Population, GDP, natural resources, leaders and history of Spain: the Magna Factbook country file, with its Magna grade (MBA, ranked #11 of 195).
Spain is a parliamentary constitutional monarchy in Southwestern Europe, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, North Atlantic Ocean, Bay of Biscay, and Pyrenees Mountains; southwest of France. The country's capital is Madrid; it covers 505,370 sq km. Independence: 1492. Terrain: large, flat to dissected plateau surrounded by rugged hills; Pyrenees Mountains in north. Climate: temperate; clear, hot summers in interior, more moderate and cloudy along coast; cloudy, cold winters in interior, partly cloudy and cool along coast. Population: 47.3 million (2024 estimate). Population growth: +0.12% per year. Median age: 47.2 years. Life expectancy: 83 years (2024 est.). Languages: Castilian Spanish (off…
| Capital | Madrid |
|---|---|
| Population | 47,280,433 (2024 est.) |
| GDP (PPP) | $2.361 trillion (2024 est.) |
| GDP per capita (PPP) | $48,400 (2024 est.) |
| Real GDP growth | 3.2% (2024 est.) |
| Inflation | 2.8% |
| Unemployment | 11.4% |
| Public debt | 107.3% of GDP (2023 est.) |
| Exports | $642.358 billion (2024 est.) |
| Imports | $568.502 billion (2024 est.) |
| Life expectancy | 83 years (2024 est.) |
| Median age | 47.2 |
| Urbanization | 81.6% of total population (2023) |
| Government | parliamentary constitutional monarchy |
| Independence | 1492 |
| Languages | Castilian Spanish (official) 74%, Catalan (official in Catalonia, the Balearic Islands, and the Valencian Community) 17%, Galician (official in Galicia) 7%, Basque (official in the Basque Country and Navarre) 2%, Aranese (official in part of Catalonia) <5,000 speakers |
MBA · 71/100 — The Magna grade is our 0–100 composite of structural national power — five dimensions, 100+ indicators. It is the Bureau's own assessment, not a mirror of World Bank or CIA figures.
Momentum +2 — Quarterly momentum: the Bureau's read on the country's trajectory over the last quarter, from −10 (deteriorating fast) to +10 (accelerating).
Spain kept posting the eurozone's strongest big-economy numbers: growth near 2.8% with the deficit falling — the macro record held through the quarter.
Tourism and exports powered the run while politics stayed manageable. Modestly positive, earned rather than gifted.
Coal, Iron ore, Copper, Lead, Zinc, Uranium, Tungsten, Mercury, Gypsum, Potash, Hydropower.
Pedro Sánchez — Prime Minister. King FELIPE VI (since 19 June 2014)
Spain maintains 114 embassies and 65 consulates abroad, hosts 124 foreign diplomatic missions, holds permanent missions to UN New York, UN Geneva, EU Brussels, NATO Brussels, OECD Paris, UNESCO Paris, OSCE Vienna, CoE Strasbourg. The breadth of a diplomatic network is a direct measure of diplomatic power — it shows how far a country’s influence, alliances and interests reach.
| Embassies abroad | 114 |
|---|---|
| Consulates abroad | 65 |
| Foreign missions hosted | 124 |
| Multilateral missions | UN New York, UN Geneva, EU Brussels, NATO Brussels, OECD Paris, UNESCO Paris, OSCE Vienna, CoE Strasbourg |
Source: Abroad: Lowy GDI 2024 Key Findings Report (114 embassies, 65 consulates, total 190) https://dev.clauneck.workers.dev/nikola/using-https-globaldiplomacyindex.lowyinstitute.org/downloads/GDI_Key_Findings.pdf , corroborated by worldpopulationreview https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/global-diplomacy-index , https://globalchallenges.ch/issue/17/diplomatic-gambling-versus-new-diplomacy/ and https://observerdiplomat.com/countries-with-most-diplomatic-posts-in-the-world/ . Hosted: Consular Affairs Center in-country ranking, Mar 2026. Multilateral rosters as for AUT.
Transport networks are economic power made physical — ports, runways, railways and pipelines decide what a country can move, sell and defend.
| Sea access | Coastal — 4964 km of coastline. |
|---|---|
| Airports (total) | 365 + 162 heliports (registration prefix EC) |
| Major seaports | Alicante, Barcelona, Cadiz, Ceuta, Ferrol, Huelva, Las Palmas, Malaga, Palma de Mallorca, Puerto de Bilbao, Puerto de Pasajes, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Santander, Sevilla, Tarragona, Valencia, Vigo |
| Railways | 15489 km |
| Pipelines | 10,481 km gas, 358 km oil, 4,378 km refined products (2017) |
| Top container ports (TEU) | Valencia (5,604,478 TEU, 2021); Algeciras (4,799,497 TEU, 2021); Barcelona (3,531,762 TEU, 2021) |
Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport (MAD) — Madrid; Alicante-Elche Miguel Hernández Airport (ALC) — Alicante; Asturias Airport (OVD) — Ranón; Bilbao Airport (BIO) — Bilbao; César Manrique-Lanzarote Airport (ACE) — San Bartolomé; Fuerteventura Airport (FUE) — El Matorral; Girona-Costa Brava Airport (GRO) — Girona; Gran Canaria Airport (LPA) — Gran Canaria Island; Ibiza Airport (IBZ) — Ibiza (Eivissa); Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat Airport (BCN) — Barcelona.
Showing 10 of 15 major airports.
| LNG import terminals | Barcelona, Bilbao, Cartagena, El Musel, Huelva, Mugardos, Sagunto |
|---|---|
| River ports | Seville (Guadalquivir River) |
Sources: OurAirports public-domain extract (2026-10-02); per-entry Wikipedia links included; CIA World Factbook via cia_factbook snapshot (2026-09-28); theodora.com CIA mirror (CIA World Factbook Transportation section), scraped 2026-10-02
| Political system | parliamentary constitutional monarchy |
|---|---|
| Last election | 2023 — general; 2023-07-23; winner: Pedro Sánchez (PSOE); PP won plurality; Sánchez formed PSOE+Sumar minority government Nov 2023 Wikipedia |
| Next election | 2027 — general (scheduled) |
Source: constitutional schedule / public election calendar
MBA · 71 Ranked #11 of 195 countries in the Magna Country Rankings. Full ranking breakdown for Spain.
