A NEW SUNRISE FOR SPAIN?

COUNTRY REPORT
Although the hardships are far from over, the Spanish economy and banking system may finally be on the mend, with three components interrelating in a virtuous cycle: rebounding exports, rising consumer confidence, and a commitment to reform geared toward economic adjustments.

 
 
Source
Central bank

Bank of Spain

International Reserves

USD 70.7 billion (2018)

International Monetary Fund (IMF), data retrieved October 2019

Gross Domestic Product - GDP

USD 1,425.9 billion (2018, estimate)

GDP (Purchasing Power Parity)

Intl$ 1,864.4 billion (2018, estimate)

Real GDP growth
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
3.8% 1.1% -3.6% 0% -1% -2.9% -1.7%
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018*    
1.4% 3.7% 3.2% 3% 2.5%    

*Estimate

GDP per capita - current prices

USD 30,697.3 (2018, estimate)

GDP per capita - PPP

Intl$ 40,138.8 (2018, estimate)

GDP (PPP) - share of world total
1980 1990 2000 2010 2019*
2.28% 2.22% 1.98% 1.66% 1.4%

*Estimate

 
 
Source
GDP - composition by sector
  • agriculture: 2.6% 
  • industry: 21.9% 
  • services: 65.9%

(2018 estimate)

Gross domestic expenditure on R&D; (% of GDP)

1.2% (2017)

OECD, data retrieved October 2019

Inflation
2015 2016 2017 2018* 2019*
-0.5% -0.2% 2% 1.7% 0.7%

*Estimate

Unemployment rate
2015 2016 2017 2018* 2019*
22.1% 19.6% 17.2% 15.3% 13.9%

*Estimate

Household saving rates

-0.8% (2017)

 

Public debt (General government gross debt as a % of GDP)
2015 2016 2017 2018* 2019*
99.3% 99% 98.1% 97.1% 96.4%

*Estimate

Public deficit (General government net lending/borrowing as a % of GDP)
2015 2016 2017 2018* 2019*
-5.3% -4.5% -3.1% -2.5% -2.2%

*Estimate

Government bond ratings

Standard & Poor's: A

Moody's: Baa1

Standard & Poor's / Moody's

Market value of publicly traded shares
2016 2017 2018
USD 704.6 billion USD 888.8 billion USD 723.7 billion
Largest companies

Bankinter, Grifols, Ferrovial, Red Eléctrica, Merlin Properties SOCIMI S.A, Acciona, Unicaja Banco, Liberbank, Santander, BBVA-Banco Bilbao Vizcaya, Telefónica, Iberdrola, Repsol, Inditex, CaixaBank, Grupo ACS, Mapfre, Naturgy Energy Group, Aena, Bankia, Amadeus IT Group, Banco de Sabadell

 
 
Source
Current account balance

USD 13.2 billion (2018 estimate)

Current account balance by percentage of GDP

0.9 % (2018 estimate)

Exports as percent of GDP (Exports of goods and services)

34.3% (2018)

Shares in world total merchandising export

1.77% (2018)

Shares in world total commercial services export

2.58% (2018)

Total exports

USD 487.3 billion (2018 estimate)

Export commodities

Machinery, motor vehicles; foodstuffs, pharmaceuticals, medicines, other consumer goods

Total imports

USD 460.6 billion (2018 estimate)

 
 
Source
Import commodities

Machinery and equipment, fuels, chemicals, semi-finished goods, foodstuffs, consumer goods, measuring and medical control instruments

Exports - major partners

France 15.1%, Germany 11.3%, Italy 7.8%, Portugal 7.1%, UK 6.9%, US 4.4% (2017)

Imports - major partners

Germany 14.2%, France 11.9%, China 6.9%, Italy 6.8%, Netherlands 5.1%, UK 4% (2017)

FDI inflows
2016 2017 2018
USD 27,658 million USD 20,918 million USD 43,591 million
FDI outflows
2016 2017 2018
USD 43,620 million USD 39,964 million USD 31,620 million
Value of cross-border M&A, by country of purchaser
2015 2016 2017 2018
USD 17,255 million USD 3,254 million USD 4,770 million USD 67 million
Source
Cross-border M&A deals worth over $3 billion completed in 2014

Vodafone Holdings Europe SLU, Grupo Corporativo ONO SA, Spain, USD 10.0 billion / Banco Santander SA, Banco Santander(Brasil)SA, Brazil, USD 3.3 billion

(for a monthly update on M&A; click here )

Cross-border M&A deals worth over $3 billion completed in 2015

Repsol SA, Talisman Energy Inc, Canada, USD 8.3 billion

(for a monthly update on M&A; click here )

Best countries for doing business

Economies are ranked on their ease of doing business. A high ease of doing business ranking means the regulatory environment is more conducive to the starting and operation of a local firm.

Overall ranking:

30 out of 190 countries

​Subcategories:
Starting a Business: 97 out of 190 countries
Dealing with Construction Permits: 79 out of 190 countries
Getting Electricity: 55 out of 190 countries
Registering Property: 59 out of 190 countries
Getting Credit: 80 out of 190 countries
Protecting Minority Investors: 28 out of 190 countries
Paying Taxes: 35 out of 190 countries
Trading across Borders: 1 out of 190 countries
Enforcing Contracts: 26 out of 190 countries
Resolving Insolvency: 18 out of 190 countries

Global competitiveness ranking

23 out of 141 countries

(2019)

Index of Economic Freedom

Ranking: 57 / Score: 65.7 (Moderately free)

(100=totally free 0=totally repressed )

 
 
Source
Time zone

UTC+1

Total area

505,370 sq km

Capital

Madrid

Currency

Euros (EUR) 

Government type

Parliamentary constitutional monarchy

Languages

Castilian Spanish (official nationwide) 74%, Catalan (official in Catalonia, the Balearic Islands, and the Valencian Community (where it is known as Valencian)) 17%, Galician (official in Galicia) 7%, Basque (official in the Basque Country and in the BasqNote: Aragonese, Aranese Asturian, Basque, Calo, Catalan, Galician, and Valencian are recognized as regional languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages

Religions

Roman Catholic 68.9%, atheist 11.3%, agnostic 7.6%, other 2.8%, non-believer 8.2%, unspecified 1.1% (2019 est.)

Total population
1990 2000 2010 2015 2020*
39.12 million 40.55 million 46.56 million 46.41 million 46.87 million

*Estimate 

 
 
Source
Urban population as % of total population
1960 1980 2000 2018
56.6% 72.8% 76.3% 80.3%
Population median age

43.1 years 

Population growth rate

0.73% (2018 estimate)

Life expectancy

81.8 years (2018 estimate)

Literacy

Total population: 98.3% 
Male: 98.8% 
Female: 97.7%
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write (2016 est.)

% of population living on less than $3.10 a day

1.5% (last available estimate, 2015)

Inequality of wealth distribution (Gini index)

36.2 (last available estimate, 2015)

(0=perfect equality, 100=absolute inequality)

Freedom House rating

Free
Political Rights: 1
Civil Liberties: 1 (2019)
(1 represents the most free, 7 the least free rating)

Source
Total telephone subscribers as % of population

Fixed: 42.1% Mobile: 115.9% (2018)

(fixed-telephone subscribers and mobile-cellular subscribers)

Internet users as % of total population

86.11 % (2018)

Mercer Cost of living index

Madrid: 82nd
Barcelona: 91st

(2019)

CO2 emissions

5.03 metric tons per capita (2014)

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