Spain: Economy#

After experiencing a prolonged recession in the wake of the global financial crisis that began in 2008, in 2014 Spain marked the first full year of positive economic growth in seven years, largely due to increased private consumption. At the onset of the financial crisis, Spain's GDP contracted by 3.7% in 2009, ending a 16-year growth trend, and continued contracting through most of 2013. In 2013, the government successfully shored up struggling banks - exposed to the collapse of Spain's depressed real estate and construction sectors - and in January 2014 completed an EU-funded restructuring and recapitalization program.

Until 2014, credit contraction in the private sector, fiscal austerity, and high unemployment weighed on domestic consumption and investment. The unemployment rate rose from a low of about 8% in 2007 to more than 26% in 2013, but labor reforms prompted a modest reduction to 22% in 2015. High unemployment strained Spain's public finances, as spending on social benefits increased while tax revenues fell. Spain’s budget deficit peaked at 11.4% of GDP in 2010, but Spain gradually reduced the deficit to just under 7% of GDP in 2013-14, and 4.7% of GDP in 2015. Public debt has increased substantially – from 60.1% of GDP in 2010 to nearly 101% in 2015.

Exports were resilient throughout the economic downturn and helped to bring Spain's current account into surplus in 2013 for the first time since 1986, where it remained in 2014-15. Rising labor productivity and an internal devaluation resulting from moderating labor costs and lower inflation have helped to improve foreign investor interest in the economy and positive FDI flows have been restored.

The government's efforts to implement labor, pension, healthcare, tax, and education reforms - aimed at supporting investor sentiment - have become overshadowed by political activity in 2015 in anticipation of the national parliamentary elections in December. The European Commission criticized Spain’s 2016 budget for its easing of austerity measures and its alleged overly optimistic growth and deficit projections. Spain’s borrowing costs are dramatically lower since their peak in mid-2012, and despite the recent uptick in economic activity, inflation has dropped sharply, from 1.5% in 2013 to a negative 0.6% in 2015.

Economic Facts#

GDP (purchasing power parity)	$1.69 trillion (2016 est.) $1.64 trillion (2015 est.) $1.589 trillion (2014 est.) note: data are in 2016 dollars
GDP (official exchange rate)	$1.252 trillion (2015 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	3.1% (2016 est.) 3.2% (2015 est.) 1.4% (2014 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP)	$36,500 (2016 est.) $35,300 (2015 est.) $34,200 (2014 est.) note: data are in 2016 dollars
Gross national saving	22.9% of GDP (2016 est.) 22.1% of GDP (2015 est.) 20.8% of GDP (2014 est.)
GDP - composition, by end use	household consumption: 57.2% government consumption: 19% investment in fixed capital: 20.8% investment in inventories: 0.1% exports of goods and services: 32.2% imports of goods and services: -29.3% (2016 est.)
GDP - composition, by sector of origin	agriculture: 2.5% industry: 22.4% services: 75.1% (2016 est.)
Agriculture - products	grain, vegetables, olives, wine grapes, sugar beets, citrus; beef, pork, poultry, dairy products; fish
Industries	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
Industrial production growth rate	2% (2016 est.)
Labor force	22.89 million (2016 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: 4.2% industry: 24% services: 71.7% (2009 est.)
Unemployment rate	19.7% (2016 est.) 22.1% (2015 est.)
Population below poverty line	21.1% (2012 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: 2.5% highest 10%: 24% (2011)
Distribution of family income - Gini index	35.9 (2012) 32 (2005)
Budget	revenues: $461.3 billion expenditures: $512.9 billion (2016 est.)
Taxes and other revenues	36.8% of GDP (2016 est.)
Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)	-4.1% of GDP (2016 est.)
Public debt	99.6% of GDP (2016 est.) 99.2% of GDP (2015 est.)
Fiscal year	calendar year
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	-0.3% (2016 est.) -0.6% (2015 est.)
Central bank discount rate	0.05% (10 September 2014) 0.25% (13 November 2013) note: this is the European Central Bank's rate on the marginal lending facility, which offers overnight credit to banks in the euro area
Commercial bank prime lending rate	2.4% (31 December 2016 est.) 2.74% (31 December 2015 est.)
Stock of narrow money	$827.3 billion (31 December 2016 est.) $745 billion (31 December 2015 est.) note: see entry for the European Union for money supply for the entire euro area; the European Central Bank (ECB) controls monetary policy for the 18 members of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU); individual members of the EMU do not control the quantity of
Stock of broad money	$1.257 trillion (31 December 2015 est.) $1.369 trillion (31 December 2014 est.)
Stock of domestic credit	$2.135 trillion (31 December 2016 est.) $2.279 trillion (31 December 2015 est.)
Market value of publicly traded shares	$787.2 billion (31 December 2015 est.) $992.9 billion (31 December 2014 est.) $1.117 trillion (31 December 2013 est.)
Current account balance	$24.29 billion (2016 est.) $16.7 billion (2015 est.)
Exports	$266.3 billion (2016 est.) $277.9 billion (2015 est.)
Exports - commodities	machinery, motor vehicles; foodstuffs, pharmaceuticals, medicines, other consumer goods
Exports - partners	France 15.7%, Germany 11%, Italy 7.4%, UK 7.4%, Portugal 7.1%, US 4.5% (2015)
Imports	$287.9 billion (2016 est.) $302.6 billion (2015 est.)
Imports - commodities	machinery and equipment, fuels, chemicals, semi-finished goods, foodstuffs, consumer goods, measuring and medical control instruments
Imports - partners	Germany 14.4%, France 11.7%, China 7.1%, Italy 6.5%, Netherlands 5%, UK 4.9% (2015)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold	$53.97 billion (31 December 2015 est.) $50.35 billion (31 December 2014 est.)
Debt - external	$2.094 trillion (31 March 2016 est.) $1.963 trillion (31 March 2015 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home	$781.4 billion (31 December 2016 est.) $758.7 billion (31 December 2015 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad	$770.3 billion (31 December 2016 est.) $720.6 billion (31 December 2015 est.)
Exchange rates	euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.9214 (2016 est.) 0.885 (2015 est.) 0.7525 (2014 est.) 0.7634 (2013 est.) 0.7752 (2012 est.)