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Spanish Culture, EU, Economy, and Education Notes

Vocabulario

  • Hipoteca - Mortgage
  • Emigration vs Immigration

Celebraciones (Celebrations)

  • Encierro de Pamplona
    • Started in the 14th Century
    • Plaza de Toros (Bullring)
    • Ganadores (Winners): Attempt to run in front of the bulls
    • Fiesta de San Fermín
  • La Tomatina
    • In Valencia (in August)
    • Noche anterior: Fiesta en la calle (La Noche de la Empaluna) - Street party the night before
    • Jamón en un postre (Ham on a post): When someone captures it, La Tomatina begins
    • 1 hour duration
  • Feria de Málaga
    • Celebrates the reconquest of Málaga by the Catholic Monarchs.
    • “Feria de Agosto” (August Fair)
  • Feria de Abril
    • Capital of Andalucía, Sevilla
    • 2 weeks after Semana Santa (Holy Week)
    • Feria de Ganado (Livestock Fair) – its origin
    • 1 night: Feria de Alumbrado (Lighting festival)
    • 1 Week: Citizens drink ferez, manzanilla, wine, Gazpacho, and salmorejo every day
    • Traditional dances, clothing

Union Europea (European Union - EU)

  • Evolución de la UE (Evolution of the EU)
    • 1951: (CECA) Comunidad Europea del Carbón y del Acero (European Coal and Steel Community). Start of a new integration phase after WWII.
      • Member states: France, Germany, Italy, BENELUX (Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg)
    • 1957: (CEE) Comunidad Económica Europea (European Economic Community). (CEEA) Comunidad Europea de la Energía Atómica (European Atomic Energy Community).
      • Same member states as CECA.
    • 1965: The three communities unite into the EU.
    • 1973: First enlargement: Denmark, Ireland, United Kingdom (left in 2020)
    • 1980: + Greece
    • 1986: Acta Única Europea (Single European Act). Third enlargement - Spain and Portugal
    • 1992: + Austria, Finland, Sweden
    • 2000: Tratado de Niza (Treaty of Nice). Establishes the institutional bases for future enlargements. Initially rejected by a referendum in Ireland but later ratified in 2002.
    • 2002: + Bulgaria, Romania
    • 2013: + Croatia
    • 2009: Tratado de Lisboa (Treaty of Lisbon)
    • 2022: Ucrania (Ukraine) submitted its candidacy
  • Criterios para ser Estados miembros (Criteria for being member states)
    • Estabilidad (Stability)
    • Garantía de democracia (Guarantee of democracy)
    • Adherence to the political, economic, and monetary objectives of the EU
  • EU: The Institutions
    • Comisión Europea (European Commission)
    • Consejo Europeo (European Council)
    • Consejo de Ministros (Council of Ministers)
    • Parlamento Europeo (European Parliament)
    • Tribunal de Justicia de la Unión Europea (Court of Justice of the European Union)
    • Tribunal de Cuentas (Court of Auditors)
    • Banco Central Europeo y sistema Europeo de bancos (European Central Bank and European System of Banks)

Economía Española Actual (Current Spanish Economy)

  • 2001: Euro adoption → most powerful currency, prices increased (rounding)
  • 2008: Global economic crisis - Increased unemployment, especially among young people. Increase in exports.
  • Thanks to community structural funds, agriculture has been modernized
  • Agricultura ecológica en España (Organic Agriculture in Spain)
    • Spain is one of the largest producers and exporters of organic agriculture in Europe.
  • Industria (Industry)
    • In the 80s, significant opening to the exterior.
    • Large private and public investment.
    • Parques tecnológicos (Technology parks): Telecommunications, IT, etc.
    • Greatest industrial concentration: Madrid, Cataluña, and Valencia.
    • The most active industrial sectors are automobiles, textiles, pharmaceuticals, electrical appliances, which, along with fruits and vegetables, account for 40% of foreign sales.
    • Some companies: Freixenet, Lladró, Zara, Mango, Iberia, Telefónica (Movistar).
  • El Sector Exterior (The External Sector)
    • The main external market is the US (74% of exports)
    • Followed by Hispanoamérica (Hispanic America) and the USA
  • Principales fuentes de la economía Española (Main sources of the Spanish economy):
    • Transporte (Transport)
    • Sector farmacéutico (Pharmaceutical sector)
    • Biotecnología (Biotechnology)
    • Energía renovables (Renewable energy)

Transporte (Transport)

  • Spain has the second-largest high-speed train network in the world, after China.
  • IBERIA: Airline company
  • La compañía Trasmediterránea

Tecnología de las Comunidades (Technology of the Communities)

  • Telefónica
    • Since 2006: More mobiles than inhabitants
    • Español (Spanish) is the third most used language on the internet.
    • España (Spain) also participates in the ESA (European Space Agency)

Energía (Energy)

  • As an alternative to coal, Spain imports natural gas mainly from Algeria until 2022.
  • The national oil company has become the international oil and gas company: Repsol-YPF, which currently has a significant presence in Europe, Africa, and Hispanoamérica.

Datos 2023-2025: Economía Actual (Data 2023-2025: Current Economy)

  • Crecimiento del PIB en 2024 (GDP growth in 2024): 3.2%
  • Economía (Economy) 15th in the world, by GDP volume
  • Deuda pública en 2023 (Public debt in 2023): 1575372 million euros
  • Deuda (Debt) of 105% of GDP
  • One of the countries with the highest unemployment rates in the world.

Empleo (Employment)

  • Not very stable
  • Coste de vivir (Cost of living) is too high
    • #1 unemployment in the EU
    • Emigrantes (Emigrants)
  • Tasa de paro actual (Current unemployment rate)
    • DIC 2024: España lidera desempleo en la UE (Spain leads unemployment in the EU)
    • Desempleo juvenil también España (Youth unemployment also in Spain)
  • EE.UU. (USA)
    • In 2022, real estate purchases by Americans increased by 36.64% according to The Hispanic Council.
    • > 50k U.S. residents in Spain
    • > 170k Spaniards reside in the U.S.
    • 32.6 average age of motherhood
    • Esperanza de vida (Life expectancy): ♀ 85.8 | ♂ 80.3
    • Nombres más populares (Most popular names): Lucia/Martin
    • 49.25% born to single mothers
    • En 2024: Renta media por hogar (Average household income) → 422696

Población (Population)

  • 49077984: Andalucía, Cataluña, and Madrid are the most popular.

Turismo (Tourism)

  • Cultural
    • Camino de Santiago, Ruta de la lengua Castellana, Ruta del Quijote
  • Más de 2000 playas (More than 2000 beaches), most blue flags in Europe
  • Parques con atracciones, acuáticos, temáticos (Amusement, water, and theme parks)
  • Rural
    • Paradores Nacionales: About 100, nine of them in cities declared Patrimonies of Humanity according to UNESCO
  • España (Spain): 49 sites
  • IFEMA: FITUR
  • PIB por turismo (GDP by tourism): 12.2% in 2022, 159 million Euros

Educación (Education)

  • Años (Years):
    • 0-6: Infantil (Pre-school)
    • 6-12: Primaria (Primary)
    • 12-16: Secundaria (ESO) (Secondary)
    • 16-18: Bachillerato en el Colegio (High School)
      • Arte (Arts): Plásticas, Imagen, Diseños (Visual Arts, Image, Design); Música (Music), Artes escénicas (Performing Arts)
      • Ciências/Tecnologias (Sciences/Technologies)
      • General
      • Humanidades y Ciencias Sociales (Humanities and Social Sciences)
    • 18+ Examen (Exam):
      • 60% - Notas del Colegio (School Grades)
      • 40$$% - Examen de acceso a la Universidad (University Entrance Exam)
  • 3 tipos de educación (3 types of education):
    • Publica (Public)
    • Privado (Private)
    • Concentada (Subsidized Private)