Spain

Southwestern Europe, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, North Atlantic Ocean, Bay of Biscay, and Pyrenees Mountains; southwest of France

40 00 N, 4 00 W

Europe

505,370 sq km

498,980 sq km

6,390 sq km

Almost five times the size of Kentucky; slightly more than twice the size of Oregon

1,952.7 km

Andorra 63 km; France 646 km; Gibraltar 1.2 km; Portugal 1,224 km; Morocco (Ceuta) 8 km and Morocco (Melilla) 10.5 km

4,964 km

12 nm

24 nm

200 nm (applies only to the Atlantic Ocean)

Temperate; clear, hot summers in interior, more moderate and cloudy along coast; cloudy, cold winters in interior, partly cloudy and cool along coast

Large, flat to dissected plateau surrounded by rugged hills; Pyrenees Mountains in north

Pico de Teide (Tenerife) on Canary Islands 3,718 m

Atlantic Ocean 0 m

660 m

Coal, lignite, iron ore, copper, lead, zinc, uranium, tungsten, mercury, pyrites, magnesite, fluorspar, gypsum, sepiolite, kaolin, potash, hydropower, arable land

49.6% (2023 est.)

Arable land: 23% (2023 est.)

Permanent crops: 10.2% (2023 est.)

Permanent pasture: 19.8% (2023 est.)

38.2% (2023 est.)

12.3% (2023 est.)

38,012 sq km (2022)

Tagus river source (shared with Portugal [m]) - 1,006 km note: [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth

With the notable exception of Madrid, Sevilla, and Zaragoza, the largest urban agglomerations are found along the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts; numerous smaller cities are spread throughout the interior; very dense settlement around the capital of Madrid, as well as the port city of Barcelona

Periodic droughts, occasional flooding volcanism: volcanic activity in the Canary Islands, located off Africa's northwest coast; Teide (3,715 m) has been deemed a Decade Volcano by the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior, worthy of study due to its explosive history and close proximity to human populations; La Palma (2,426 m) is the most active of the Canary Islands volcanoes; Lanzarote is the only other historically active volcano

Strategic location along approaches to Strait of Gibraltar; Spain controls a number of territories in northern Morocco, including the enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla and the islands of Penon de Velez de la Gomera, Penon de Alhucemas, and Islas Chafarinas; Spain's Canary Islands are one of four North Atlantic archipelagos that make up Macaronesia; the others are the Azores (Portugal), Madeira (Portugal), and Cabo Verde

47,280,433 (2024 est.)

23,069,327

24,211,106

Spaniard(s)

Spanish

Spanish 84.8%, Moroccan 1.7%, Romanian 1.2%, other 12.3% (2021 est.)

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

La Libreta Informativa del Mundo, la fuente indispensable de información básica. (Spanish) The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.

Roman Catholic 58.2%, atheist 16.2%, agnostic 10.8%, other 2.7%, non-believer 10.5%, unspecified 1.7% (2021 est.)

13% (male 3,147,019/female 3,012,821)

66.1% (male 15,662,492/female 15,585,138)

20.9% (2024 est.) (male 4,259,816/female 5,613,147)

51.3 (2024 est.)

19.7 (2024 est.)

31.6 (2024 est.)

3.2 (2024 est.)

47.2 years (2025 est.)

45.7 years

47.8 years

0.12% (2025 est.)

7.16 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)

9.98 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)

3.98 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)

With the notable exception of Madrid, Sevilla, and Zaragoza, the largest urban agglomerations are found along the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts; numerous smaller cities are spread throughout the interior; very dense settlement around the capital of Madrid, as well as the port city of Barcelona

81.6% of total population (2023)

0.24% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

6.751 million MADRID (capital), 5.687 million Barcelona, 838,000 Valencia (2023)

1.05 male(s)/female

1.04 male(s)/female

1 male(s)/female

0.76 male(s)/female

0.95 male(s)/female (2024 est.)

31.2 years (2020 est.)

3 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)

2.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.)

2.7 deaths/1,000 live births

2.1 deaths/1,000 live births

83 years (2024 est.)

80.3 years

85.8 years

1.32 children born/woman (2025 est.)

0.65 (2025 est.)

Urban: 99.9% of population (2022 est.)

Rural: 100% of population (2022 est.)

Total: 99.9% of population (2022 est.)

Urban: 0.1% of population (2022 est.)

Rural: 0% of population (2022 est.)

Total: 0.1% of population (2022 est.)

10.7% of GDP (2021)

15.2% of national budget (2022 est.)

4.29 physicians/1,000 population (2022)

2.9 beds/1,000 population (2021 est.)

Urban: 100% of population (2022 est.)

Rural: 100% of population (2022 est.)

Total: 100% of population (2022 est.)

Urban: 0% of population (2022 est.)

Rural: 0% of population (2022 est.)

Total: 0% of population (2022 est.)

23.8% (2016)

10.72 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

4.67 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

3.52 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

2.34 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

0.19 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

23.9% (2025 est.)

25.8% (2025 est.)

22% (2025 est.)

50.2% (2021 est.)

4.6% of GDP (2022 est.)

9.9% national budget (2022 est.)

99.7% (2021 est.)

99.8% (2021 est.)

99.6% (2021 est.)

18 years (2023 est.)

17 years (2023 est.)

18 years (2023 est.)

Pollution of the Mediterranean Sea from raw sewage and effluents from oil and gas production; drought; air pollution; deforestation; desertification

Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Heavy Metals, Air Pollution-Multi-effect Protocol, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Marine Dumping-London Protocol, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling

None of the selected agreements

Temperate; clear, hot summers in interior, more moderate and cloudy along coast; cloudy, cold winters in interior, partly cloudy and cool along coast

49.6% (2023 est.)

Arable land: 23% (2023 est.)

Permanent crops: 10.2% (2023 est.)

Permanent pasture: 19.8% (2023 est.)

38.2% (2023 est.)

12.3% (2023 est.)

81.6% of total population (2023)

0.24% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

254.823 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)

13.39 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)

182.327 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)

59.105 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)

8.3 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

22.409 million tons (2024 est.)

27.7% (2022 est.)

4.56 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

5.5 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

18.96 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

111.5 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

18 (2025)

Basque Coast UNESCO; Cabo de Gata-Níjar; Cabo Ortegal; Calatrava Volcanoes. Ciudad Real; Central Catalonia; Costa Quebrada; Courel Mountains; El Hierro; Granada; Lanzarote and Chinijo Islands; Las Loras; Maestrazgo; Molina-Alto; Origens; Sierra Norte de Sevilla; Sierras Subbéticas; Sobrarbe-Pirineos: Villuercas Ibores Jara (2025)

Kingdom of Spain

Spain

Reino de España

España

Derivation of the name España is uncertain; the Basque words ezpain or espan ("edge," as in a river bank) are possible sources, or the Punic word span, meaning "rabbit;" some academics tie it to the god Hesperus from Greco-Roman mythology

Parliamentary constitutional monarchy

Madrid

40 24 N, 3 41 W

UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

+1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October

Spain has two time zones, including the Canary Islands (UTC 0)

The meaning and origin of the name is unclear; the city grew from a small Moorish fort that was called Majerit in the first recorded mention in A.D. 932; some trace the modern-day name back to the Roman era, with the Latin word materia (materials) as a possible source

17 autonomous communities (comunidades autonomas, singular - comunidad autonoma) and 2 autonomous cities* (ciudades autonomas, singular - ciudad autonoma); Andalucia; Aragon; Asturias; Canarias (Canary Islands); Cantabria; Castilla-La Mancha; Castilla-Leon; Cataluña (Castilian), Catalunya (Catalan), Catalonha (Aranese) [Catalonia]; Ceuta*; Comunidad Valenciana (Castilian), Comunitat Valenciana (Valencian) [Valencian Community]; Extremadura; Galicia; Illes Baleares (Balearic Islands); La Rioja; Madrid; Melilla*; Murcia; Navarra (Castilian), Nafarroa (Basque) [Navarre]; Pais Vasco (Castilian), Euskadi (Basque) [Basque Country]

Civil law system with regional variations

Several previous; latest approved by the General Courts 31 October 1978, passed by referendum 6 December 1978, signed by the king 27 December 1978, effective 29 December 1978

Proposed by the government, by the General Courts (the Congress or the Senate), or by the self-governing communities submitted through the government; passage requires three-fifths majority vote by both houses and passage by referendum if requested by one tenth of the members of either house; proposals disapproved by both houses are submitted to a joint committee, which submits an agreed upon text for another vote; passage requires two-thirds majority vote in Congress and simple majority vote in the Senate

Accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

No

At least one parent must be a citizen of Spain

Only with select Latin American countries

10 years for persons with no ties to Spain

18 years of age; universal

King FELIPE VI (since 19 June 2014)

President of the Government of Spain (prime minister-equivalent) Pedro SANCHEZ PEREZ-CASTEJON (since 2 June 2018)

Council of Ministers designated by the president

The monarchy is hereditary; following legislative elections, the monarch usually proposes as president the leader of the majority party or coalition, who is then indirectly elected by the Congress of Deputies; vice president and Council of Ministers appointed by the president

23 July 2023

Congress of Deputies vote - 179 to 171 (16 November 2023)

31 July 2027

The Cortes (Las Cortes Generales)

Bicameral

Congress of Deputies (Congreso de los Diputados)

350 (all directly elected)

Proportional representation

Full renewal

4 years

7/23/2023

People's Party (PP) (136); Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) (122); Vox (33); SUMAR (31); Other (28)

44.3%

July 2027

Senate (Senado)

265 (208 directly elected; 57 indirectly elected)

Mixed system

Full renewal

4 years

7/23/2023

People's Party (PP) (120); Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) (72); Other (16)

42.5%

July 2027

Supreme Court or Tribunal Supremo (consists of the court president and organized into the Civil Room, with a president and 9 judges; the Penal Room, with a president and 14 judges; the Administrative Room, with a president and 32 judges; the Social Room, with a president and 12 judges; and the Military Room, with a president and 7 judges); Constitutional Court or Tribunal Constitucional de Espana (consists of 12 judges)

Supreme Court judges appointed by the monarch from candidates proposed by the General Council of the Judiciary Power, a 20-member governing board chaired by the monarch; judges can serve until age 70; Constitutional Court judges nominated by the National Assembly, executive branch, and the General Council of the Judiciary, and appointed by the monarch for 9-year terms

National High Court; High Courts of Justice (in each of the autonomous communities); provincial courts; courts of first instance

Asturias Forum or FAC Basque Country Unite (Euskal Herria Bildu) or EH Bildu (coalition of 4 Basque pro-independence parties) Basque Nationalist Party or PNV or EAJ Canarian Coalition or CC (coalition of 5 parties) Ciudadanos Party (Citizens Party) or Cs Compromis - Compromise Coalition Navarrese People's Union or UPN Together for Catalonia or Junts People's Party or PP Republican Left of Catalonia or ERC Spanish Socialist Workers Party or PSOE Teruel Existe or TE Unidas (Unite) or Sumar (electoral coalition formed in March 2022) (formerly Unidas Podemos or UP) Vox or VOX

Ambassador Ángeles MORENO Bau (since 27 February 2024)

2375 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20037

[1] (202) 452-0100

[1] (202) 833-5670

Emb.washington@maec.es https://www.exteriores.gob.es/Embajadas/washington/en/Paginas/index.aspx

Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco, San Juan (Puerto Rico)

Ambassador (vacant); Chargé d’Affaires Rian Harker HARRIS (since 15 July 2024); note - also accredited to Andorra

Calle de Serrano, 75, 28006 Madrid

8500 Madrid Place, Washington DC 20521-8500

[34] (91) 587-2200

[34] (91) 587-2303

AskACS@state.gov https://es.usembassy.gov/

Barcelona

ADB (nonregional member), AfDB (nonregional member), Arctic Council (observer), Australia Group, BCIE, BIS, CABEI, CAN (observer), CBSS (observer), CD, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECB, EIB, EITI (implementing country), EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, FATF, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), LAIA (observer), MIGA, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Pacific Alliance (observer), Paris Club, PCA, PIF (partner), Schengen Convention, SELEC (observer), SICA (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, Union Latina, UNOCI, UNOOSA, UNRWA, UNWTO, UPU, Wassenaar Arrangement, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

1492

National Day (Hispanic Day), 12 October (1492)

Description: three horizontal bands of red (top), yellow (double-width), and red, with the national coat of arms on the left side of the yellow band; the coat of arms shows the emblems of the area's former kingdoms (clockwise from upper left: Castile, Leon, Navarre, and Aragon), which also used red and yellow as their colors; the stylized pomegranate at the bottom of the shield represents Granada; the two columns represent the Pillars of Hercules, which are promontories (Gibraltar and Ceuta) on the Strait of Gibraltar; a red scroll bears the imperial motto of "Plus Ultra" (further beyond), referring to Spanish lands outside Europe

Pillars of Hercules

Red, yellow

"Himno Nacional Espanol" (National Anthem of Spain)

No lyrics/unknown

Adopted 1942;officially in use between 1770 and 1931, restored in 1939; the Spanish anthem was the first to be officially adopted; it first appeared in a 1761 military bugle-call book and was replaced by "Himno de Riego" in the years between 1931 and 1939; the long version of the anthem is used for the king, and the short version is used for the prince, prime minister, and occasions such as sporting events

50 (44 cultural, 4 natural, 2 mixed)

Cave of Altamira and Paleolithic Cave Art of Northern Spain (c); Works of Antoni Gaudí (c); Santiago de Compostela (Old Town) (c); Historic City of Toledo (c); Archaeological Ensemble of Mérida (c); Tower of Hercules (c); Doñana National Park (n); Pyrénées - Mont Perdu (m); Alhambra, Generalife, and Albayzín in Granada (c); Old City of Salamanca (c); Teide National Park (n); Historic Walled Town of Cuenca (c); Old Town of Segovia and its Aqueduct (c); Historic Cordoba (c); Royal Site of Saint Lorenzo de El Escorial (c); Cathedral, Alcázar, and Archivo de Indias in Seville

High-income, core-EU and eurozone economy; strong growth driven by public consumption, tourism, and other service exports; tight labor market despite high structural unemployment; efforts to narrow persistent fiscal deficits through tax and spending measures; high but declining unemployment supported by job growth and immigration

$2.361 trillion (2024 est.)

$2.289 trillion (2023 est.)

$2.229 trillion (2022 est.)

3.2% (2024 est.)

2.7% (2023 est.)

6.2% (2022 est.)

$48,400 (2024 est.)

$47,300 (2023 est.)

$46,600 (2022 est.)

$1.723 trillion (2024 est.)

2.8% (2024 est.)

3.5% (2023 est.)

8.4% (2022 est.)

2.5% (2024 est.)

19.5% (2024 est.)

69.1% (2024 est.)

54.3% (2023 est.)

19.5% (2023 est.)

19.7% (2023 est.)

1.3% (2023 est.)

38.1% (2023 est.)

-34.1% (2023 est.)

Milk, olives, pork, grapes, wheat, tomatoes, barley, sugar beets, maize, oranges (2023)

Textiles and apparel (including footwear), food and beverages, metals and metal manufactures, chemicals, shipbuilding, automobiles, machine tools, tourism, clay and refractory products, footwear, pharmaceuticals, medical equipment

2.6% (2024 est.)

24.386 million (2024 est.)

11.4% (2024 est.)

12.2% (2023 est.)

13% (2022 est.)

27% (2024 est.)

26.4% (2024 est.)

27.7% (2024 est.)

20.2% (2022 est.)

33.6 (2022 est.)

12.9% of household expenditures (2023 est.)

4% of household expenditures (2023 est.)

2.3% (2022 est.)

24.8% (2022 est.)

0.4% of GDP (2024 est.)

0.3% of GDP (2023 est.)

0.3% of GDP (2022 est.)

$512.57 billion (2023 est.)

$549.772 billion (2023 est.)

107.3% of GDP (2023 est.)

15% (of GDP) (2023 est.)

$52.182 billion (2024 est.)

$43.012 billion (2023 est.)

$4.482 billion (2022 est.)

$642.358 billion (2024 est.)

$616.648 billion (2023 est.)

$573.598 billion (2022 est.)

France 15%, Germany 10%, Portugal 9%, Italy 9%, UK 6% (2023)

Cars, packaged medicine, refined petroleum, vehicle parts/accessories, garments (2023)

$568.502 billion (2024 est.)

$552.948 billion (2023 est.)

$561.448 billion (2022 est.)

Germany 11%, China 10%, France 10%, Italy 7%, USA 7% (2023)

Crude petroleum, cars, garments, vehicle parts/accessories, natural gas (2023)

$107.774 billion (2024 est.)

$103.089 billion (2023 est.)

$92.905 billion (2022 est.)

Euros (EUR) per US dollar -

0.924 (2024 est.)

0.925 (2023 est.)

0.95 (2022 est.)

0.845 (2021 est.)

0.876 (2020 est.)

100% (2022 est.)

130.366 million kW (2023 est.)

227.187 billion kWh (2023 est.)

25.279 billion kWh (2023 est.)

11.315 billion kWh (2023 est.)

24.532 billion kWh (2023 est.)

28% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)

20.4% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)

17.3% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)

23.6% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)

8.5% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)

2.2% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)

7 (2025)

7.12GW (2025 est.)

20.3% (2023 est.)

3 (2025)

1.28 million metric tons (2023 est.)

7.388 million metric tons (2023 est.)

1.629 million metric tons (2023 est.)

9.798 million metric tons (2023 est.)

1.187 billion metric tons (2023 est.)

47,000 bbl/day (2023 est.)

1.325 million bbl/day (2024 est.)

150 million barrels (2021 est.)

34.124 million cubic meters (2023 est.)

29.041 billion cubic meters (2023 est.)

6.576 billion cubic meters (2023 est.)

35.252 billion cubic meters (2023 est.)

2.549 billion cubic meters (2021 est.)

101.12 million Btu/person (2023 est.)

18.431 million (2023 est.)

38 (2023 est.)

61.2 million (2023 est.)

124 (2022 est.)

Mix of publicly operated and privately owned TV and radio stations; hundreds of TV channels available, including national, regional, local, public, and international channels; satellite and cable TV available; multiple national radio networks, large number of regional radio networks, and larger number of local radio stations (2019)

.es

95% (2023 est.)

18.2 million (2023 est.)

38 (2023 est.)

EC

365 (2025)

162 (2025)

15,489 km (2020) 9,953 km electrified

503 (2023)

Bulk carrier 1, general cargo 33, oil tanker 24, other 445

52 (2024)

3

14

9

24

2

13

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

Spanish Armed Forces (Fuerzas Armadas de España): Army (Ejército de Tierra), Spanish Navy (Armada Espanola; includes Marine Corps), Air and Space Force (Ejército del Aire y del Espacio), Emergency Response Unit (Unidad Militar de Emergencias); Civil Guard (Guardia Civil) Ministry of the Interior: Spanish National Police (Cuerpo Nacional de Policía, CNP) (2025)

2% of GDP (2025 est.)

1.4% of GDP (2024 est.)

1.2% of GDP (2023 est.)

1.1% of GDP (2022 est.)

1% of GDP (2021 est.)

Approximately 120,000 active-duty military personnel; approximately 80,000 Guardia Civil (2025)

The military's inventory is comprised of weapons and equipment that were produced domestically, co-produced with or imported from other European countries, or acquired from the US; key suppliers of major armaments include Germany and the US; Spain's defense industry manufactures land, air, and sea weapons systems and is integrated within the European defense-industrial sector (2025)

18 years of age for voluntary military service for men and women (upper age limits depend on branch of service, roles, specialties, etc); 24-36 month initial obligation; no conscription, but the Spanish Government retains the right to mobilize citizens 19-25 years of age in a national emergency; 18-58 for the voluntary reserves (2026)

Spain has up to 3,000 military personnel deployed on 17 missions supporting the EU, NATO, and the UN on four continents, as well as naval missions in the Mediterranean and the seas off the Horn of Africa; its largest deployments are up to 700 troops in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and about 1,700 personnel in Eastern Europe supporting NATO missions in Latvia, Romania, and Slovakia (2025)

The Spanish military has a wide range of responsibilities, including protecting the country’s national interests, sovereignty, and territory, providing support during natural disasters, and fulfilling Spain’s responsibilities to European and international security; it maintains garrisons in the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands, Ceuta, and Melilla, conducts operations worldwide, and participates in a variety of EU-, NATO-, and UN-led missions; Spain joined NATO in 1982 and is fully integrated into the NATO structure; it routinely conducts exercises with NATO (and EU) partners, and hosts one of NATO’s two combined air operations centers the Spanish military's history goes back to the 13th century; the Army has an infantry regiment, formed in the 13th century, that is considered the oldest still active military unit in the Western world; the Marine Corps, which traces its roots back to 1537, is the oldest naval infantry force in the world; Spain created a Spanish Legion for foreigners in 1920, but early on the Legion was primarily filled by native Spaniards due to difficulties in recruiting foreigners, and most of its foreign members were from the Republic of Cuba; it was modeled after the French Foreign Legion and its purpose was to provide a corps of professional troops to fight in Spain's colonial campaigns in North Africa; in more recent years, it has been used in NATO peacekeeping deployments; today’s Legion includes a mix of native Spaniards and foreigners with Spanish residency (2025)

Spanish Space Agency (AEE; became operational in 2023); Center for the Development of Industrial Technology (CDTI) (2025)

El Arenosillo Test Center/Range (Andalusia) (2025)

Space program dates back to the 1940s; manufactures and operates communications, remote sensing (RS), and scientific/technology satellites; has developed sounding rockets; conducts research and development in a broad range of space-related capabilities, including astrobiology, astronomy, imaging/RS, meteorology, optics, propulsion, robotics, satellites (particularly micro- and nano-satellites), and satellite launch vehicles; program is integrated into the ESA; also participates in EU space programs; hosts the European Space Astronomy Center (ESOC) and the ESA’s Space Surveillance and Tracking Data Centre (ESAC); cooperates with foreign space agencies and industries, including the US; has an active commercial space industry (2025)

1960s - began working with the US/NASA and the European Space Research Organization (ESRO), the forerunner of the ESA; sounding rocket program (ended in the 1990s) 1974 - first satellite (IntaSat) launched by US 1990s - satellite launch vehicle (SLV) development program (canceled in 2000) 1992 - first communications satellite (Hispasat 1A) launched on European rocket 1998 - first astronaut in space on US Space Shuttle 2018 - first synthetic-aperture-radar, remote-sensing/reconnaissance satellite (Paz) launched by US 2023 - Spanish built Miuri-1 becomes first European private rocket to reach space; joined US-led Artemis Accords for space and lunar exploration 2025 - communications satellite (SpainSat NG 1) with advanced security technology launched by US

Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS); al-Qa’ida

693,298 (2024 est.)

3,960 (2024 est.)

10,164 (2024 est.)