Spain - London Chamber of Commerce and Industry

SPAINCountry’s full name: Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España).Capital city: Madrid (3.27 million (2009)) 1Population: 45.82 million (2009) 2 .Official language: Spanish (castellano). In some comunidadesautónomas the regional languages are co-official such; catalán(català), vasco (euskera), gallego, valenciano and asturianoCurrency: The Euro (since January 2002).Religion: Roman Catholic 94%, Muslims 1%, other 5%.Area: 504,782 sq km (195,000 square miles).Terrain: Large plateaus surrounded by rugged hills.Climate: The Spanish climate is temperate with hot summersbut more moderate and cloudy along the coast; and coldwinters in the interior, and partly cloudy and cool along the3coastsAdministrative divisions: The country is divided into 17 comunidades autónomas (including theBalearic Islands and the Canary Islands) on a regional level and 50 smaller provincias. There are alsotwo Spanish city enclaves in North Africa; Ceuta and MelillaWeights and measures: Metric.Time zone: GMT plus one hour (except Canary Islands, GMT). From late March to late October adaylight saving scheme is in operation which is GMT plus two hours.International dialling code: + 34.RECENT HISTORY 4After a three year civil war (1936-39), Spain was ruled by General Francisco Franco, whosedictatorship lasted until his death in 1975. The country then went through a swift democratic transitionand a new constitution was established in 1978. Following such rapid political transformation, Spainembarked upon economic liberalisation and in 1986 it joined the EEC (now the EU). In addition topolitical and economic liberalisation, it has become one of the most socially liberal countries in theworld and in 2005 Spain became the first country to legalise homosexual marriage and adoption.Nonetheless, despite sustained economic growth and increased prosperity. The country has sufferedfrom regional unrest, led by the Basque separatist group ETA, who have campaigned for the last 30years for Basque independence. In 2004 several metro stations in Madrid were rocked by bombblasts by the terrorist group, Al-Qaeda.GOVERNMENT5Following Franco’s death, Juan Carlos II was crowned as king in 1975. The 1978 constitutionestablished a democratic constitutional monarchy. A bicameral legislature (las cortés generales) wasset up, composed of a lower house (el congreso de los diputados) made up of 350 members and anupper house (el senado) which is composed of 264 senators. While legislative power is shared thecongreso can override the senado and direct universal elections are held every four years. Executivepower is held by the Presidente del Gobierno (the Spanish equivalent of Prime Minister) and hiscabinet. Although he or she is officially appointed by the monarch, they will come from the party withthe most seats in the congreso. In 2008, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero (leader of the PartidoSocialista Obrero Español (PSOE)) was elected for a second four year mandate. There is also anindependent judiciary. The highest courts are the Tribunal Supremo de España and the TribunalConstitucional de España with municipal, regional and territorial courts subordinate to them.© Enterprise Europe Network London, London Chamber of Commerce and Industry, January 2010 2