In Spain, the first thing that many people think of should be Real Madrid, Barcelona and other football teams, or bullfighters, it is difficult to think of his economy, especially industry.

What is the state of Spain's economy, is it strong in industry, and how many places does it rank in the European Union?

Spain is a relatively developed capitalist country, and its economy ranks fifth in the European Union. The main domestic industries are textiles, steel, cement, shipbuilding, automobile manufacturing, electric power, etc. The level of agricultural modernization is relatively high, and the olive oil production and grape planting area rank first in the world.

In 2016, the GDP of the EU as a whole was 14.9 trillion euros, and Spain's total GDP accounted for 7.5% of the EU, ranking fifth in the EU, lower than Germany (21.1%), the United Kingdom (16%), France (15%), Italy (11.3%) and other countries, and higher than the Netherlands (4.7%), Sweden (3.1%) and Poland (2.9%).

In 2018, the added value of Spain's manufacturing industry was about 180 billion US dollars, accounting for only 12.6% of GDP, ranking 14th in the world, between Russia and Canada. In Europe, it ranks 6th, behind Germany, Italy, France, Britain and Russia.

On the other hand, in the 2018 Fortune Global 500, nine Spanish companies were included in the list. Among them, there are 4 industrial enterprises, and only 1 manufacturing enterprise, which is the Inditex Group (one of the four major international fashion groups, Zara is its brand). Spain has a certain international competitiveness in light industry and handicraft manufacturing, which is a model of Italy and has a certain degree of international competitiveness.

Spain also has about 80 companies engaged in military defense, security, aerospace and other fields, and has participated in the formation of European defense joint ventures with France and Germany. However, independent R&D, design and manufacturing capabilities are relatively weak.

To see whether a country's industry is strong, you can refer to its import and export situation (data from the World Economic Complexity Observatory).

Spain's total exports in 2017 were about $296 billion, imports were $332 billion, and the trade deficit was $35.7 billion. As the subject said, Spain does not export many products to China, China is not among the main exporters of Spain, but China is the main importer of Spain, ranking third.

Spain's main exports are:

1. automobiles ($36.4 billion);
2. refined petroleum ($10.8 billion);
3. vehicle parts ($10.2 billion);
4. drugs ($8.37 billion);
5. trucks ($6.29 billion);
6. Spain's main imports are:
7. crude oil ($23.2 billion);
8. automobiles ($20.1 billion);
9. auto parts ($15.9 billion);
10. drugs ($9.5 billion);
11. Gasoline ($7.82 billion).

Spain's five major industries

The four main industries that drive the Spanish economy are tourism, manufacturing, agriculture and energy. We will analyze them one by one:

Tourism:

Spain's tourism industry contributes 11% of the country's GDP, and it is the third most popular tourist destination in the world, welcoming 75 million tourists every year, because Spain is not only a country with beautiful natural beauty, but also a country with traces of history, it is home to the world's third largest Catholic pilgrimage site, Santiago.

Manufacturing:

The two jewels of Spain's manufacturing industry are pharmaceuticals and automobiles, which contribute 9% of Spain's GDP. Spain's pharmaceutical market is worth $25 billion and is the second largest automotive production base in Europe, with an average annual production of 2.8 million vehicles, 80% of which are exported.

Agriculture:

Spain is a traditional agricultural country, but in fact only 10% of Spain's land is suitable for farming, but Spain occupies the second largest cultivated area in Europe, second only to France. In Spain, only 17% of agricultural land is used for food production, the rest is used for pasture cultivation and animal husbandry, and the main agricultural products are pork, beef, milk and poultry.

Energy & Power:

Spain's energy industry is heavily dependent on fossil fuels: 42% oil, 19.8% natural gas and 11% coal, all of which require large imports, so the lack of energy in Spain is a major constraint on its development. Therefore, in terms of electricity, Spain has vigorously developed new energy power, such as nuclear energy and solar energy.

Spain has the world's largest solar industry, was once the world's largest wind power country, and has the world's largest new energy production company.

In 2016, Spain's economic performance was good, with GDP growth of 3.3%, ranking among the top five in Europe, higher than Germany (1.9%), and inflation at -0.3%, although its overall government debt is high, reaching 99% of GDP, behind Greece, Italy, Portugal, Cyprus, the Czech Republic and Belgium.