Spain country guide Spain

Spain, located on the Iberian Peninsula of Europe, has 49.1 million (2025) inhabitants and has an area of ​​505.992 km². Spain has four official regional languages: Catalan, Basque, Galician and Araneese.

Since the beginning of the sixties of the 20th century, Spain is known as a holiday destination, which is an important part of the economy. Spain is an important agricultural producer in Europe. Some products in this sector are lemons, oranges, olives and olive oil, nuts and grapes. 

The country is one of the countries most affected by the economic crisis. The unemployment rate is the highest in the EU since June 2022. This is mainly due to the collapse of the Spanish housing market. It is expected that Spain will need years to get out of the economic crisis, which is longer than most other member states of the European Union.

Spain is the 16 largest export economy in the world. Spain's top export products are cars ($ 31.8 billion), refined petroleum ($ 13.4 billion), packaged pharmaceuticals ($ 9.8 billion), auto parts ($ 9.8 billion) and trucks ($ 6.22 billion). The top export destinations in Spain are France ($ 41.7 billion), Germany ($ 31.7 billion), Portugal ($ 25.2 billion), the United Kingdom ($ 22 billion) and Italy ($ 21.7 billion).

• The Spanish business culture is formal.
• Spanish companies are more hierarchical than the Dutch ones.
• Come to appointments on time. But do not expect that you will always be received on time.
• Consider long payment terms. Check the creditworthiness of the Spanish companies. It is advisable to consider taking out credit insurance.
• Information material must be written in Spanish. Think of brochures, websites and manuals.
• There are different working hours: lunch from 14.00 to 16.00 or 17.00. Afterwards, work continues until 19.00 or 20.00. In the summer people often do not work in the afternoon. Many companies are closed all year round on Friday afternoon or closed in the month of August.

• The fourth largest country in Europe.
• Spain is the 16 largest export economy in the world and has 47 million inhabitants
• Dutch exports to Spain amounted to €26.9 billion in 2022
• Dutch imports from Spain amounted to €15.4 billion in 2022
• The largest cities in Spain include Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Valencia, Seville, Zaragoze, Malaga and Murcia