Economy - overview Spain's mixed capitalist economy supports a GDP three-fourths that ofthe four leading West European economies. Its center-right government has staked much on gaining admission to the first group of countries to implementthe European single currency by developing an austere 1997 budget - includinga wage freeze for public-sector employees - in hopes of meeting the Maastrichtmonetary convergence criteria. The government slashed spending by $1.6 billionin mid-1996 to ensure that Spain's deficit did not exceed its target of 4.4%of GDP for the year; the government forecasts a deficit of 3% for 1997. TheAZNAR administration advocates liberalization, privatization, and deregulationof the economy, and has introduced some tax reforms to that end. Unemployment,nevertheless, remains the highest in the EU at about 22%, but the government,for political reasons, has made only limited progress in changing labor lawsor reforming pension schemes, which are key to the sustainability of Spain'seconomic advances.

GDP purchasing power parity - $593 billion (1996 est.)

GDP - real growth rate 2.4% (1996 est.)

GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $15,300 (1996 est.)

GDP - composition by sector
agriculture: 3.6%
industry: 33.6%
services: 62.8% (1995 est.)

Inflation rate - consumer price index 3.7% (1996 est.)

Labor force
total: 12.475 million
by occupation: services 62%, manufacturing, mining, and construction 29%, agriculture9% (1996)

Unemployment rate 22% (1996 est.)

Budget
revenues: $113 billion
expenditures : $139 billion, including capital expenditures of $15 billion (1995)

Industries textiles and apparel (including footwear), food and beverages, metalsand metal manufactures, chemicals, shipbuilding, automobiles, machine tools,tourism

Industrial production growth rate 5% (1996 est.)

Electricity - capacity 39.58 million kW (1994)

Electricity - production 163.7 billion kWh (1995)

Electricity - consumption per capita 3,752 kWh (1995 est.)

Agriculture - products grain, vegetables, olives, wine grapes, sugar beets, citrus; beef, pork,poultry, dairy products; fish catch of 866,831 metric tons in 1993

Exports
total value: $94.5 billion (f.o.b., 1995)
commodities: cars and trucks, semifinished manufactured goods, foodstuffs, machinery(1994)
partners : EU 72.1%, US 4.2%, other developed countries 7.9% (1996)

Imports
total value : $118.3 billion (c.i.f., 1995)
commodities: machinery, transport equipment, fuels, semifinished goods, foodstuffs,consumer goods, chemicals (1994)
partners: EU 65.6%, US 6.6%, other developed countries 11.5%, Middle East 6.2%(1996)

Debt - external $90 billion (1993 est.)

Economic aid
donor: ODA, $1.213 billion (1993)

Currency 1 peseta (Pta) = 100 centimos

Exchange rates pesetas (Ptas) per US$1 - 134.77 (January 1997), 126.66 (1996), 124.69(1995), 133.96 (1994), 127.26 (1993), 102.38 (1992)

Fiscal year calendar year

NOTE: The information regarding Spain on this page is re-published from the 1997 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Spain Economy 1997 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Spain Economy 1997 should be addressed to the CIA.