Market Research in Spain
Opportunities in Spain’s Economy
Spain has the thirteenth-largest economy in the world, and is a market leader in the Eurozone. Spain’s population is made up primarily of native Spaniards. One tenth of the population comprises immigrants from Latin America, North Africa, Eastern Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa. A sizeable portion of foreign residents also come from other Central and Western European countries.
The capital, Madrid, and Barcelona are the only two cities with populations exceeding one million. Over fifteen million people live in these major cities – almost one third of the nation’s population.
Most people speak at least one of the Romance languages, but Castilian Spanish is the only one that is recognized country-wide.
Spain’s Economy
The country’s exports are chiefly made up of manufactured products. More than half of Spain’s total exports are ships, semi-finished goods, pharmaceuticals, cars, and electronic devices. Spain is also the world’s third-largest exporter of vegetables, fruits and wine. Two-thirds of exports are shipped to countries in the European Union. Main export partners are Germany, France, Italy, China, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, the United States and Portugal.
Trade with Western European countries has progressively expanded since steps were taken in the 1960s to free up Spain’s economy. The United States, on the other hand, has shifted from being Spain’s most important trading partner in the 1970s to supplying less than five percent of imports and exports today.
Spain is home to a number of ports in several different regions. Examples include the Ports of Bilbao and Pasaia in the Basque Country, of Andalusia are Huelva, Cádiz, and El Puerto de Santa María on the Atlantic Ocean. The region of Asturias has two ports: Gijón and Avilés. The Balearic Islands have the ports of Mahon, Ibiza and Palma, while the Canary Islands have the Port of Las Palmas, the Port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Los Cristianos.
Examples of Spain’s busiest airports are Madrid Airport, Barcelona Airport, Palma de Mallorca Airport and Málaga Airport.
Global Significance
The geographical location of Spain makes it an attractive choice for foreign investors. Other benefits of doing business here are the stable political environment of the country and the highly-developed economy.
Since emerging from international isolation during the Franco era, Spain has become a central participant in global dealings as part of the European Union. Spain’s strong economic and cultural links to its former colonies provides unparalleled access to fast-growing markets in Latin America.
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