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The Economy of Spain

Spanish Economy

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Economy - overview: The Spanish economy grew every year from 1994 through 2008 before entering a recession that started in the third quarter of 2008. Spain's mixed capitalist economy supports a GDP that on a per capita basis is approaching that of the largest West European economies. The Socialist president, Jose Luis Rodriguez ZAPATERO, in office since 2004, has made mixed progress in carrying out key structural reforms. The economy was greatly affected, especially after Zapatero's second term began in April 2008, by the bursting of the housing bubble and construction boom that had fueled much of the economic growth between 2001 and 2007. The global financial crisis exacerbated the economic downturn. GDP growth in 2008 was 1.3%, well below the 3% or higher growth the country enjoyed from 1997 through 2007. The Spanish banking system is considered solid, thanks in part to conservative oversight by the European Central Bank, and government intervention to rescue banks on the scale seen elsewhere in Europe in 2008 was not necessary. After considerable success since the mid-1990s in reducing unemployment to a 2007 low of 8%, Spain suffered a major spike in unemployment in the last few months of 2008, finishing the year with an unemployment rate over 13%.

GDP:

GDP - real growth rate: 1.1% (2008 est.) 3.7% (2007 est.) 3.9% (2006 est.)

GDP - per capita:

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 3.6% industry: 28.9% services: 67.5% (2008 est.)

Population below poverty line:

Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 2.6% highest 10%: 26.6% (2000)

Distribution of family income - Gini index: 32 (2005)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):

Labor force: 23.1 million (2008 est.)

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 4% industry: 26.4% services: 69.5% (2008 est.)

Unemployment rate: 13.9% (2008 est.)

Budget: revenues: $443.3 billion expenditures: $535.6 billion (2008 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

Industrial production growth rate: -6.5% (2008)

Electricity - production: 294.3 billion kWh (2008 est.)

Electricity - production by source:

Electricity - consumption: 276.1 billion kWh (2008 est.)

Electricity - exports: 14.52 billion kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity - imports: 8.773 billion kWh (2007 est.)

Oil - production: 29,000 bbl/day (2007 est.)

Oil - consumption: 1.611 million bbl/day (2007 est.)

Oil - exports: 181,800 bbl/day (2005)

Oil - imports: 1.777 million bbl/day (2005)

Oil - proved reserves: 150 million bbl (1 January 2008 est.)

Natural gas - production: 88 million cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - consumption: 34.43 billion cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - exports: 0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - imports: 34.47 billion cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves: 2.548 billion cu m (1 January 2008 est.)

Agriculture - products: grain, vegetables, olives, wine grapes, sugar beets, citrus; beef, pork, poultry, dairy products; fish

Exports: $292.8 billion f.o.b. (2008 est.)

Exports - commodities: machinery, motor vehicles; foodstuffs, pharmaceuticals, medicines, other consumer goods

Exports - partners: France 18.8%, Germany 10.8%, Portugal 8.6%, Italy 8.5%, UK 7.6%, US 4.2% (2007)

Imports: $444.9 billion f.o.b. (2008 est.)

Imports - commodities: machinery and equipment, fuels, chemicals, semifinished goods, foodstuffs, consumer goods, measuring and medical control instruments

Imports - partners: Germany 15.7%, France 12.7%, Italy 8.4%, China 5.8%, UK 4.8%, Netherlands 4.6% (2007)

Debt - external: $2.478 trillion (30 September 2008 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:

Currency:

Currency code:

Exchange rates: euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.6827 (2008 est.), 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004)

Fiscal year: