COUNTRY PROFILES

SPAIN

select specific area Introduction National energy policy strategy and priorities Security of Supply Competitiveness of the Energy Sector Environmental Protection Ongoing and Planned Donor Intervention

Spain Introduction

Economic and socio-political issues

Spain has a total area of 506,030 km2, with 2,013 km of inland borders and 4,830 km of coastline (excluding the islands).

According to the 2003 census, Spain has a population of 42.6 million inhabitants. The majority (78%) live in urban areas.

The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) generated by the Spanish economy in the year 2002 was ?694 billion. By sectors, 3.2% of GDP was generated by agriculture, 28.5% manufacturing industry and 68.2% by the services sector. In 2002, GDP grew by 2.0% in real terms, lower than the record of the previous year 2.7%, but continuing of the upward trend seen over the last decade. In the same period the industrial output showed a slight increase of 0.2% on the previous year.

The active population in Spain comprises approximately 19 million people. The distribution of employment across the sectors of the economy is as follows: 5.9% agriculture, 31.3% industry and 62.7% services.

In 2002 the unemployment rate stood at 11.4%.

According to the Survey of the Active Population (Encuesta de Poblacion Activa, EPA), the net employment created by the Spanish economy in 2001 was 312,000 new jobs, representing an increase of 2%.

Relations with the EU (Bilateral & Multilateral Agreements)

In 1986 Spain became a member of the European Community. The transitional periods established in the Accession Treaty have now ended and Spain adopted the common European currency (Euro) at the time of its launch.