Transportation in Spain

1.             Water transportation is an essential form of transportation in Spain because the country is surrounded by water. Spain has a mainland as well islands in the Mediterranean Sea and in the Atlantic Ocean that are all surrounded by bodies of water, so domestic and international transportation via water is very important. The biggest ports in Spain are located in: Barcelona, Valencia, Bilbao, and Algeciras. Barcelona and Valencia are located on the East side of the country facing the Mediterranean, Bilbao is on the North coast of the country, near France, facing the Atlantic Ocean, and Algeciras is on the South coast of Spain, very close to Morocco, facing the Bay of Gibraltar.

 Of these 4 major ports, the largest would arguably be, Bilbao. The port of Bilbao was founded June 15, 1300. It covers a land area of about 3.1 km² and a water area of about 17 km². There are about 3700 vessels that arrive annually, carrying around 40 million metric tons of cargo and 173,000 passengers. The port of Bilbao has a total operating revenue of about 57 million euro with a net income of about 26 million euro, annually.

2.           Railroads in Spain are also an important component of the transportation system. They initially started being built in 1848, and in 1851, the first line was opened. Spain has about 9,500 miles of railroads that go through all of the providences. Both private and public operators run the rail transport in Spain, the largest one being RENFE, and they operate on a 4 gauge system. RENFE is owned by the state and they operate both freight and passenger trains. The most popular train used in Spain is called the AVE, which was introduced in 1988 and is the fastest train in the country. The AVE is important because it adapted to the European standard train track, making international train transport much easier.

Spain has the 5^th largest motorway system in the world with over 10,000 miles of highways. The highways in Spain are divided into two main categories: autovías and autopistas. The biggest difference between the autovías and autopistas are the speeds that one can travel on the road. Autopistas are the more direct roads with the higher speed limits (around 130 km/h) and a minimum of 60 km/h, which prevents slower vehicles from going on them. Also, many times autopistas are toll roads as well. Autovías are never toll roads and they are usually renovations of older roads. They speed limits are slower and any vehicle is allowed to go on them and because of this, they are the alternative route to the autopistas.

3.         In Spain there are a total of 157 airports, 96 with paved runways and 61 with unpaved runways. The main airports in Spain are located in: Madrid, Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, Málaga, Gran Canaria, Alicante, and Tenerife. The main airlines in Spain are: Iberia, Air Europa, and Vueling. Spain being a very popular tourist destination relies heavily on their air transport.

International (Spain)

1.  International trade is a very important component to Spain’s economy since it makes up roughly half of their GDP. Spain is the 22^nd largest exporter and 19^th largest importer worldwide. Spain’s main trade partners are primarily within Europe, consisting primarily of France, Germany, Portugal, and Italy. In recent years, Spain has been suffering from a trade deficit of around 80 billion dollars, which as had a significant impact on their economy.

Spain’s top importers are: Germany, France, China, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, and the UK, respectively. The imports from the top 3, Germany, France, and China, make up 33% of Spain’s total imports. The largest and most significant items being imported to Spain are: road vehicles and industrial machinery (Germany (-2%, $10652 million)), fuel (Nigeria (0%, $7578 million) and Saudi Arabia (-2%, $7506 million)), and basic food and food products (France (0%, $6128 million)).

Spain’s top exports go to: France, Germany, Portugal, Italy, the UK, and the United States. The top 3 export markets are France, Germany, and Portugal, accounting for around 45% of the total exports. The main exports to France are road vehicles and transport equipment (9%, $18329 million) as well as basic food and food products (6%, $9511 million). Road vehicles are also heavily exported to Germany (2%, $8984 million) along with basic food and food products being exported to Italy in high amounts (7%, $5819 million). It can be noted that road vehicles and food products are Spain’s major exports.

2. Current Exchange rates of the Euro compared to the United States Dollar:

United States Dollar per Euro:

1.38 (2014)

1.35 (2013)

1.25 (2012)

1.36 (2011)

1.32 (2010)

1.33 (2009)

1.46 (2008)

1.83 (2007)

1.21 (2006)

3. Spain’s location promotes immigration from all over the world since it is a peninsula that has borders with the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea, Northern Africa, and France. 14%, or around 6 million residents in Spain were born in a different country. 4.1 million of the 6 million foreign-born residents were born outside of Europe. Of the 6 million foreign-born residents previously stated, 1.5 million are from Latin America, 750,000 from Morocco, 2 million from other European states (Romania, Germany, Italy, United Kingdom, etc.), 150,000 from China, and some more are from various other regions, particularly the Pacific Islands. In recent times, Spanish emigration has risen by about 44% (around 45,000 compared to 28,000 previously). This was due to Spain’s high unemployment rate which caused many citizens to go to other surrounding European countries.

4.         After the end of Spanish dictator Franco’s rule, Spain’s foreign policy affairs increased, making them more connected to the European Community. Spain has had a particular strong connection with other Spanish speaking countries, attempting to link Iberian commerce, language, culture, and history to Latin American countries. Spain has also begun to increase its relationship with Sub-Saharan Africa partially because of the problem of illegal immigration to the Canary Islands. Spain also has strong relations in the Middle East and supports Arab positions on Middle East issues as they are a large exporter of oil and gas to Spain. They are also successful in maintaining relations with bordering countries Portugal and France as well as another close European country, Germany. Currently, Spain is attempting to broaden their relations with East Asian countries such as China and Japan. In terms of conflicts, Spain’s two biggest disputes are between Portugal and Morocco. Most of the conflicts that Spain has with these countries are due to land disputes that have been going on for a long period of time.

           

Tourism, Culture, and Economics

a.     A quote that I found interesting from A Fez of the Heart by Jeremy Seal was: ““No,” I replied. “I’ll take a fez, thank you.” “ I think you are not modern,” pronounced the shop-keeper, making my predicament sound like a will-making condition. Ashamed that he stocked such things, he wrapped my illicit headgear in a brown paper bag and saw me on my way.” (12). This passage indicates the acknowledgement of the past that was still existent within the mentalities of the modern shop-keepers. It shows how they are embarrassed in a way to sell the explicit merchandise that contradicts their past culture and it shows the impact that a touristic market can have on a society’s culture.

b.     The reading illustrated some examples that connected the economics and culture that was persistent in Pomegranate. Economics and culture are linked in Pomegranate and have a direct relationship with one another—as the economics changed, then so did the culture in order to keep up. Two prime examples of this would be the shops selling baseball caps with nudity on them and a man wearing a fez as a way to attract tourists. It can be seen from these examples that the culture morphed from a conservative, strict culture that was very into its beliefs to a more lenient, modern culture that was more in tune with Western Europe and aimed to accommodate tourists. Seal mentions: “In Pomegranate, sales were in the priority, with sex shaded into second—but a close second that meant buying ruinously expensive drinks for impressionable young foreign girls in Pomegranate’s discotheques.” (10). This quote shows the emphasis placed on the market and on tourists that was exhibited by the Pomegranate citizens.

c.      Tourist destinations can very all over the world, but they have some things in common. Generally, these touristic destinations tend to oversimplify the culture, play on some stereotypes, and accommodate parts of their culture to fit in better with the other tourists’ cultures.  Cancun, for example, is filled with resorts and is a huge tourist attraction. However, I see that a large majority of Cancun attempts to make tourists believe that the exotic atmosphere, “traditional” foods served, and the general lifestyle exhibited represents what the Mexican culture is about. This however is not the case because it plays onto what tourists want rather than how it actually is or used to be. Examples like this one can be seen all over the world in many forms especially in places that depend a lot on tourism. The tourists shape the culture in these places since they are the ones who contribute to the economic success of the location. 

Tourism

1.     Tourism in Spain contributes to a significant portion of their national economy, making up about 7% of their GDP. They have the fifth largest income from tourism in the world, making around 85 billion dollars a year in revenue. Not surprisingly, Spain also is one of the most visited countries in the world (4^th) with 53 million visitors a year. Spain is a popular tourist destination year round, especially in the spring and summer and most commonly attracts tourists from the UK, Portugal, France, Germany, Central Europe, Scandinavia, and the United States.

2.     Spain has many different cities that contain a variety of tourist attractions and there is always something to do year round due to the large variance in climate and terrain.  Depending on what one likes to do, there are many different tourist attractions in Spain. In terms of historic national buildings to visit, there is: La Sagrada Família in Barcelona, La Alhambra in Granada, Royal Palace of Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado in Madrid, Mosque—Cathedral of Cordoba, La Alcazar in Sevilla, El Escorial in Madrid, La Giralda in Sevilla, and many more. If one is more adventurous, they can go party in Ibiza, go skiing in Sierra Nevada, or go dance and eat traditional foods at “La feria de abril” in Sevilla.

3.     Spain’s variation in terrain and climate also allows for a variety of national parks and wildlife. There are 15 national parks in Spain: Aigüestortes i Estany de Sant Maurici in Lleida, Cabrera Archipelago in the Balearic Islands, Cabañeros in Toledo, Caldera de Taburiente in La Palma (Canary Islands), Doñana in Huelva, Garajonay in La Gomera (Canary Islands),  Guadarrama in Madrid/Castille y León, Illas Atlanticas de Galicia in A Coruña and Pontevedra, Monfragüe in Caceres, Ordesa y Monte Perdido in Huesca, Picos de Europa in Asturias, Sierra Nevada in Granada, Tablas de Daimiel in Ciudad Real, Teide in Tenerife (Canary Islands), and Timanfaya in Las Palmas. Many of these parks are drastically different since they are in different regions, especially those in the Canary Islands since they are volcanic islands far away from the peninsula. One can go hiking, fishing, skiing, biking, and do much more in these landscapes that vary from green fields, to white, snowy mountains, to sandy, desert-like ranges, rivers, and beaches.

4.     Spain has some of the most famous museums in the world. Some famous ones are: Museo Nacional del Prado, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Museu Picasso, Guggenheim Museum, Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya, Dalí Theatre and Museum, Museum of Fine Arts of Seville, National Archaeological Museum of Spain, Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art, and Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando. These are only some examples of important museums in Spain and there are many more due to Spain’s rich history in art and in general. 

Spain Economics

Statistics of Spain’s Economic Measures:

1.     Spain’s GDP in 2013 was $1,358,687,000 which is a small improvement over Spain’s 2012 GDP of 2012 which was $1,323,214,000.

2.     Spain’s GDP per capita in 2013 was $29,150, an improvement over GDP per capita in 2012 which was $28,294.

3.     Life expectancy in Spain in 2013 was 79.0 years for men and 85.2 years for women with a total of 82.1 years

4.     In 2012, 21.1% of Spaniards lived below the poverty line.

5.     Literacy rates in Spain are 98.5% for males, 97% for females, and 97.7% total.

6.     The unemployment rate of Spain, as of October 2013, is 26.7%

7.     The inflation rate in Spain in March 2014 was -0.20%. From 1955 to 2014 the average inflation rate in Spain has been 7.18% with an all-time high of 28.43% in August of 1977 and an all-time low of -1.37% July 2009.

Spain’s resources:

1.     Spain’s natural resources include: coal, lignite, iron ore, uranium, mercury, pyrites, fluorspar, gypsum, zinc, lead, tungsten, copper, kaolin, potash, hydropower, arable land, and more. Spain’s climate varies throughout the country. The climate is generally considered to be Mediterranean, with dry, warm summers and cool, mild and somewhat wet winters. There are several mountain ranges throughout the country that offer a different climate from the norm as well as several coasts with varying temperatures. This diverse climate that is found in Spain allows for a large variety of different plants, animals, minerals, and other resources to be found throughout the country. Rainfall usually occurs during the winter and the climate makes it so that there is a variety of agricultural land for anything from strawberries to olives. The two main rivers in Spain are the Tagus River and the Guadalquivir and both are used extensively for transport of materials, recreation, energy, and more. Spain is also one of the most mineralized territories in Western Europe with massive deposits of sulfide, mercury, celestite, zinc, precious metals, pyrites, and other minerals.

2.     The total labor force in Spain was measured at 3232545.63 in 2010. The labor force consists of 43.1% female and 46.9% male. The labor force with a primary education is 44.5% with a female/male distribution of 38.7% and 48.9% respectively. The education system in Spain from the ages of 6-16 is supported completely by each regional government. The total enrollment in Spain is 5,917,074 with 2,479,631 in primary education, 1,871,430 in secondary education, and 1,566,013 in Post secondary. 45.4% of Spaniards have a secondary diploma and 38.1% have a post-secondary diploma.

3.   Spain’s GDP can be broken down into these percentages by sector: Agriculture (2.3%), energy (2.3%), industry (11.7%), construction (10.0%), services (66.6%). The main industries in Spain are: Tourism; factories such as textiles, shoes and clothing, food and drinks, machinery cars, chemicals and equipment; farming; fishing; and mining. With an economy based widely on tourism, the global economy and the climate/environment are very important for Spain’s economic success. Spain also has successful mining and agricultural sectors with large mercury mines and olive and orange plantations that help keep the economy thriving.