 |
Location: |
Southwestern
Europe, bordering the Bay of Biscay, Mediterranean Sea, and North Atlantic
Ocean, southwest of France |
| |
|
| Climate: |
temperate;
clear, hot summers in interior, more moderate and cloudy along coast; cloudy,
cold winters in interior, partly cloudy and cool along coast |
| Weather: |
4-day
forecast- Intellicast
3-day
forecast- Weather Channel |
| Population: |
39,107,912
(July 1997 est.) |
| Currency: |
1 peseta
(Pta) = 100 centimos
Exchange
rates and converter |
Alicante is the southernmost of the
three provinces which make up the Valencia region. Many tourist attractions
can be found along the coastline, including sport of all kinds, mountains,
castles, forests, etc. There are clearly defined areas in the province,
such as, Upper Marina, with the towns of Jávea, Teulada, Benitachell
and Calpe. Lower Marina, which is made up on the zone which centres around
Benidorm, includes Altea and Villajoyosa and also the foothills of the
Aitana Sierra (1,580m).
The central area of Alicante extends
inland towards the industrial area with the towns of Elche, Aspe, Movelda
and Elda. The southern area with the maritime towns of Guardamar, Torrevieja
and Orihuela with extensive plains of market gardens which extend inland.
The mountain area which includes the foothills of Aitana, Mariola and Carrasqueta
Sierras. Especially important is the route of the castles, made up of the
fortresses of Villena, Bañeres, Biar, Castalla, Sax and Benejama.
The city of Alicante offers the visitor
numerous beaches including San Juan, and also tourists should visit Santa
Barbara Castle, Monastery of Santa Faz, the Cathedral, the Archaeeological
Museum, Church of Santa Maria and the Modern Art Museum. Access to the
city is linked to the Mediterranean Highway which stretches to the French
border and runs through the main Spanish coastal cities. Regular flights
are available from El Altet airport to the world's main cities and the
port offers regular runs to Barcelona, the Balearic Islands, Canary Islands,
France and North Africa. |
| People |
| Population: |
14,986,218
(July 1997 est.) |
| Population
growth rate: |
0.06%
(1997 est.) |
| Birth
rate: |
9.94
births/1,000 population (1997 est.) |
| Death
rate: |
9.54
deaths/1,000 population (1997 est.) |
| Sex
ratio: |
at
birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female |
| Infant
mortality rate: |
6.6
deaths/1,000 live births (1997 est.) |
| Total
fertility rate: |
1.18
children born/woman (1997 est.) |
| Life
expectancy at birth: |
total
population: 77.39 years
male : 73.59 years
female: 81.46 years (1997 est.) |
| Literacy: |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 96%
male:98%
female: 94% (1986 est.) |
| Religions: |
Roman
Catholic 99%, other 1% |
| Nationality: |
noun:Spaniard(s)
adjective: Spanish |
| Languages: |
Castilian
Spanish 74%, Catalan 17%, Galician 7%, Basque 2% |
| Government |
| Country
name: |
conventional
long form : Kingdom of Spain
conventional short form:Spain |
| Data
code: |
SP |
| Government
type: |
parliamentary
monarchy |
| National
capital: |
Madrid |
| Independence: |
1492
(expulsion of the Moors and unification) |
| National
holiday: |
National
Day, 12 October |
| Legal
system: |
civil
law system, with regional applications; does not accept compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction |
| Suffrage: |
18
years of age; universal |
| Judicial
branch: |
Supreme
Court or Tribunal Supremo |
| Flag
description: |
three
horizontal bands of red (top), yellow (double width), and red with the
national coat of arms on the hoist side of the yellow band; the coat of
arms includes the royal seal framed by the Pillars of Hercules, which are
the two promontories (Gibraltar and Ceuta) on either side of the eastern
end of the Strait of Gibraltar |
| Economy |
| GDP: |
purchasing
power parity - $593 billion (1996 est.) |
| GDP
- real growth rate: |
2.4%
(1996 est.) |
| GDP
- per capita: |
purchasing
power parity - $15,300 (1996 est.) |
| GDP
- composition by sector: |
agriculture
: 3.6%
industry: 33.6%
services:62.8% (1995 est.) |
| Inflation
rate - consumer price index: |
3.7%
(1996 est.) |
| Labor
force: |
12.475
million |
| Unemployment
rate: |
22%
(1996 est.) |
| Budget: |
revenues:
$113 billion
expenditures: $139 billion,
including capital expenditures of $15 billion (1995) |
| Industries: |
textiles
and apparel (including footwear), food and beverages, metals and metal
manufactures, chemicals, shipbuilding, automobiles, machine tools, tourism |
| Industrial
production growth rate: |
5%
(1996 est.) |
| Agriculture
- products: |
grain,
vegetables, olives, wine grapes, sugar beets, citrus; beef, pork, poultry,
dairy products; fish catch of 866,831 metric tons in 1993 |
| Exports: |
total
value: $94.5 billion (f.o.b., 1995)
commodities: cars and trucks,
semifinished manufactured goods, foodstuffs, machinery (1994)
partners :EU 72.1%, US 4.2%,
other developed countries 7.9% (1996) |
| Imports: |
total
value: $118.3 billion (c.i.f., 1995)
commodities: machinery, transport
equipment, fuels, semifinished goods, foodstuffs, consumer goods, chemicals
(1994)
partners: EU 65.6%, US 6.6%,
other developed countries 11.5%, Middle East 6.2% (1996) |
| Debt
- external: |
$90
billion (1993 est.) |
| Currency: |
1
peseta (Pta) = 100 centimos |
| Communications |
| Telephones: |
12.6
million (1990 est.) |
| Telephone
system: |
generally
adequate, modern facilities domestic: NA international: 22 coaxial submarine
cables; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian
Ocean), NA Eutelsat, NA Inmarsat, and NA Marecs; tropospheric scatter to
adjacent countries |
| Radio
broadcast stations: |
AM
190, FM 406 (repeaters 134), shortwave 0 |
| Radios: |
12
million (1992 est.) |
| Televisions: |
15.7
million (1992 est.) |
| Transportation |
| Railways: |
total:
14,343 km |
| Highways: |
total:
343,197 km |
| Waterways: |
1,045
km, but of minor economic importance |
| Ports
and harbors: |
Aviles,
Barcelona, Bilbao, Cadiz, Cartagena, Castellon de la Plana, Ceuta, Huelva,
La Coruna, Las Palmas (Canary Islands), Malaga, Melilla, Pasajes, Gijon,
Santa Cruz de Tenerife (Canary Islands), Santander, Tarragona, Valencia,
Vigo |
| Transnational
Issues |
| Disputes
- international: |
Gibraltar
question with UK; Spain controls five places of sovereignty (plazas de
soberania) on and off the coast of Morocco - the coastal enclaves of Ceuta
and Melilla, which Morocco contests, as well as the islands of Penon de
Alhucemas, Penon de Velez de la Gomera, and Islas Chafarinas |
| Illicit
drugs: |
key
European gateway country for Latin American cocaine and North African hashish
entering the European market; transshipment point for and consumer of Southwest
Asian heroin |
|
