Top 10 facts about Spain

Contents:

1. Geography and population of Spain
2. Official language of Spain
3. Currency in Spain
4. Internet in Spain
5. Economic development in Spain
6. Job in Spain
7. Working days and holidays in Spain
8. Spanish mentality
9. Advertising in Spain
10. Cryptocurrency in Spain

1. Geography and population of Spain

Spain borders with Portugal in the west, with France and Andorra in the north, with Britain in the south, with Morocco in North Africa side. Madrid is the capital city of Spain and the largest one, as well as the administrative center of the province and autonomous community of the same name. Spain has two time zones. Time zone: UTC -00:00 WET (Canary Islands), UTC +01:00 CET (Madrid). On March 28, daylight saving time will change to +1 hour.

General information about Spain:

• Capital: Madrid
• Area: 500,000 km2
• International Direct Dial Code: +34
• Top-level domain/ TLD: .es
• Population: 47,000,000

2. Official language of Spain

Buenos días! [buenos diaz] - Good morning!
Qué tal? [ke tal] - How are you?
Cómo está usted? [komo está usta] - How are you doing?

Spain has 4 official languages:

• Spanish or Castilian
• Catalan language
• Galician language
• Basque language

Everyone thinks Spanish is the language spoken by everyone in this sunny country. But it is not so true. Spanish, or to be precise, Castilian, is the language of the pre-existing kingdom of Castile, which proved powerful and strong enough to rally the rest of the kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula around. The 2nd spoken language in Spain is Catalan. It has the status of an official language at the regional level. Autonomous communities of Spain, such as Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and the Valencian Community, use it at the official level as the primary language, and already Spanish is the second. It happens that some documents are issued by local and regional authorities only in the regional language, ignoring Spanish. Galician is the 3rd language of Spain, which has an official status at the regional level. It used in the Spanish province of Galicia, which borders Portugal. The 4th official language in Spain is Basque or Eusquera.

3. Currency in Spain

The official currency of Spain since 2002 is the Euro. €1* ≈ $1.2* 1 EUR - Euro (at the exchange rate for January 2021)

4. Internet in Spain

According to statistics, 93% of the Spanish population has access to the Internet, about 60% visit social networks. According to the report, the local population spends more than 5 hours online, of which an hour and a half communicate on networks, 3-4 hours are spent watching TV and listening to music. As for online content: 90% watch video, 50% use television, 11% play games, the same number are still watching it, and 9% are watching esports championships. Almost half of netizens use ad blockers.
The local population actively uses social networks, not competing with Facebook, then Twitter and Instagram. WhatsApp is the most popular messenger in Spain. 87% of Spanish actively used green messenger in 2017. Facebook Messenger, which is the 2nd most popular in Spain, is used by only 43% of the population. 87% of all smartphone users in Spain say they actively use WhatsApp. Facebook, on the other hand, is only used by 72%. Another aspect to consider is the Google Play Store and App Store ratings.
Google Play Store statistics says: WhatsApp - with a huge lead over Facebook Messenger in 2nd place - has 11 million daily active users. All other communications applications are far behind. The gender distribution is well balanced: 54% of women and 46% of men use social media in Spain. This evenly distributed ratio is maintained in all age groups. However, teens spend more than the average time on social media. 98% of girls between the ages of 16 and 24 use WhatsApp on a daily basis, and 92% of men use analogically.

5. Economic development in Spain

At the end of 2020, the Spanish economy continues to hold the 5th position among the most powerful economies in the European Union. Along with this, the Kingdom of Spain does not stop competing in the world arena for 12th place. About 80 million tourists visit Spain annually. And they bring about 14% of GDP to the country.
However, this does not save the Spanish. The local population is getting poorer and moving in search of a better life. Experts say that it's not about laziness and seemingly eternal siesta. Madrid never coped with the consequences of the global crisis. The unemployment rate in Spain is about twice the overall rate for the entire European Union, today it is 14.02%. The total number of unemployed citizens is 3.23 million people. Due to the current situation, now is the time for financial offers. The population is actively looking for additional income on the Internet.

US News & World Report (USA) ranked the best countries in the world. To do this, a team of experts analyzed the current situation according to the following parameters:

• Development potential

• The level and quality of life of the population

• Development of private entrepreneurship

• Attractiveness for tourists

• Reviews of people who visited the country

• Cultural and historical heritage

In total, 73 states were included in the ranking of the best countries in the world. Spain ranks 19th.

6. Job in Spain

In 2019 it is equal to €2,000, and the annual one - €23,000.

Average monthly salary by occupation in Spain:

• Nurse - €1,600
• Policeman - €1,500
• Teacher - €2,200
• Chef - €1,200
• Tourist guide - €1,700

Average annual salary by region in Spain:

• Madrid - €27,000
• Barcelona - €26,000
• Catalonia - €24,000
• Galicia, Extremadura and the Canary Islands - €19,000-€20,000

7. Working days and holidays in Spain

In 2021, residents of Spain are waiting for the following holidays:

• January 1 - New Year (Año Nuevo)
• January 6 - Epiphany (Epifania del Señor or Dia de Los Reyes Magos)
• April 10 - Good Friday (Viernes Santo)
• May 1 - Labor Day (Fiesta del Trabajador)
• August 15 - Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Asuncion de la Virgen)
• October 12 - National Day of Spain (Dia de la Hispanidad)
• December 8 - Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary (Inmaculada Concepcion)
• December 25 - Nativity of Christ (Navidad del Señor)
• November 1 - All Saints Day (Todos Los Santos)
• December 6 - Spanish Constitution Day (Dia de la Constitucion Española)

On average, the working day in Spain ends at 19:00, while residents of other European countries, as a rule, leave work an hour or two earlier. Basically, the Spanish work from Monday to Saturday, from 09:30 to 13:30, then from 16:30 to 20:00. Large supermarkets and shopping centers are open from 09:00 to 21:00-22:00 without a lunch break. Pharmacies are open from 09:30 to 13:30, then from 16:30 to 20:00. There are pharmacies on duty, but they work on a rolling schedule, which can be clarified, again, at any pharmacy, or read in the newspaper. Banks accept customers from 09:00 to 14:30 from Monday to Friday. An afternoon siesta from 13:00 to 16:00 turns the Spanish out of the rhythmic life, and in the evening people always have conversations and walks with friends.

8. Spanish mentality

Spain is a symbol of an unquenchable temperament. The main features of the Spanish mentality are love of life in all forms, intuitive-contemplative type of thinking, humanism and individualism. The attitude of the Spanish residents to the surrounding reality is formed from the position “The world and I.” What do the Spanish do with their free money? How do they make them work and what profit do they bring? Sociological research has shown:

- 7% decided this year to be more risky, but at the same time to make higher incomes and forms of investment;

- 13% say that investments bring them an additional 5th part of their salary.

Interesting information about the local population:

- noisy Spanish are very friendly, regardless of status and age, they speak “you”;
- politeness and caring for their neighbors are normal among the Spaniards, and this, at first glance, does not match their explosive character;
- Spaniards love holidays very much and know how to celebrate them magnificently;
- respectful to the Royal House;
- there are taboo topics: politics, religion, death, age, money, bullfighting, football;
- women in marriage do not change their surname, and children take a double surname of father and mother;
- a very complicated divorce procedure, for which you can apply for at least 5 years;
- the minus of the mentality is the slowness, even the most important matters the Spanish solve slowly;
- people do not care about public opinion or their own reputation, they live their lives today.

9. Advertising in Spain

For assessing inherent risks of choosing an investment product in Spain there is a color system: financial products are assigned a specific color corresponding to the investor's risk level.

1. Dark green: the safest financial product - for example, a savings account in a bank or deposits with a fixed period.
2. Light green: products with guaranteed safety, allowing a return on investment within 3 years.
3. Light yellow: products that allow a return on investment in 3-5 years.
4. Dark yellow: return on investment in 5-10 years.
5. Orange: return on invested in 10 years or 90% in less than 10 years.
6. Red: stocks, private funds and some types of bonds. It is risky investment where you can lose the entire invested amount.

All financial institutions in Spain, including banks and insurance companies, are required to provide information on the risks associated with investing in their products by posting it on their website or providing potential clients in writing.

Local color preferences

For most of the residents of our planet, yellow is the color of the sun, warmth, summer and positive mood. But not for the Spanish... In Spain, yellow reminds the residents of sulfur, the smell of which reminds the appearance of the devil. Once upon a time, people with plague were dressed in yellow. The city was warned of the epidemic by yellow flags. Heretics were also dressed in yellow before the court of the Inquisition. The Spaniards do not wear yellow clothes, especially for important events, do not buy them as a gift, and even more - do not dress their children in yellow. It is a bad luck.

10. Cryptocurrency in Spain

According to an international survey by Dutch financial giant ING, about 10% of Spaniards surveyed said they own crypto. It puts the country in 4th place in the EU in terms of the number of cryptocurrency owners, it is not surprising that Spain appears to be a promising place to register a crypto business.

Regulation of cryptocurrencies in Spain

It should be noted right away that Spain has not yet formed any special regulation for virtual currencies. Also, there is no special draft law in development. There is only one bill passed by the government last year that can only indirectly affect regulation. It includes measures to change the financial system, and the creation of a framework for the formation of regulatory system.
Thus, when planning to establish a crypto company, it is necessary to consider the current legislation, and how it can be applied to a specific business. In this case, it would be most advisable to get session with lawyers about crypto business in Spain. Spain has launched its own digital currency.
There is latest news from last month. Authorities in the Spanish city of Lebrija in the province of Seville have launched the Elio digital currency to stimulate the economy during the COVID-19 pandemic. The virtual asset is pegged to the Euro at a 1:1 ratio. By this program, 593 residents of Lebrija will receive an amount from €20 to €200 in Elio, and small and medium-sized businesses will receive €400 each. The digital asset will only be accepted in local stores. With Elio, you can pay half of the cost of a product or service, and the rest in fiat. Recipients must use the funds by March 31, 2021.