power
Land use:
arable land 31%; permanent crops 10%; meadows and pastures 21%; forest and
woodland 31%; other 7%; includes irrigated 6%
Environment:
deforestation; air pollution
Note:
strategic location along approaches to Strait of Gibraltar

:Spain People

Population:
39,118,399 (July 1992), growth rate 0.2% (1992)
Birth rate:
11 births/1,000 population (1992)
Death rate:
9 deaths/1,000 population (1992)
Net migration rate:
NEGL migrants/1,000 population (1992)
Infant mortality rate:
7 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)
Life expectancy at birth:
74 years male, 81 years female (1992)
Total fertility rate:
1.4 children born/woman (1992)
Nationality:
noun - Spaniard(s); adjective - Spanish
Ethnic divisions:
composite of Mediterranean and Nordic types
Religions:
Roman Catholic 99%, other sects 1%
Languages:
Castilian Spanish; second languages include Catalan 17%, Galician 7%, Basque
2%
Literacy:
95% (male 97%, female 93%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
Labor force:
14,621,000; services 53%, industry 24%, agriculture 14%, construction 9%
(1988)
Organized labor:
less 10% of labor force (1988)

:Spain Government

Long-form name:
Kingdom of Spain
Type:
parliamentary monarchy
Capital:
Madrid
Administrative divisions:
17 autonomous communities (comunidades autonomas, singular - comunidad
autonoma); Andalucia, Aragon, Asturias, Canarias, Cantabria, Castilla-La
Mancha, Castilla y Leon, Cataluna, Communidad Valencia, Extremadura,
Galicia, Islas Baleares, La Rioja, Madrid, Murcia, Navarra, Pais Vasco; note
- there are five places of sovereignty on and off the coast of Morocco
(Ceuta, Mellila, Islas Chafarinas, Penon de Alhucemas, and Penon de Velez de
la Gomera) with administrative status unknown
Independence:
1492 (expulsion of the Moors and unification)
Constitution:
6 December 1978, effective 29 December 1978
Legal system:
civil law system, with regional applications; does not accept compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction
National holiday:
National Day, 12 October
Executive branch:
monarch, president of the government (prime minister), deputy prime
minister, Council of Ministers (cabinet), Council of State
Legislative branch:
bicameral The General Courts or National Assembly (Las Cortes Generales)
consists of an upper house or Senate (Sen