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Administrative divisions 17 autonomous communities (comunidades autonomas, singular - comunidad autonoma) and 2 autonomous cities* (ciudades autonomas, singular - ciudad autonoma); Andalucia, Aragon, Asturias, Baleares (Balearic Islands), Ceuta*, Canarias (Canary Islands), Cantabria, Castilla-La Mancha, Castilla y Leon, Cataluna (Catalonia), Comunidad Valenciana (Valencian Community), Extremadura, Galicia, La Rioja, Madrid, Melilla*, Murcia, Navarra, Pais Vasco (Basque Country) note: the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla plus three small islands of Islas Chafarinas, Penon de Alhucemas, and Penon de Velez de la Gomera, administered directly by the Spanish central government, are all along the coast of Morocco and are collectively referred to as Places of Sovereignty (Plazas de Soberania)
Administrative divisions > A note three small Spanish possessions are located off the coast of Morocco: Islas Chafarinas, Penon de Alhucemas, and Penon de Velez de la Gomera
Administrative divisions > Note the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla plus three small islands of Islas Chafarinas, Penon de Alhucemas, and Penon de Velez de la Gomera, administered directly by the Spanish central government, are all along the coast of Morocco and are collectively referred to as Places of Sovereignty (Plazas de Soberania)
Ambassadors from Finland > Current Finnish Ambassadors > Ambassador	Maija Lähteenmäki
Ambassadors from Israel > Current Israeli Ambassadors > Israeli Ambassador	Victor Harel
ambassadors to the United States > Ambassador Carlos Westendorp y Cabeza
Capital city	Madrid
Capital city > Daylight saving time +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
Capital city > Geographic coordinates	40 24 N, 3 41 W
Capital city > Name	Madrid
Capital city > Note Spain is divided into two time zones including the Canary Islands
Capital city > Time difference UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Constitution approved by legislature 31 October 1978; passed by referendum 6 December 1978, effective 29 December 1978
Constitutional monarchy > current constitutional monarchies > Last constitution established	1978
Constitutional monarchy > current constitutional monarchies > Monarch selected by Hereditary succession directed by constitution
Constitutional monarchy > current constitutional monarchies > Type of monarchy	Kingdom
Copyright > Reference	Art. 23,
Corruption	7		[23rd of 160]
Council of EU, 2001 > Country leader José María Aznar López
Council of EU, 2001 > Country votes	8		[5th of 15]
Council of EU, 2001 > European party of leader EPP
Council of EU, 2002 > Country leader José María Aznar López
Council of EU, 2002 > Country votes	8		[5th of 15]
Council of EU, 2002 > European party of leader EPP
Council of EU, 2003 > Country leader José María Aznar López
Council of EU, 2003 > Country votes	8		[5th of 15]
Council of EU, 2003 > European party of leader EPP
Council of EU, 2005 > Country leader José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero
Council of EU, 2005 > Country votes	27		[5th of 25]
Council of EU, 2005 > European party of leader PES
Council of EU, 2006 > Country leader José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero
Council of EU, 2006 > Country votes	27		[5th of 25]
Council of EU, 2006 > European party of leader PES
Council of EU, 2007 > Country leader José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero
Council of EU, 2007 > Country votes	27		[6th of 27]
Council of EU, 2007 > European party of leader PES
Council of EU, January–April 2004 > Country leader José María Aznar López
Council of EU, January–April 2004 > Country votes	8		[5th of 15]
Council of EU, January–April 2004 > European party of leader EPP
countries' copyright length > Usual term of copyright protection	70 pma
Diplomatic representation from the US > Chief of mission Ambassador Eduardo AGUIRRE, Jr.
Diplomatic representation from the US > Consulate(s) general	Barcelona
Diplomatic representation from the US > Embassy	Serrano 75, 28006 Madrid
Diplomatic representation from the US > FAX	[34] (91) 587-2303
Diplomatic representation from the US > Mailing address	PSC 61, APO AE 09642
Diplomatic representation from the US > Telephone	[34] (91) 587-2200
Diplomatic representation in the US > Chancery 2375 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20037
Diplomatic representation in the US > Chief of mission Ambassador Jorge DEZCALLAR de Mazarredo
Diplomatic representation in the US > Consulate(s) general Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, San Juan (Puerto Rico)
Diplomatic representation in the US > FAX	[1] (202) 833-5670
Diplomatic representation in the US > Telephone [1] (202) 452-0100, 728-2340
Elections > Head of state	Monarchy
Espionage organizations and agencies National Intelligence Centre
European Council > Current composition of the European Council > Title	Prime minister
European Parliament constituency > Comparison with member states without constituencies > per Seat	796k
European Parliament constituency > Comparison with member states without constituencies > Seats	54		[5th of 25]
Executive branch > A note there is also a Council of State that is the supreme consultative organ of the government
Executive branch > Cabinet Council of Ministers designated by the president
Executive branch > Chief of state King JUAN CARLOS I (since 22 November 1975); Heir Apparent Prince FELIPE, son of the monarch, born 30 January 1968
Executive branch > Election results Jose Luis Rodriguez ZAPATERO reelected President of the Government; percent of National Assembly vote - 46.94%
Executive branch > Elections the monarchy is hereditary; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually proposed president by the monarch and elected by the National Assembly; election last held on 9 and 11 April 2008 (next to be held in March 2012); vice presidents appointed by the monarch on the proposal of the president
Executive branch > Head of government President of the Government (Prime Minister equivalent) Jose Luis Rodriguez ZAPATERO (since 17 April 2004); First Vice President (and Minister of the Presidency) Maria Teresa FERNANDEZ DE LA VEGA (since 18 April 2004) and Second Vice President (and Minister of Economy and Finance) Pedro SOLBES Mira (since 18 April 2004)
Executive branch > Note there is also a Council of State that is the supreme consultative organ of the government, but its recommendations are non-binding
Flag description three horizontal bands of red (top), yellow (double width), and red with the national coat of arms on the hoist side of the yellow band; the coat of arms is quartered to display the emblems of the traditional kingdoms of Spain (clockwise from upper left, Castile, Leon, Navarre, and Aragon) while Granada is represented by the stylized pomegranate at the bottom of the shield; the arms are framed by two columns representing the Pillars of Hercules, which are the two promontories (Gibraltar and Ceuta) on either side of the eastern end of the Strait of Gibraltar; the red scroll across the two columns bears the imperial motto of "Plus Ultra" (further beyond) referring to Spanish lands beyond Europe
Flag modification	19		[90th of 197]
foreign consulates in Edinburgh, Scotland > Consulate Address	63 North Castle Street
Foreign relations > Croatia > Date of Establishment	March 9, 1992
Foreign relations > Nepal > Date of Establishment	May 13, 1968
General government final consumption expenditure > annual % growth	4.5 %		[42nd of 147]
General government final consumption expenditure > constant 2000 US$	125,887,000,000 constant 2000 US$		[6th of 145]
General government final consumption expenditure > constant 2000 US$ (per capita)	2,900.746 constant 2000 US$ per c		[15th of 146]
General government final consumption expenditure > constant LCU	136637700000
General government final consumption expenditure > current LCU	160924000000
General government final consumption expenditure > current US$	200,129,300,000 $		[6th of 169]
General government final consumption expenditure > current US$ (per $ GDP)	0.178 $ per $1 of GDP		[50th of 184]
General government final consumption expenditure > current US$ (per capita)	4,611.471 $ per capita		[17th of 184]
Government type	parliamentary monarchy
Heads of Missions from the United Kingdom Sir Stephen Wright
Heads of Missions from the United Kingdom > Resident Heads of Missions > Type	Embassy
Independence the Iberian peninsula was characterized by a variety of independent kingdoms prior to the Muslim occupation that began in the early 8th century A.D. and lasted nearly seven centuries; the small Christian redoubts of the north began the reconquest almost immediately, culminating in the seizure of Granada in 1492; this event completed the unification of several kingdoms and is traditionally considered the forging of present-day Spain
International organization participation ADB (nonregional members), AfDB (nonregional members), Arctic Council (observer), Australia Group, BCIE, BIS, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAIA (observer), MIGA, MINURCAT, MONUC, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, Schengen Convention, SECI (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, Union Latina, UNRWA, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
Judicial branch Supreme Court or Tribunal Supremo
Key ministers > Culture	Carmen Calvo
Key ministers > Defence	Jose Bono
Key ministers > Environment	Cristina Narbona
Key ministers > Health	Elena Salgado
Key ministers > Interior	Jose Antonio Alonso
Key ministers > Justice Juan Fernando Lopez Aguilar
Legal origin French
Legal system civil law system, with regional applications; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations
Legislative branch bicameral; General Courts or National Assembly or Las Cortes Generales consists of the Senate or Senado (264 seats as of 2008; 208 members directly elected by popular vote and the other 56 - as of 2008 - appointed by the regional legislatures; to serve four-year terms) and the Congress of Deputies or Congreso de los Diputados (350 seats; each of the 50 electoral provinces fills a minimum of two seats and the North African enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla fill one seat each with members serving a four-year term; the other 248 members are determined by proportional representation based on popular vote on block lists who serve four-year terms)
Legislative branch > Election results Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PP 101, PSOE 88, Entesa Catalona de Progress 12, CiU 4, PNV 2, CC 1, members appointed by regional legislatures 56; Congress of Deputies - percent of vote by party - PSOE 43.6%, PP 40.1%, CiU 3.1%, PNV 1.2%, ERC 1.2%, other 10.8%; seats by party - PSOE 169, PP 154, CiU 10, PNV 6, ERC 3, other 8
Legislative branch > Elections Senate - last held on 9 March 2008 (next to be held in March 2012); Congress of Deputies - last held on 9 March 2008 (next to be held in March 2012)
Management time dealing with officials > % of management time	0.83 %		[38th of 38]
National holiday National Day, 12 October (1492); year when Columbus first set foot in the Americas
Parliamentary seats > Female	22%		[19th of 143]
Parties in the Council of the European Union > leaders > European > party PES
Parties in the Council of the European Union > leaders > Leader José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero
Parties in the Council of the European Union > leaders > Votes	27		[6th of 27]
Policy uncertainty > % of managers surveyed ranking this as a major business constraint	10.12 %		[30th of 38]
political parties > Multi party	•
Political parties and leaders Aragonese Party or CHA [Bizen FUSTER]; Basque Nationalist Party or PNV [Inigo URKULLU]; Basque Solidarity or EA [Begona ERRAZTI]; Canarian Coalition or CC [Jose Torres STINGA] (a coalition of five parties); Convergence and Union or CiU [Artur MAS i Gavarro] (a coalition of the Democratic Convergence of Catalonia or CDC [Artur MAS i Gavarro] and the Democratic Union of Catalonia or UDC [Josep Antoni DURAN i LLEIDA]); Entesa Catalonia de Progress (a Senate coalition grouping four Catalan parties - PSC, ERC, ICV, EUA); Galician Nationalist Bloc or BNG [Anxo Manuel QUINTANA Gonzalez]; Initiative for Catalonia Greens or ICV [Joan SAURA i Laporta]; Navarra yes or Na Bai [Uxue BARKOS Berruezo] (a coalition of four Navarran parties); Popular Party or PP [Mariano RAJOY Brey]; Republican Left of Catalonia or ERC [Josep-Lluis CAROD-ROVIRA]; Spanish Socialist Workers Party or PSOE [Jose Luis Rodriguez ZAPATERO]; United Left or IU [Gaspar LLAMAZARES Trigo] (a coalition of parties including the PCE and other small parties)
Political pressure groups and leaders Association for Victims of Terrorism or AVT (grassroots organization devoted primarily to opposing ETA terrorist attacks and supporting its victims); Basta Ya (Spanish for "Enough is Enough"; grassroots organization devoted primarily to opposing ETA terrorist attacks and supporting its victims); Nunca Mais (Galician for "Never Again"; formed in response to the oil Tanker Prestige oil spill); Socialist General Union of Workers or UGT and the smaller independent Workers Syndical Union or USO; Trade Union Confederation of Workers' Commissions or CC.OO.
Political pressure groups and leaders > Other business and landowning interests; Catholic Church; free labor unions (authorized in April 1977); university students
Prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero
Procedures to build a warehouse > number	11		[149th of 168]
Procedures to build a warehouse > number (per capita)	0.277 per 1 million people		[152nd of 170]
Procedures to enforce a contract > number	23		[142nd of 170]
Procedures to enforce a contract > number (per capita)	0.53 per 1 million people		[149th of 171]
Procedures to register property > number	3		[152nd of 167]
Procedures to register property > number (per capita)	69.127 per 1 billion people		[153rd of 167]
Proportion of seats held by women in national parliament > %	36 %		[8th of 174]
Secession attempts	the Basques, Catalonia
Stabilisation and Association process > Croatia	4.10.2002
Stabilisation and Association process > Stabilisation and Association process > Republic of > Macedonia	4.10.2002
Start-up procedures to register a business > number	10		[74th of 171]
Start-up procedures to register a business > number (per capita)	0.23 per 1 million people		[143rd of 171]
Status federal democracy
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal
Time required to build a warehouse > days	277 days		[31st of 168]
Time required to enforce a contract > days	515 days		[76th of 171]
Time required to register property > days	17 days		[139th of 167]
Time required to start a business > days	47 days		[54th of 171]
Time to prepare and pay taxes > hours	602 hours		[19th of 169]
Time to resolve insolvency > years	1 years		[143rd of 151]
Total businesses registered > number	3,068,552		[7th of 71]
Total businesses registered > number (per capita)	73.053 per 1 million people		[16th of 83]
Trademarks, nonresidents	2,059		[19th of 99]
Trademarks, nonresidents (per capita)	0.048 per 1 million people		[44th of 146]
Trademarks, residents	52,718		[6th of 98]
Trademarks, residents (per capita)	1.235 per 1 million people		[7th of 142]
Transnational Issues > Disputes > International in 2002, Gibraltar residents voted overwhelmingly by referendum to remain a British colony and against a "total shared sovereignty" arrangement while demanding participation in talks between the UK and Spain; Spain disapproves of UK plans to grant Gibraltar greater autonomy; Morocco protests Spain's control over the coastal enclaves of Ceuta, Melilla, and the islands of Penon de Velez de la Gomera, Penon de Alhucemas and Islas Chafarinas, and surrounding waters; Morocco serves as the primary launching site of illegal migration into Spain from North Africa; Portugal does not recognize Spanish sovereignty over the territory of Olivenza based on a difference of interpretation of the 1815 Congress of Vienna and the 1801 Treaty of Badajoz
UN membership date	14 Dec. 1955
United Nations mission http://www.spainun.org/index.cfm
Washington, D.C. embassies > Neighborhood West End

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