EUR

Exchange rates:

euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003)

Communications
Spain

Telephones - main lines in use:

18.583 million (2007)

Telephones - mobile cellular:

48.813 million (2007)

Telephone system:

general assessment: well developed, modern facilities; fixed-line teledensity is about 45 per 100 persons domestic: combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular teledensity is nearly 170 telephones per 100 persons international: country code - 34; submarine cables provide connectivity to Europe, Middle East, Asia, and US; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), NA Eutelsat; tropospheric scatter to adjacent countries

Radio broadcast stations:

AM 208, FM 715, shortwave 1 (1998)

Radios:

13.1 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations:

224 (plus 2,105 repeaters; includes 11 television broadcast stations and 88 repeaters in the Canary Islands) (1995)

Televisions:

16.2 million (1997)

Internet country code:

.es

Internet hosts:

3.264 million (2008)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):

56 (2000)

Internet users:

19.69 million (2007)

Transportation
Spain

Airports:

154 (2007)

Airports - with paved runways:

total: 96 over 3,047 m: 18 2,438 to 3,047 m: 11 1,524 to 2,437 m: 18 914 to 1,523 m: 25 under 914 m: 24 (2007)

Airports - with unpaved runways:

total: 58 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 14 under 914 m: 42 (2007)

Heliports:

8 (2007)

Pipelines:

gas 7,858 km; oil 622 km; refined products 3,445 km (2007)

Railways:

total: 14,974 km broad gauge: 11,919 km 1.668-m gauge (6,950 km electrified) standard gauge: 1,099 km 1.435-m gauge (1,054 km electrified) narrow gauge: 1,928 km 1.000-m gauge (815 km electrified); 28 km 0.914-m gauge (28 km electrified) (2006)

Roadways:

total: 681,224 km paved: 681,224 km (includes 13,872 km of expressways) (2006)

Waterways:

1,000 km (2003)

Merchant marine:

total: 158 by type: bulk carrier 9, cargo 14, chemical tanker 11, container 22, liquefied gas 11, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 47, petroleum tanker 16, refrigerated cargo 5, roll on/roll off 15, specialized tanker 2, vehicle carrier 5 foreign-owned: 26 (Canada 3, Canada 1, Denmark 2, Germany 5, Italy 2, Mexico 3, Norway 5, UK 3, UK 2) registered in other countries: 110 (Angola 1, Argentina 2, Bahamas 14, Belize 1, Brazil 9, Cape Verde 1, Cuba 1, Cyprus 6, Malta 3, Marshall Islands 1, Nigeria 1, Panama 50, Portugal 11, Saint Kitts and Nevis 1, UK 1, Uruguay 6, Venezuela 1) (2008)

Ports and terminals:

Algeciras, Barcelona, Bilbao, Cartagena, Huelva, Tarragona, Valencia

Military
Spain

Military branches:

Spanish Armed Forces: Army (Ejercito de Tierra), Spanish Navy
(Armada Espanola, AE; includes Marine Corps), Spanish Air Force
(Ejercito del Aire Espanola, EdA) (2007)

Military service age and obligation:

20 years of age (2004)

Manpower available for military service:

males age 16-49: 10,033,069 females age 16-49: 9,764,937 (2008 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:

males age 16-49: 8,228,426 females age 16-49: 7,990,678 (2008 est.)

Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:

male: 203,650 female: 191,352 (2008 est.)

Military expenditures:

1.2% of GDP (2005 est.)

Transnational Issues
Spain

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

Illicit drugs:

despite rigorous law enforcement efforts, North African, Latin American, Galician, and other European traffickers take advantage of Spain's long coastline to land large shipments of cocaine and hashish for distribution to the European market; consumer for Latin American cocaine and North African hashish; destination and minor transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin; money-laundering site for Colombian narcotics trafficking organizations and organized crime

This page was last updated on 18 December, 2008

@Spratly Islands

Introduction
Spratly Islands

Background:

The Spratly Islands consist of more than 100 small islands or reefs. They are surrounded by rich fishing grounds and potentially by gas and oil deposits. They are claimed in their entirety by China, Taiwan, and Vietnam, while portions are claimed by Malaysia and the Philippines. About 45 islands are occupied by relatively small numbers of military forces from China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam. Brunei has established a fishing zone that overlaps a southern reef but has not made any formal claim.

Geography
Spratly Islands

Location:

Southeastern Asia, group of reefs and islands in the South China Sea, about two-thirds of the way from southern Vietnam to the southern Philippines

Geographic coordinates: