Spain (2001) | Mauritius (2005) | |
Administrative divisions | 17 autonomous communities (comunidades autonomas, singular - comunidad autonoma); Andalucia, Aragon, Asturias, Baleares (Balearic Islands), Canarias (Canary Islands), Cantabria, Castilla-La Mancha, Castilla y Leon, Cataluna, Communidad Valencian, Extremadura, Galicia, La Rioja, Madrid, Murcia, Navarra, Pais Vasco (Basque Country)
note: there are five places of sovereignty on and off the coast of Morocco: Ceuta and Melilla are administered as autonomous communities; Islas Chafarinas, Penon de Alhucemas, and Penon de Velez de la Gomera are under direct Spanish administration |
9 districts and 3 dependencies*; Agalega Islands*, Black River, Cargados Carajos Shoals*, Flacq, Grand Port, Moka, Pamplemousses, Plaines Wilhems, Port Louis, Riviere du Rempart, Rodrigues*, Savanne |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
14.62% (male 3,015,851; female 2,835,763) 15-64 years: 68.2% (male 13,701,065; female 13,605,314) 65 years and over: 17.18% (male 2,881,334; female 3,998,668) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 24.4% (male 151,043/female 148,847)
15-64 years: 69.1% (male 424,472/female 425,974) 65 years and over: 6.5% (male 31,506/female 48,760) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | grain, vegetables, olives, wine grapes, sugar beets, citrus; beef, pork, poultry, dairy products; fish | sugarcane, tea, corn, potatoes, bananas, pulses; cattle, goats; fish |
Airports | 110 (2000 est.) | 6 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
75 over 3,047 m: 15 2,438 to 3,047 m: 10 1,524 to 2,437 m: 18 914 to 1,523 m: 19 under 914 m: 13 (2000 est.) |
total: 2
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
35 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 9 under 914 m: 25 (2000 est.) |
total: 4
914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
Area | total:
504,782 sq km land: 499,542 sq km water: 5,240 sq km note: includes Balearic Islands, Canary Islands, and five places of sovereignty (plazas de soberania) on and off the coast of Morocco - Ceuta, Melilla, Islas Chafarinas, Penon de Alhucemas, and Penon de Velez de la Gomera |
total: 2,040 sq km
land: 2,030 sq km water: 10 sq km note: includes Agalega Islands, Cargados Carajos Shoals (Saint Brandon), and Rodrigues |
Area - comparative | slightly more than twice the size of Oregon | almost 11 times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | 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, it has played a catch-up role in the western international community. Continuing concerns are large-scale unemployment and the Basque separatist movement. | Discovered by the Portuguese in 1505, Mauritius was subsequently held by the Dutch, French, and British before independence was attained in 1968. A stable democracy with regular free elections and a positive human rights record, the country has attracted considerable foreign investment and has earned one of Africa's highest per capita incomes. Recent poor weather and declining sugar prices have slowed economic growth, leading to some protests over standards of living in the Creole community. |
Birth rate | 9.26 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 15.62 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$105 billion expenditures: $109 billion, including capital expenditures of $12.8 billion (2000 est.) |
revenues: $1.231 billion
expenditures: $1.582 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
Capital | Madrid | Port Louis |
Climate | temperate; clear, hot summers in interior, more moderate and cloudy along coast; cloudy, cold winters in interior, partly cloudy and cool along coast | tropical, modified by southeast trade winds; warm, dry winter (May to November); hot, wet, humid summer (November to May) |
Coastline | 4,964 km | 177 km |
Constitution | 6 December 1978, effective 29 December 1978 | 12 March 1968; amended 12 March 1992 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Kingdom of Spain conventional short form: Spain local short form: Espana |
conventional long form: Republic of Mauritius
conventional short form: Mauritius |
Currency | Spanish peseta (ESP); euro (EUR)
note: on 1 January 1999, the EU introduced the euro as a common currency that is now being used by financial institutions in Spain at a fixed rate of 166.386 Spanish pesetas per euro and will replace the local currency for all transactions in 2002 |
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Death rate | 9.13 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 6.83 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $90 billion (1993 est.) | $1.78 billion (2004 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Edward L. ROMERO embassy: Serrano 75, 28006 Madrid mailing address: APO AE 09642 telephone: [34] (91) 587-2200 FAX: [34] (91) 587-2303 consulate(s) general: Barcelona |
chief of mission: Ambassador John PRICE
embassy: 4th Floor, Rogers House, John Kennedy Street, Port Louis mailing address: international mail: P. O. Box 544, Port Louis; US mail: American Embassy, Port Louis, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-2450 telephone: [230] 202-4400 FAX: [230] 208-9534 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | 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) |
chief of mission: Ambassador Usha JEETAH
chancery: 4301 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 441, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 244-1491, 1492 FAX: [1] (202) 966-0983 |
Disputes - international | Gibraltar issue with UK; Spain controls five places of sovereignty (plazas de soberania) on and off the coast of Morocco - 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 | Mauritius claims the Chagos Archipelago (UK-administered British Indian Ocean Territory), and its former inhabitants, who reside chiefly in Mauritius, were granted UK citizenship but no right to patriation in the UK; claims French-administered Tromelin Island |
Economic aid - donor | ODA, $1.3 billion (1995) | - |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $42 million (1997) |
Economy - overview | 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 the highest in the EU at 14%. 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. Adjusting to the monetary and other economic policies of an integrated Europe - and further reducing unemployment - will pose challenges to Spain in the next few years. | Since independence in 1968, Mauritius has developed from a low-income, agriculturally based economy to a middle-income diversified economy with growing industrial, financial, and tourist sectors. For most of the period, annual growth has been in the order of 5% to 6%. This remarkable achievement has been reflected in more equitable income distribution, increased life expectancy, lowered infant mortality, and a much-improved infrastructure. Sugarcane is grown on about 90% of the cultivated land area and accounts for 25% of export earnings. The government's development strategy centers on expanding local financial institutions and building a domestic information telecommunications industry. Mauritius has attracted more than 9,000 offshore entities, many aimed at commerce in India and South Africa, and investment in the banking sector alone has reached over $1 billion. Mauritius, with its strong textile sector, has been well poised to take advantage of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). |
Electricity - consumption | 189.57 billion kWh (1999) | 1.707 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 6.23 billion kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 11.945 billion kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 197.694 billion kWh (1999) | 1.836 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
57.71% hydro: 12.1% nuclear: 28.28% other: 1.91% (1999) |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Pico de Teide (Tenerife) on Canary Islands 3,718 m |
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Piton 828 m |
Environment - current issues | 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 | water pollution, degradation of coral reefs |
Environment - international agreements | 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 |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | composite of Mediterranean and Nordic types | Indo-Mauritian 68%, Creole 27%, Sino-Mauritian 3%, Franco-Mauritian 2% |
Exchange rates | euros per US dollar - 1.0659 (January 2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); pesetas per US dollar - 149.40 (1998), 146.41 (1997), 126.66 (1996) | Mauritian rupees per US dollar - 27.499 (2004), 27.902 (2003), 29.962 (2002), 29.129 (2001), 26.25 (2000) |
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 Jose Maria AZNAR Lopez (since 5 May 1996); First Vice President Juan Jose LUCAS (since 28 February 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; president proposed by the monarch and elected by the National Assembly following legislative elections; election last held 12 March 2000 (next to be held NA March 2004); vice presidents appointed by the monarch on proposal of the president election results: Jose Maria AZNAR Lopez (PP) elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - 44% |
chief of state: President Sir Anerood JUGNAUTH (since 7 October 2003) and Vice President Abdool Raouf BUNDHUN (since 25 February 2002)
head of government: Prime Minister Paul BERENGER (since 30 September 2003) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister elections: president and vice president elected by the National Assembly for five-year terms; election last held 25 February 2002 (next to be held NA 2007); prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed by the president, responsible to the National Assembly election results: Karl OFFMANN elected president and Raouf BUNDHUN elected vice president; percent of vote by the National Assembly - NA%; note - Karl OFFMANN stepped down on 30 September 2003 |
Exports | $120.5 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA |
Exports - commodities | machinery, motor vehicles; foodstuffs, other consumer goods | clothing and textiles, sugar, cut flowers, molasses |
Exports - partners | EU 71% (France 20%, Germany 12%, Italy 9%, Portugal 9%, UK 8%), Latin America 6%, US 5% (2000) | UK 33.1%, France 20.4%, US 14.8%, Madagascar 5.1%, Italy 4.1% (2004) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 July - 30 June |
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 | four equal horizontal bands of red (top), blue, yellow, and green |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $720.8 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
4% industry: 31% services: 65% (1999) |
agriculture: 7.6%
industry: 30% services: 62.4% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $18,000 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $12,800 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4% (2000 est.) | 4.7% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 40 00 N, 4 00 W | 20 17 S, 57 33 E |
Geography - note | strategic location along approaches to Strait of Gibraltar | the main island, from which the country derives its name, is of volcanic origin and is almost entirely surrounded by coral reefs |
Heliports | 2 (2000 est.) | - |
Highways | total:
346,858 km paved: 343,389 km (including 9,063 km of expressways) unpaved: 3,469 km (1997) |
total: 2,000 km
paved: 1,960 km (including 60 km of expressways) unpaved: 40 km (2002) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
2.8% highest 10%: 25.2% (1990) |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Illicit drugs | key European gateway country for Latin American cocaine and North African hashish entering the European market; transshipment point for and consumer of Southwest Asian heroin | minor consumer and transshipment point for heroin from South Asia; small amounts of cannabis produced and consumed locally; significant offshore financial industry creates potential for money laundering, but corruption levels are relatively low and the government appears generally to be committed to regulating its banking industry |
Imports | $153.9 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, fuels, chemicals, semifinished goods; foodstuffs, consumer goods (1997) | manufactured goods, capital equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals |
Imports - partners | EU 68% (France 18%, Germany 16%, Italy 9%, UK 7%, Benelux 8%), US 8%, OPEC 5%, Latin America 4%, Japan 3% (1999) | South Africa 11.3%, China 9.4%, India 9.3%, France 9.2%, Bahrain 5.3%, Japan 4.1% (2004) |
Independence | 1492 (expulsion of the Moors and unification) | 12 March 1968 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 4.5% (2000 est.) | 8% (2000 est.) |
Industries | textiles and apparel (including footwear), food and beverages, metals and metal manufactures, chemicals, shipbuilding, automobiles, machine tools, tourism | food processing (largely sugar milling), textiles, clothing; chemicals, metal products, transport equipment, nonelectrical machinery; tourism |
Infant mortality rate | 4.92 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 15.03 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 17.74 deaths/1,000 live births female: 12.27 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.4% (2000 est.) | 4.5% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | 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, Inmarsat, Intelsat, 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, UNTAET, UNU, UPU, WCL, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, C, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, InOC, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, PCA, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIK, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 56 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 34,530 sq km (1993 est.) | 200 sq km (2000 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Tribunal Supremo | Supreme Court |
Labor force | 17 million (2000) | 560,000 (2004 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | services 64%, manufacturing, mining, and construction 28%, agriculture 8% (1997 est.) | agriculture and fishing 14%, construction and industry 36%, transportation and communication 7%, trade, restaurants, hotels 16%, finance 3%, other services 24% (1995) |
Land boundaries | 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 |
0 km |
Land use | arable land:
30% permanent crops: 9% permanent pastures: 21% forests and woodland: 32% other: 8% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 49.26%
permanent crops: 2.96% other: 47.78% (2001) |
Languages | Castilian Spanish (official) 74%, Catalan 17%, Galician 7%, Basque 2% | Creole 80.5%, Bhojpuri 12.1%, French 3.4% (official), other 3.7%, unspecified 0.3% (2000 census) |
Legal system | civil law system, with regional applications; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on French civil law system with elements of English common law in certain areas |
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 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 - NA%; 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 |
unicameral National Assembly (66 seats; 62 elected by popular vote, 4 appointed by the election commission from the losing political parties to give representation to various ethnic minorities; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held on 11 September 2000 (next to be held September 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - MSM/MMM 52.3%, MLP/PMSD 36.9%, OPR 10.8%; seats by party - MSM/MMM 54, MLP/PMSD 6, OPR 2 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
78.93 years male: 75.47 years female: 82.62 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 72.38 years
male: 68.4 years female: 76.41 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 97% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 85.6% male: 88.6% female: 82.7% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southwestern Europe, bordering the Bay of Biscay, Mediterranean Sea, North Atlantic Ocean, and Pyrenees Mountains, southwest of France | Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar |
Map references | Europe | Political Map of the World |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone:
24 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM (applies only to the Atlantic Ocean) territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
Merchant marine | total:
135 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,208,730 GRT/1,773,378 DWT ships by type: bulk 10, cargo 26, chemical tanker 10, container 9, liquefied gas 2, livestock carrier 1, passenger 1, petroleum tanker 24, refrigerated cargo 5, roll on/roll off 35, short-sea passenger 8, specialized tanker 1, vehicle carrier 3 (2000 est.) |
total: 8 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 22,946 GRT/27,102 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 4, passenger/cargo 2, refrigerated cargo 2 foreign-owned: 6 (India 4, Switzerland 2) (2005) |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Civil Guard, National Police, Coastal Civil Guard | National Police Force (includes the paramilitary Special Mobile Force or SMF and National Coast Guard) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $6 billion (FY97) | $12.5 million (2004) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.1% (FY97) | 0.2% (2004) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
10,551,945 (2001 est.) |
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Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
8,448,150 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - military age | 20 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
281,043 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Hispanic Day, 12 October | Independence Day, 12 March (1968) |
Nationality | noun:
Spaniard(s) adjective: Spanish |
noun: Mauritian(s)
adjective: Mauritian |
Natural hazards | periodic droughts | cyclones (November to April); almost completely surrounded by reefs that may pose maritime hazards |
Natural resources | coal, lignite, iron ore, uranium, mercury, pyrites, fluorspar, gypsum, zinc, lead, tungsten, copper, kaolin, potash, hydropower, arable land | arable land, fish |
Net migration rate | 0.87 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -0.41 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 265 km; petroleum products 1,794 km; natural gas 1,666 km | - |
Political parties and leaders | Basque Nationalist Party or PNV [Xabier ARZALLUS Antia]; 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] | Hizbullah [Cehl Mohamed FAKEEMEEAH]; Mauritian Labor Party or MLP [Navinchandra RAMGOOLAM]; Mauritian Militant Movement or MMM [Paul BERENGER] - in coalition with MSM; Mauritian Social Democrat Party or PMSD [Charles Xavier-Luc DUVAL]; Militant Socialist Movement or MSM [Pravind JUGNAUTH] - governing party; Rodrigues Movement or MR [Joseph (Nicholas) Von MALLY]; Rodrigues Peoples Organization or OPR [Serge CLAIR] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | business and landowning interests; Catholic Church; Euskal Herritarok or EH [Herri BATASUNA]; free labor unions (authorized in April 1977); on the extreme left, the Basque Fatherland and Liberty or ETA and the First of October Antifascist Resistance Group or GRAPO use terrorism to oppose the government; Opus Dei; Socialist General Union of Workers or UGT and the smaller independent Workers Syndical Union or USO; university students; Workers Confederation or CC.OO | various labor unions |
Population | 40,037,995 (July 2001 est.) | 1,230,602 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 10% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.1% (2001 est.) | 0.84% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | 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 | Port Louis |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 208, FM 715, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 4, FM 9, shortwave 0 (2002) |
Radios | 13.1 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
13,950 km broad gauge: 12,781 km 1.668-m gauge (6,358 km electrified; 2,295 km double track) standard gauge: 525 km 1.435-m gauge (525 km electrified) narrow gauge: 644 km 1.000-m gauge (438 km electrified) (1998) |
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Religions | Roman Catholic 99%, other 1% | Hindu 48%, Roman Catholic 23.6%, other Christian 8.6%, Muslim 16.6%, other 2.5%, unspecified 0.3%, none 0.4% (2000 census) |
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 (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.65 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | 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 |
general assessment: small system with good service
domestic: primarily microwave radio relay trunk system international: country code - 230; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean); new microwave link to Reunion; HF radiotelephone links to several countries; fiber optic submarine cable (SAT-3/WASC/SAFE) provides connectivity to Europe and Asia |
Telephones - main lines in use | 17.336 million (1999) | 348,200 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 8.394 million (1999) | 462,400 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 224 (plus 2,105 repeaters)
note: these figures include 11 television broadcast stations and 88 repeaters in the Canary Islands (1995) |
2 (plus several repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | large, flat to dissected plateau surrounded by rugged hills; Pyrenees in north | small coastal plain rising to discontinuous mountains encircling central plateau |
Total fertility rate | 1.15 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.96 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 14% (2000 est.) | 10.8% (2004 est.) |
Waterways | 1,045 km (of minor economic importance) | - |