Spain EU Member
Overview
Capital: Madrid
Official EU language(s): Spanish
EU Member State: since 1 January 1986
Currency: euro (€)
Euro area: member since 1 January 1999
Schengen: member since 26 March 1995
Figures:
- Geographical size: 505 983 km2
- Population: 48 610 458 (2024)
(Source: Eurostat – figures for geographical size and population)
Political system
Spain is a parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy. The prime minister is the head of government and the monarch is the head of state. A council of ministers is the executive branch and is presided over by the prime minister.
Spain is a unitary state, composed of 17 autonomous communities and 2 autonomous cities with varying degrees of autonomy.
Trade and economy
Spain’s GDP per capita of €33 100 ranks below the EU average (€37 600). It accounts for 8.6% of the EU’s total GDP.
(Source: Eurostat - figures for GDP per capita and GDP)
Budgets and funding
How does Spain benefit from the EU budget?
The EU budget is the tool to ensure that Europe remains a democratic, peaceful, prosperous and competitive force. The EU uses it to finance its priorities and big projects that most individual EU countries could not finance on their own.
The benefits of EU membership significantly exceed the size of the EU budget contributions and the examples are many. All Member States benefit from being part of the Single Market, a shared approach to the common challenges of migration, terrorism and climate change, and concrete gains like better transport infrastructure, modernised and digitalised public services and cutting-edge medical treatment.
How much each EU country pays into the EU budget is calculated fairly. The larger your country’s economy, the more it pays – and vice versa.
The EU budget is not about giving and taking – it’s about collectively contributing to making Europe and the world a better place for us all.
EU-funded projects in Spain
Money from the EU budget helps fund programmes and projects in all EU countries – for example to build roads, subsidise researchers and protect the environment.
Find out more about how Spain benefits from EU funding and recovery funds in your country or region.
