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Spain – Important Facts

Spain is a country located in Southwestern Europe. The coastlines include the Bay of Biscay, Mediterranean Sea, and Northern Atlantic Ocean. Neighboring countries include Andorra, France, Gibraltar, Portugal, and Morocco. Spain controls a number of territories in northern Morocco including several enclaves and the Canary Islands. Spain borders the Pyrenees Mountains, but much of the country is high plateaus. The government system is a parliamentary monarchy; the chief of state is the king, and the head of government is the president. Spain has a mixed capitalist economy in which there is a variety of private freedom, combined with centralized economic planning and government regulation. Spain is a member of the European Union (EU).

After experiencing a prolonged recession in the wake of the global financial crisis that began in 2008, in 2014 Spain marked the first full year of positive economic growth in seven years, largely due to increased private consumption. At the onset of the financial crisis, Spain’s GDP contracted by 3.7% in 2009, ending a 16-year growth trend, and continued contracting through most of 2013. In 2013, the government successfully shored up struggling banks – exposed to the collapse of Spain’s depressed real estate and construction sectors – and in January 2014 completed an EU-funded restructuring and recapitalization program.

Until 2014, credit contraction in the private sector, fiscal austerity, and high unemployment weighed on domestic consumption and investment. The unemployment rate rose from a low of about 8% in 2007 to more than 26% in 2013, but labor reforms prompted a modest reduction to 22% in 2015. High unemployment strained Spain’s public finances, as spending on social benefits increased while tax revenues fell. Spain’s budget deficit peaked at 11.4% of GDP in 2010, but Spain gradually reduced the deficit to just under 7% of GDP in 2013-14, and 4.7% of GDP in 2015. Public debt has increased substantially – from 60.1% of GDP in 2010 to nearly 101% in 2015.

Important Details

  • Country ISO3 : ESP
  • Country Code : 724
  • Income Group : High income
  • Lending Category : NA
  • Region : Europe & Central Asia
  • Currency Unit: Euro
  • WTO Member : Yes
  • Trade organisations : EU, WTO and OECD
  • world rank : 43
  • Regional Ranking : 20th in Europe