Lebohang Kenneth MOLEKO


chancery: 2511 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008


telephone: [1] (202) 797-5533 through 5536


FAX: [1] (202) 234-6815
chief of mission: Ambassador Francisco Javier RUPEREZ


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 none Spain and UK are discussing "total shared sovereignty" over Gibraltar, subject to a constitutional referendum by Gibraltarians, who have largely expressed opposition to any form of cession to Spain; Spain controls the coastal enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, which Morocco contests, as well as the islands of Penon de Alhucemas, Penon de Velez de la Gomera, and Islas Chafarinas; Morocco rejected Spain's unilateral designation of a median line from the Canary Islands in 2002 to explore undersea resources and to interdict illegal refugees from Africa
Economic aid - donor - ODA, $1.33 billion (1999)
Economic aid - recipient $123.7 million (1995) (1995) -
Economy - overview Small, landlocked, and mountainous, Lesotho's primary natural resource is water. Its economy is based on subsistence agriculture, livestock, remittances from miners employed in South Africa, and a rapidly growing apparel-assembly sector. The number of mineworkers has declined steadily over the past several years. A small manufacturing base depends largely on farm products that support the milling, canning, leather, and jute industries. Agricultural products are exported primarily to South Africa. Proceeds from membership in a common customs union with South Africa form the majority of government revenue. Although drought has decreased agricultural activity over the past few years, completion of a major hydropower facility in January 1998 now permits the sale of water to South Africa, generating royalties for Lesotho. The pace of privatization has increased in recent years. In December 1999, the government embarked on a nine-month IMF staff-monitored program aimed at structural adjustment and stabilization of macroeconomic fundamentals. The government is in the process of applying for a three-year successor program with the IMF under its Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility. Lesotho has a marked inequality in income distribution and serious unemployment/underemployment problems that will not yield to short-run solutions. Spain's mixed capitalist economy supports a GDP that on a per capita basis is 80% that of the four leading West European economies. Its center-right government successfully worked to gain admission to the first group of countries launching the European single currency on 1 January 1999. The AZNAR administration has continued to advocate liberalization, privatization, and deregulation of the economy and has introduced some tax reforms to that end. Unemployment has been steadily falling under the AZNAR administration but remains high at 11.3%. The government intends to make further progress in changing labor laws and reforming pension schemes, which are key to the sustainability of both Spain's internal economic advances and its competitiveness in a single currency area. A general strike in mid-2002 reduced cooperation between labor and government. Adjusting to the monetary and other economic policies of an integrated Europe - and further reducing unemployment - will pose challenges to Spain over the next few years.
Electricity - consumption 100 million kWh (2000) 201.16 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (2000) 7.832 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports 100 million kWh


note: electricity supplied by South Africa (2000)
12.166 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production 0 kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2000) 211.64 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source - fossil fuel: 57%


hydro: 12%


nuclear: 28%


other: 3% (2000)
Elevation extremes lowest point: junction of the Orange and Makhaleng Rivers 1,400 m


highest point: Thabana Ntlenyana 3,482 m
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m


highest point: Pico de Teide (Tenerife) on Canary Islands 3,718 m
Environment - current issues population pressure forcing settlement in marginal areas results in overgrazing, severe soil erosion, and soil exhaustion; desertification; Highlands Water Project controls, stores, and redirects water to South Africa 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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection


signed, but not ratified: Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling


signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification
Ethnic groups Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%, composite of Mediterranean and Nordic types
Exchange rates maloti per US dollar - 11.58786 (January 2002), 8.60918 (2001), 6.93983 (2000), 6.10948 (1999), 5.52828 (1998), 4.60796 (1997); note - the Lesotho loti is at par with the South African rand which is also legal tender; maloti is the plural form of loti euros per US dollar - 1.1324 (January 2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); pesetas per US dollar - 149.40 (1998), 146.41 (1997)
Executive branch chief of state: King LETSIE III (since 7 February 1996); note - King LETSIE III formerly occupied the throne from November 1990 to February 1995, while his father was in exile


head of government: Prime Minister Pakalitha MOSISILI (since 23 May 1998)


cabinet: Cabinet


elections: none; according to the constitution, the leader of the majority party in the Assembly automatically becomes prime minister; the monarch is hereditary, but, under the terms of the constitution which came into effect after the March 1993 election, the monarch is a "living symbol of national unity" with no executive or legislative powers; under traditional law the college of chiefs has the power to determine who is next in the line of succession, who shall serve as regent in the event that the successor is not of mature age, and may even depose the monarch
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 Maria AZNAR Lopez (since 5 May 1996); First Vice President (and Minister of Interior) Mariano RAJOY (since 27 April 2000) and Second Vice President (and Minister of Economy) Rodrigo RATO Figaredo (since 5 May 1996)


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


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 12 March 2000 (next to be held NA March 2004); vice presidents appointed by the monarch on the proposal of the president


election results: Jose Maria AZNAR Lopez (PP) elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - 44.54%; note - the Popular Party (PP) obtained an absolute majority of seats in both the Congress of Deputies and the Senate as a result of the March 2000 elections
Exports $250 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) $122.2 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.)
Exports - commodities manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals machinery, motor vehicles; foodstuffs, other consumer goods
Exports - partners South African Customs Union 53.9%, North America 45.6% (1999) EU 71.3% (France 19.5%, Germany 11.8%, Portugal 10.0%, Italy 9.0%, UK 8.9%), Latin America 6.1%,US 4.4%, (2001)
Fiscal year 1 April - 31 March calendar year
Flag description divided diagonally from the lower hoist side corner; the upper half is white, bearing the brown silhouette of a large shield with crossed spear and club; the lower half is a diagonal blue band with a green triangle in the corner 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 - $5.3 billion (2001 est.) purchasing power parity - $828 billion (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 18%


industry: 38%


services: 44% (2001)
agriculture: 4%


industry: 31%


services: 65% (2000 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $2,450 (2001 est.) purchasing power parity - $20,700 (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 2.6% (2001 est.) 2% (2002 est.)
Geographic coordinates 29 30 S, 28 30 E 40 00 N, 4 00 W
Geography - note landlocked, completely surrounded by South Africa; mountainous, more than 80% of the country is 1,800 meters above sea level strategic location along approaches to Strait of Gibraltar
Heliports - 7 (2002)
Highways total: 4,955 km


paved: 887 km


unpaved: 4,068 km (1996)
total: 346,858 km


paved: 343,389 km (including 9,063 km of expressways)


unpaved: 3,469 km (1997)
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: 1%


highest 10%: 43% (1986-87)
lowest 10%: 3%


highest 10%: 25% (1990) (1990)
Illicit drugs - key European gateway country for Latin American cocaine and North African hashish entering the European market; destination and minor transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin
Imports $720 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) $156.6 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.)
Imports - commodities food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products machinery and equipment, fuels, chemicals, semifinished goods; foodstuffs, consumer goods (1997)
Imports - partners South African Customs Union 89.5%, Asia 7% (1999) EU 63.9% (France 16.8%, Germany 15.5%, Italy 9.1%, Benelux 7.3%, UK 7.0%), OPEC 7.3%, US 4.6%, Japan 2.5%, Latin America 4.2%
Independence 4 October 1966 (from UK) 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 15.5% (1999 est.) 1.2% (2002 est.)
Industries food, beverages, textiles, apparel assembly, handicrafts; construction; tourism textiles and apparel (including footwear), food and beverages, metals and metal manufactures, chemicals, shipbuilding, automobiles, machine tools, tourism
Infant mortality rate 82.57 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) 4.85 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 6.9% (2001 est.) 3% (2002 est.)
International organization participation ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECLAC, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNU, UPU, WCL, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) 1 (2000) 56 (2000)
Irrigated land 10 sq km (1998 est.) 36,400 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch); Court of Appeal; Magistrate's Court; customary or traditional court Supreme Court or Tribunal Supremo
Labor force 700,000 economically active 17.1 million (2001)
Labor force - by occupation 86% of resident population engaged in subsistence agriculture; roughly 35% of the active male wage earners work in South Africa services 64%, manufacturing, mining, and construction 29%, agriculture 7% (2001 est.)
Land boundaries total: 909 km


border countries: South Africa 909 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: 10.71%


permanent crops: 0%


other: 89.29% (1998 est.)
arable land: 28.6%


permanent crops: 9.56%


other: 61.84% (1998 est.)
Languages Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa Castilian Spanish (official) 74%, Catalan 17%, Galician 7%, Basque 2%
Legal system based on English common law and Roman-Dutch law; judicial review of legislative acts in High Court and Court of Appeal; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction civil law system, with regional applications; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (33 members - 22 principal chiefs and 11 other members appointed by the ruling party) and the Assembly (120 seats, 80 by direct popular vote and 40 by proportional vote; members elected by popular vote for five-year terms); note - number of seats in the Assembly rose from 80 to 120 in the May 2002 election


elections: last held 25 May 2002 (next to be held NA May 2007)


election results: percent of vote by party - LCD 54%, BNP 21%, LPC 7%, other 18%; seats by party - LCD 76, BNP 21, LPC 5, other 18
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 12 March 2000 (next to be held NA March 2004); Congress of Deputies - last held 12 March 2000 (next to be held NA March 2004)


election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - PP 44.6%, PSOE 34.1%, CiU 4.2%, PNV 1.5%, CC 1.1%, PIL 0%; seats by party - PP 127, PSOE 61, CiU 8, PNV 6, CC 5, PIL 1; Congress of Deputies - percent of vote by party - PP 44.5%, PSOE 34%, CiU 4.2%, IU 5.4%, PNV 1.5%, CC 1%, BNG 1.3%; seats by party - PP 183, PSOE 125, CiU 15, IU 8, PNV 7, CC 4, BNG 3, other 5
Life expectancy at birth total population: 47 years


male: 46.3 years


female: 47.8 years (2002 est.)
total population: 79.08 years


male: 75.63 years


female: 82.76 years (2002 est.)
Literacy definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 83%


male: 72%


female: 93% (1999 est.)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 97%


male: NA%


female: NA%
Location Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa Southwestern Europe, bordering the Bay of Biscay, Mediterranean Sea, North Atlantic Ocean, and Pyrenees Mountains, southwest of France
Map references Africa Europe
Maritime claims none (landlocked) contiguous zone: 24 NM


exclusive economic zone: 200 NM (applies only to the Atlantic Ocean)


territorial sea: 12 NM
Merchant marine - total: 144 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,364,751 GRT/1,962,764 DWT


ships by type: bulk 10, cargo 31, chemical tanker 10, container 10, liquefied gas 2, livestock carrier 1, passenger 2, petroleum tanker 24, refrigerated cargo 8, roll on/roll off 35, short-sea passenger 8, vehicle carrier 3


note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Croatia 1, Cuba 2, Denmark 1, Germany 7, Italy 1, Netherlands 1, Norway 6, Uruguay 3 (2002 est.)
Military - note The Lesotho Government in 1999 began an open debate on the future structure, size, and role of the armed forces, especially considering the Lesotho Defense Force's (LDF) history of intervening in political affairs. -
Military branches Lesotho Defense Force (LDF; including Army and Air Wing), Royal Lesotho Mounted Police Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Civil Guard, National Police, Coastal Civil Guard
Military expenditures - dollar figure $34 million (1999) $8.6 billion (2002)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP NA% 1.15% (2002)
Military manpower - availability males age 15-49: 526,332 (2002 est.) males age 15-49: 10,520,561 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service males age 15-49: 283,203 (2002 est.) males age 15-49: 8,403,430 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - military age - 20 years of age (2002 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually - males: 281,043 (2002 est.)
National holiday Independence Day, 4 October (1966) Hispanic Day, 12 October
Nationality noun: Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural)


adjective: Basotho
noun: Spaniard(s)


adjective: Spanish
Natural hazards periodic droughts periodic droughts
Natural resources water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals coal, lignite, iron ore, uranium, mercury, pyrites, fluorspar, gypsum, zinc, lead, tungsten, copper, kaolin, potash, hydropower, arable land
Net migration rate -0.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) 0.87 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Pipelines - crude oil 265 km; petroleum products 1,794 km; natural gas 1,666 km
Political parties and leaders Basotho Congress Party or BCP [Tseliso MAKHAKHE]; Basotho National Party or BNP [Maj. Gen. Justine Metsing LEKHANYA]; Lesotho Congress for Democracy or LCD [Phebe MOTEBANO, chairwoman; Pakalitha MOSISILI, leader] - the governing party; Lesotho People's Congress or LPC [Kelebone MAOPE]; United Democratic Party or UDP [Charles MOFELI]; Marematlou Freedom Party or MFP and Setlamo Alliance [Vincent MALEBO]; Progressive National Party or PNP [Chief Peete Nkoebe PEETE]; Sefate Democratic Party or SDP [Bofihla NKUEBE] Basque Nationalist Party or PNV [Xabier ARZALLUS Antia]; Batasuna [Arnaldo OTEGI]; Canarian Coalition or CC (a coalition of five parties) [Paulino RIVERO]; Convergence and Union or CiU [Jordi PUJOL i Soley, secretary general] (a coalition of the Democratic Convergence of Catalonia or CDC [Jordi PUJOL i Soley] and the Democratic Union of Catalonia or UDC [Josep Antoni DURAN y LLEIDA]); Galician Nationalist Bloc or BNG [Xose Manuel BEIRAS]; Party of Independents from Lanzarote or PIL [Dimas MARTIN Martin]; Popular Party or PP [Jose Maria AZNAR Lopez]; 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 NA 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 Mais (Galician for "Not Again"; formed in response to the oil tanker Prestige oil spill)
Population 2,207,954


note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2002 est.)
40,077,100 (July 2002 est.)
Population below poverty line 49% (1999 est.) NA%
Population growth rate 1.33% (2002 est.) 0.09% (2002 est.)
Ports and harbors none 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
Radio broadcast stations AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) AM 208, FM 715, shortwave 1 (1998)
Radios NA (2002) 13.1 million (1997)
Railways total: 2.6 km; note - owned by, operated by, and included in the statistics of South Africa


narrow gauge: 2.6 km 1.067-m gauge (1995)
total: 15,171 km


broad gauge: 12,781 km 1.668-m gauge (6,434 km electrified)


standard gauge: 525 km 1.435-m gauge (525 km electrified)


narrow gauge: 1,837 km 1.000-m gauge (617 km electrified); 28 km 0.914-m gauge (28 km electrified) (2001)
Religions Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20% 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: 0.93 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.73 male(s)/female


total population: 0.95 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 (2002 est.)
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal 18 years of age; universal
Telephone system general assessment: rudimentary system


domestic: consists of a few landlines, a small microwave radio relay system, and a minor radiotelephone communication system; a cellular mobile telephone system is growing


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


domestic: NA


international: 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 22,200 (2000) 17.336 million (1999)
Telephones - mobile cellular 21,600 (2000) 8.394 million (1999)
Television broadcast stations 1 (2000) 224 (plus 2,105 repeaters)


note: these figures include 11 television broadcast stations and 88 repeaters in the Canary Islands (1995)
Terrain mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains large, flat to dissected plateau surrounded by rugged hills; Pyrenees in north
Total fertility rate 4.01 children born/woman (2002 est.) 1.16 children born/woman (2002 est.)
Unemployment rate 45% (2000 est.) 11.3% (2002 est.)
Waterways none 1,045 km (of minor economic importance)
Sitemap: Compare countries listing (map site) | Country listing (map site)
Links: Add to favorites | Information about this website | Stats | Polityka prywatnosci
This page was generated in ##czas## s. Size this page: ##rozmiar_strony## kB.