Spain

L

Libraries and Museums

The National Library in Madrid, founded in 1712 as the Royal Library, is the largest in Spain; it contains more than 4 million bound volumes. Rare books, maps, prints, and the magnificent Sala de Cervantes, devoted to the writings of the great Spanish novelist Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, are among the special collections of the library. The Library of the Royal Palace (1760) in Madrid has many rare editions from the 16th century as well as fine collections of manuscripts, engravings, and music. One of the most complete libraries in Spain is the Madrid University Library, which was founded in 1341; it contains more than 800,000 bound volumes and more than 270,000 pamphlets. The Escorial Library near Madrid is known for its collection of rare books. The Archives and Library of the Cathedral Chapter in Toledo are famous for its collection of some 3,000 manuscripts from the 8th and 9th centuries and more than 10,000 documents of the 11th century.

One of the greatest art collections in the world is in the National Museum of Paintings and Sculpture (known as the Prado) in Madrid. The collection is particularly rich in works by El Greco, Velázquez, Bartolomé Estéban Murillo, and Goya; by the Italian painters Sandro Botticelli and Titian; and by Rembrandt. The National Museum of Modern Art in Madrid specializes in Spanish painting after 1800.

Spanish pottery, brocades, tapestries, and ivory carvings are in the National Archaeological Museum in Madrid, which houses also the most important library on archaeology in the country. The National Ethnological Museum in Madrid contains objects from former Spanish possessions, including Equatorial Guinea, the Philippines, and Bolivia. Other museums in Madrid include the Natural Science Museum and the Museum of the Spanish People. Situated in Barcelona are the Maritime Museum and the Archaeological Museum, which has a large collection of prehistoric, Phoenician, Greek, Roman, and Visigothic art.

IV

Economy

Spain has traditionally been an agricultural country and is still one of the largest farming producers in Western Europe, but since the mid-1950s industrial growth has been rapid. A series of development plans, initiated in 1964, helped the economy to expand, but in the later 1970s an economic slowdown was brought on by rising oil costs and increased imports. Subsequently, the government emphasized the development of the steel, shipbuilding, textile, and mining industries. Today, Spain has a gross domestic product around two thirds that of the leading western European economies. Spain derives much income from tourism.

The annual budget in 2006 included revenue of about US$332.5 billion and expenditure of about US$308.3 billion. On January 1, 1986, Spain became a full member of the EU. In order to meet the convergence criteria specified for entry into a future EU economic and monetary union, Spain has been trying to reform the economy, in particular to reduce its budget deficit mainly through spending cuts. However, inflation, unemployment, and the public debt remained high in 1994 following severe recession in 1993, with some degree of economic recovery in 1995. In March 1995 Spain devalued the peseta by 7 per cent within the Exchange Rate Mechanism. In 1996 Spain had the highest rate of unemployment within the EU at 13.8 per cent. The GNP in Spain in 2004 was some US$919 billion, or US$27,340 per head.

A

Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing

Agriculture is a mainstay of the Spanish economy, employing just over 9 per cent of the workforce. The main crops are wheat, barley, sugar beet, maize, potatoes, rye, oats, rice, tomatoes, and onions. The country has extensive vineyards, and citrus and olive groves. In 2006 production of wheat was estimated to be, in tonnes, 5.58 million; barley, 8 million; and potatoes, 2.50 million. Annual production of other important commodities included, in tonnes, rye, 158,700; sugar beet, 6 million; and grapes, 6 million.

Climatic and topographical conditions make dry farming obligatory for a large part of Spanish agriculture. The Mediterranean provinces, particularly Valencia, have irrigation systems that represent the work of many generations, and the formerly arid coastal belt has become one of the most productive areas of Spain. Combined irrigation and hydroelectric projects are found particularly in the valley of the Ebro. Large sections of Extremadura are irrigated by means of government projects on the River Guadiana. Small-farm irrigation from wells is common.

The raising of livestock, especially sheep and goats, is an important industry. In 2006 livestock on farms included about 22.5 million sheep, 25.1 million pigs, 6.46 million cattle, 245,000 horses, and 136 million poultry.

The cork-oak tree is the principal forest resource of Spain, and the annual production of cork, more than 70,000 tonnes in 1992, is second only to that of Portugal. The yield of Spain’s forests is insufficient for the country’s wood-pulp and timber needs. Roundwood removals in 2006 totalled around 15.7 million cu m (555 million cu ft).

The fishing industry is important to the Spanish economy. The annual catch was about 1.07 million tonnes in 2005 and consisted primarily of sardines, tuna, mussels, squid, octopus, hake, anchovies, and mackerel. In 1995 and 1996 the large number of Spanish boats fishing in British and Irish waters, many of them flying British flags of convenience, caused confrontations between British and Spanish fishermen.

B

Mining

The mineral wealth of Spain is considerable. In 2003 annual production included about 20.6 million tonnes of coal, 265,000 tonnes of iron ore, 70,000 tonnes of zinc concentrates, 2,000 tonnes of lead, 4.9 million tonnes of gypsum (1992 figure), and 2.41 million barrels of crude petroleum. The principal coal mines are in the north-west, near Oviedo; the chief iron-ore deposits are in the same area, around Santander and Bilbao; large mercury reserves are located in Almadén, in south-western Spain; and copper and lead are mined in Andalusia. Other minerals produced are potash, manganese, fluorite, tin, tungsten, wolfram, bismuth, antimony, cobalt, and rock salt.

C

Manufacturing

Among the leading goods manufactured in Spain are textiles, iron and steel, motor vehicles, chemicals, clothing, footwear, ships, refined petroleum, and cement. Spain is one of the world’s leading wine producers, and the output in 1995 was about 18.9 million hectolitres. The iron and steel industry, centred in Bilbao, Santander, Oviedo, and Avilés, produced about 13.4 million tonnes of crude steel and 5.5 million tonnes of pig iron in 1994.