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Compare Paracel Islands (2002) - Spain (2006)

Compare Paracel Islands (2002) z Spain (2006)

 Paracel Islands (2002)Spain (2006)
 Paracel IslandsSpain
Administrative divisions - 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: the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla plus three small islands of Islas Chafarinas, Penon de Alhucemas, and Penon de Velez de la Gomera, administered directly by the Spanish central government, are all located along the coast of Morocco and are collectively referred to as Places of Sovereignty (Plazas de Soberania)
Age structure - 0-14 years: 14.4% (male 3,000,686/female 2,821,325)


15-64 years: 67.8% (male 13,751,963/female 13,653,426)


65 years and over: 17.7% (male 2,993,496/female 4,176,946) (2006 est.)
Agriculture - products - grain, vegetables, olives, wine grapes, sugar beets, citrus; beef, pork, poultry, dairy products; fish
Airports 1 (2001) 157 (2006)
Airports - with paved runways total: 1


1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2002)
total: 96


over 3,047 m: 16


2,438 to 3,047 m: 10


1,524 to 2,437 m: 20


914 to 1,523 m: 24


under 914 m: 26 (2006)
Airports - with unpaved runways - total: 61


1,524 to 2,437 m: 2


914 to 1,523 m: 15


under 914 m: 44 (2006)
Area total: NA sq km


land: NA sq km


water: 0 sq km
total: 504,782 sq km


land: 499,542 sq km


water: 5,240 sq km


note: there are 2 autonomous cities - Ceuta and Melilla - and 17 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 NA slightly more than twice the size of Oregon
Background This archipelago is surrounded by productive fishing grounds and by potential oil and gas reserves. In 1932, French Indochina annexed the islands and set up a weather station on Pattle Island; maintenance was continued by its successor, Vietnam. China has occupied the Paracel Islands since 1974, when its troops seized a South Vietnamese garrison occupying the western islands. The islands are claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan. 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). A peaceful transition to democracy following the death of dictator Francisco FRANCO in 1975, and rapid economic modernization (Spain joined the EU in 1986), have given Spain one of the most dynamic economies in Europe and made it a global champion of freedom. Continuing challenges include Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA) terrorism and relatively high unemployment.
Birth rate - 10.06 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Budget - revenues: $440.9 billion


expenditures: $448.4 billion; including capital expenditures of $12.8 billion (2005 est.)
Capital - name: Madrid


geographic coordinates: 40 24 N, 3 41 W


time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)


daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October


note: Spain is divided into two time zones, including the Canary Islands
Climate tropical temperate; clear, hot summers in interior, more moderate and cloudy along coast; cloudy, cold winters in interior, partly cloudy and cool along coast
Coastline 518 km 4,964 km
Constitution - 6 December 1978, effective 29 December 1978
Country name conventional long form: none


conventional short form: Paracel Islands
conventional long form: Kingdom of Spain


conventional short form: Spain


local long form: Reino de Espana


local short form: Espana
Death rate - 9.72 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Debt - external - $970.7 billion (2005 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US - chief of mission: Ambassador Eduardo AGUIRRE, Jr.


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 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, San Juan (Puerto Rico)
Disputes - international occupied by China, but claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam in 2003, Gibraltar residents voted overwhelmingly by referendum to remain a British colony and against a "total shared sovereignty" arrangement while demanding 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; 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
Economic aid - donor - ODA, $1.33 billion (1999)
Economy - overview China announced plans in 1997 to open the islands for tourism. The Spanish economy boomed from 1986 to 1990, averaging five percent annual growth. After a European-wide recession in the early 1990s, the Spanish economy resumed moderate growth starting in 1994. 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 10.1%. Growth of 2.5% in 2003, 2.6% in 2004, and 3.4% in 2005 was satisfactory given the background of a faltering European economy. The socialist president, RODRIGUEZ ZAPATERO, has initiated economic and social reforms that are generally popular among the masses of people, but that are anathema to religious and other conservative elements. Adjusting to the monetary and other economic policies of an integrated Europe, reducing unemployment, and absorbing widespread social changes will pose challenges to Spain over the next few years.
Electricity - consumption - 231.2 billion kWh (2003)
Electricity - exports - 7.5 billion kWh (2003)
Electricity - imports - 8.7 billion kWh (2003)
Electricity - production - 247.3 billion kWh (2003)
Elevation extremes lowest point: South China Sea 0 m


highest point: unnamed location on Rocky Island 14 m
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m


highest point: Pico de Teide (Tenerife) on Canary Islands 3,718 m
Environment - current issues NA 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: 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 - composite of Mediterranean and Nordic types
Exchange rates - euros per US dollar - 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001)
Executive branch - 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 and Prime Minister Jose Luis RODRIGUEZ ZAPATERO (since 17 April 2004); First Vice President and Deputy Prime Minister (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 monarchy 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 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 - 135,100 bbl/day (2001)
Exports - commodities - machinery, motor vehicles; foodstuffs, pharmaceuticals, medicines, other consumer goods
Exports - partners - France 19.4%, Germany 11.4%, Portugal 9.5%, UK 8.5%, Italy 8.4% (2005)
Fiscal year - calendar year
Flag description - 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 - composition by sector - agriculture: 4%


industry: 29.5%


services: 66.5% (2005 est.)
GDP - real growth rate - 3.5% (2005 est.)
Geographic coordinates 16 30 N, 112 00 E 40 00 N, 4 00 W
Geography - note composed of 130 small coral islands and reefs divided into the northeast Amphitrite Group and the western Crescent Group strategic location along approaches to Strait of Gibraltar
Heliports - 8 (2006)
Household income or consumption by percentage share - lowest 10%: 2.8%


highest 10%: 25.2% (1990)
Illicit drugs - 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 Colombian narcotics trafficking organizations and organized crime
Imports - 1.582 million bbl/day (2001)
Imports - commodities - machinery and equipment, fuels, chemicals, semifinished goods, foodstuffs, consumer goods, measuring and medical control instruments
Imports - partners - Germany 15%, France 14.5%, Italy 8.5%, UK 5.8%, Netherlands 4.9%, China 4.3% (2005)
Independence - the Iberian peninsula was characterized by a variety of independent kingdoms prior to the Muslim occupation that began in the early 8th century AD 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 - 0.7% (2005 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
Infant mortality rate - total: 4.37 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 4.76 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 3.95 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) - 3.4% (2005 est.)
International organization participation - AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BCIE, BIS, CE, CERN, 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, IPU, ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MIGA, MONUC, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, SECI (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMEE, UNRWA, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC
Irrigated land 0 sq km (1998 est.) 37,800 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch - Supreme Court or Tribunal Supremo
Labor force - 20.67 million (2005 est.)
Labor force - by occupation - agriculture: 5.3%


industry: 30.1%


services: 64.6% (2004 est.)
Land boundaries 0 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: 0%


permanent crops: 0%


other: 100% (1998 est.)
arable land: 27.18%


permanent crops: 9.85%


other: 62.97% (2005)
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 - civil law system, with regional applications; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Legislative branch - 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: 79.65 years


male: 76.32 years


female: 83.2 years (2006 est.)
Literacy - definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 97.9%


male: 98.7%


female: 97.2% (2003 est.)
Location Southeastern Asia, group of small islands and reefs in the South China Sea, about one-third of the way from central Vietnam to the northern Philippines 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 NA territorial sea: 12 nm


contiguous zone: 24 nm


exclusive economic zone: 200 nm (applies only to the Atlantic Ocean)
Merchant marine - total: 169 ships (1000 GRT or over) 1,902,839 GRT/1,874,161 DWT


by type: bulk carrier 9, cargo 13, chemical tanker 14, container 27, liquefied gas 9, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 49, petroleum tanker 15, refrigerated cargo 5, roll on/roll off 20, specialized tanker 2, vehicle carrier 5


foreign-owned: 36 (Cuba 1, Denmark 1, Germany 12, Italy 2, Mexico 3, Norway 7, UK 1, Uruguay 2, US 7)


registered in other countries: 112 (Bahamas 12, Belize 3, Brazil 4, Cambodia 1, Cape Verde 1, Cuba 1, Cyprus 7, Italy 1, Malta 6, Marshall Islands 3, Nigeria 1, Panama 53, Portugal 15, Saint Kitts and Nevis 2, UK 1, Venezuela 1) (2006)
Military - note occupied by China -
Military branches - Spanish Armed Forces: Army (Ejercito de Tierra), Spanish Navy (Armada Espanola, AE; includes Marine Corps), Spanish Air Force (Ejercito del Aire Espanola, EdA) (2006)
Military expenditures - dollar figure - $9,906.5 million (2003)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP - 1.2% (2003)
National holiday - National Day, 12 October
Nationality - noun: Spaniard(s)


adjective: Spanish
Natural hazards typhoons periodic droughts
Natural resources none coal, lignite, iron ore, copper, lead, zinc, uranium, tungsten, mercury, pyrites, magnesite, fluorspar, gypsum, sepiolite, kaolin, potash, hydropower, arable land
Net migration rate - 0.99 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Pipelines - gas 7,962 km; oil 622 km; refined products 3,447 km (2006)
Political parties and leaders - 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); 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 [Joan Puigcercos BOIXASSA]; 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 - 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; Trade Union Confederation of Workers' Commissions or CC.OO.; Nunca Mas (Galician for "Never Again"; formed in response to the oil tanker Prestige oil spill)
Population no indigenous inhabitants


note: there are scattered Chinese garrisons (July 2002 est.)
40,397,842 (July 2006 est.)
Population below poverty line - NA%
Population growth rate - 0.13% (2006 est.)
Ports and harbors small Chinese port facilities on Woody Island and Duncan Island being expanded -
Radio broadcast stations - AM 208, FM 715, shortwave 1 (1998)
Railways - total: 14,873 km


broad gauge: 11,919 km 1.668-m gauge (6,950 km electrified)


standard gauge: 998 km 1.435-m gauge (998 km electrified)


narrow gauge: 1,928 km 1.000-m gauge (815 km electrified); 28 km 0.914-m gauge (28 km electrified) (2005)
Religions - Roman Catholic 94%, other 6%
Sex ratio - 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 (2006 est.)
Suffrage - 18 years of age; universal
Telephone system - general assessment: generally adequate, modern facilities; teledensity is 45 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 - 18.322 million (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular - 41.328 million (2005)
Television broadcast stations - 224 (plus 2,105 repeaters)


note: these figures include 11 television broadcast stations and 88 repeaters in the Canary Islands (1995)
Terrain mostly low and flat large, flat to dissected plateau surrounded by rugged hills; Pyrenees in north
Total fertility rate - 1.28 children born/woman (2006 est.)
Unemployment rate - 9.2% (2005 est.)
Waterways none 1,000 km (2003)
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