Spain Environment - 2022

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Environment - current issues

pollution of the Mediterranean Sea from raw sewage and effluents from the offshore production of oil and gas and drought are negatively impacting water quality and quantity nationwide; air pollution; deforestation; desertification

Environment - international agreements

party to: 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

signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Air pollutants

particulate matter emissions: 9.48 micrograms per cubic meter (2016 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions: 244 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions: 36.94 megatons (2020 est.)

Climate

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

Land use

agricultural land: 54.1% (2018 est.)

arable land: 24.9% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 9.1% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 20.1% (2018 est.)

forest: 36.8% (2018 est.)

other: 9.1% (2018 est.)

Urbanization

urban population: 81.3% of total population (2022)

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

note: data include Canary Islands, Ceuta, and Melilla

total population growth rate v. urban population growth rate, 2000-2030

Revenue from forest resources

forest revenues: 0.02% of GDP (2018 est.)

Revenue from coal

coal revenues: 0% of GDP (2018 est.)

Major infectious diseases

respiratory diseases: Covid-19 (see note) (2020)

note: widespread ongoing transmission of a respiratory illness caused by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is occurring throughout Spain; as of 9 December 2022, Spain has reported a total of 13,614,807 cases of COVID-19 or 28,764.1 cumulative cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 population with a total of 116,108 cumulative deaths or a rate of 245.3 cumulative deaths per 100,000 population; the US Department of Homeland Security has issued instructions requiring US passengers who have been in Spain to travel through select airports where the US Government has implemented enhanced screening procedures

Waste and recycling

municipal solid waste generated annually: 20.151 million tons (2015 est.)

municipal solid waste recycled annually: 3,393,428 tons (2015 est.)

percent of municipal solid waste recycled: 16.8% (2015 est.)

Major rivers (by length in km)

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

Total water withdrawal

municipal: 4.89 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)

industrial: 5.966 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)

agricultural: 20.36 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)

Total renewable water resources

111.5 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)

NOTE: The information regarding Spain on this page is re-published from the 2022 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Spain 2022 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Spain 2022 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.