Spain, along with Greece, is one of the main countries at the centre of the financial crisis in the eurozone. To find out more about the problems it faces, see below.
- Spain in numbers
- Spain is the eurozone's 4th largest economy
- One in four people is unemployed
- House prices have dropped by 25% since 2008
The banking sector is highly indebted. Bankia, the country's
fourth largest bank, recently asked for a €19bn bailout
By 2010, one in four Spaniards were at risk of poverty
or social exclusion
- Spain has the highest unemployment rate
in the EU. It is even higher than Greece.
- The majority of young
people are unemployed
- Unemployment across Europe, 2011
In 2006, Spanish unemployment, at 8.5%, had been close to the EU average.
Five years later, in 2011, it was twice as high at 21.7%.
- The collapsing property market and recession have
forced some of Spain's banks to seek government help.
- Banks have 155.84bn euros of loans at risk of not being
repaid. That is 9% of all loans.
- Small, weak banks have been saved through mergers:
the number of banks has shrunk from 45 to 11.
- The government has injected 60bn euros into banks. They
will also get up to 100bn euros in loans from the eurozone.
Regional governments, hit by a mixture of the property bust, recession and overspending, are also struggling. Some of them are having to ask the central government for help.