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Spain’s population peaked at 47.08 million people in 2011. In the years following, Spain’s population declined until 2017 when it began increasing again back to 46.75 million in 2020. Between 2016 and 2020, the population increased at very small rates between 0.03% and 0.1%.

After 2021, however, the country is expected to experience another population decline that is projected to be much steeper later in the century. Spain's population is projected to decline to 33.33 million people by 2099.

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Spain became a republic in 1931. The civil war between 1936-1939 ended with the victory for the Nationalists. Until 1975, Spain had a dictatorship which was ruled by Francisco Franco. Three years after his death, in 1978, Juan Carlos I restored the monarchy and a new constitution was established: the Constitutional Monarchy.
Spain joined the NATO in 1982 and the European Community in 1986.

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Spain's climate is mild oceanic. Winters are relatively mild and rainy whether Summers are cool and quite sunny. Several heatwaves in the Summer can be occasional and throughout the year, the wind blows frequently.
Spain can be divided into five different climate zones:
- The Continental Climate is the most common one, it affects the most of the country's surface area, excluding the coasts and mountain ranges. Winters are cold and snowy, Summers hot and occasionally rainy. The rainfalls occur mostly in late Spring.
- The Mediterranean Climate is not the most common climate type, roughly only one-fifth of the country's surface has it. Spain's coasts are located in this climate zone and this can be misleading because the country is most known about it's coasts and beaches. Andalusia and most of the eastern coast are located in this zone. Winters are generally mild and Summers are hot and dry, the range between the two seasons it's not wide.
- The Oceanic Climate dominates over the northern coast and the north-western region of Galicia. This climatic zone is characterised by extensive rainfalls. Summers are warm but not hot, Winters are milder than the ones in the Continental Climate zone.
- The Mountain Climate occurs in areas wit sizeable mountain ranges, such as in Granada's Sierra Nevada and in the northeast, northwest, midwest and southeast. Winters are cold and Summers mild, with a predominance of the colder temperatures. Snow and strong winds are also common throughout the Winter season.
- The Arid Climate is in Murcia and in Almeria. This climate type is very hot and dry and it only has a very little rainfall throughout the year. Spain's semi-deserts can be found here as well.

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Spain is a Constitutional Monarchy since 1978 and it has two legislative houses.
The Head of the State is the King, currently Felipe VI.
The Head of the Government is the Prime Minister, currently is Pedro Sanchez.

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One of the primary natural resources in Spain is arable land. Over 27.18% of the total land area is arable land, 9.85% are used for permanent crops and 62.97% are left for other uses. According to a study from 2015, Spain's exported agricultural produce worth over 40 billion and it was accounted for over 3% of Spain's GDP this year.
Gold, coal, uranium and tungsten are other natural resources in Spain.
Hydropower is very important, 37.4% of the total energy usage are provided with it. This is the primary resource of renewable energy sources. Dams are constructed in Alacron, Alcantra or in Bolarque.

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The GDP of Spain is standing at about $1.36 trillion. In Europe, Spain’s GDP is only surpassed by that of France, Italy, Germany, and the UK. Despite being hit by the 2007-2008 financial crisis and the property recession of the 2000s, the economy has experienced significant growth in recent years, growing by 3% in 2016.  A property recession is the long-term increase of real estate prices. There were various stages in Spain:

- 1985-1991: the price nearly tripled

- 1992-1996: the price remained somewhat stable

- 1996-2007: prices grew astonishingly again

- after financial crisis in 2007-2008: prices began to fall

- estimated in 2013: prices dropped more than 30% since 2007.

However, the country is heavily indebted, mostly because of the property recession. Much of the debt held by Spain's regional governments is owed to small, local businesses, which carried out work for local authorities and have still not been paid.
In 2013, the country’s gross external debt stood at $1.3 trillion.

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GDP per capita was about $24935.40 in 2020.

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The economy of Spain is among the largest in the world. Spain ranks 14 in the world’s largest economies. The major industries that drive the economy of Spain are the tourism, manufacturing, agriculture and energy industries.

Tourism: it accounts for about 11% of the nation’s annual GDP. Spain is the world’s 3rd most popular destination and it receives more than 75 million tourists each year (mostly tourists from France, the UK, Germany and Italy).

Manufacturing: it accounts for about 9% of the annual GDP. Pharmaceuticals and automobiles are the primary export commodities of Spain. The pharmaceutical market in the country is valued at an estimated $25 billion. The automobile sector is among Spain’s primary economic drivers, with an annual vehicle production of more than 2.8 million units.

Agriculture: agricultural production in the country is limited by the poor soils, with only 10% of the land area in Spain being considered excellent for cultivation. Nonetheless, Spain still has Europe’s second-largest land devoted to agricultural purposes, with the country’s agricultural land only exceeded in size by France. Horticultural products are Spain’s most important agricultural export commodities, and these include vegetables and citrus fruits.

Energy: the country is heavily reliant on fossil fuels in its energy consumption. The country has to source most of the fossil fuels from external markets, as the country has few proven oil reserves while its coal is of poor quality. Only 3% of the electricity produced is exported. Renewable sources such as nuclear, hydropower, geothermal, wind and solar are important in electricity generation, as a result of Spain’s heavy investment in the sector.

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Trade balance, main trade partners, terms of trade

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Trade balance, main trade partners, terms of trade

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Trade balance

2020: $19.10 billion

-> 54.45% decline from 2019 ($41.94B)

main exports: capital goods, food, beverages, tobacco, vehicles, chemicals, consumer goods and energy products

main export partners: France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, UK, US, Morocco, China and Turkey

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An inward investment involves an external or foreign entity either investing in or purchasing  the goods of a local economy. It is foreign money that comes into the domestic economy.  Inward investment stands in contrast to outward investment, which is an outflow of  investment capital from local entities to foreign economies.

• An inward investment consists of foreign entities investing in local economies  bringing in foreign capital.

• Foreign direct investment is a specific type of inward investment, consisting of  mergers and acquisitions or establishing new operations for existing businesses. • Inward investments improve local economies by bringing wealth, job creation, and  infrastructure development.

Understanding Inward Investment

Inward investments typically stem from multinational corporations investing capital in  foreign markets to grow their own presence or to meet specific demand of the local  economy. This can take the form of new demand for products or increased development of a  region.

A common type of inward investment is a foreign direct investment (FDI). This occurs when  one company purchases another business or establishes new operations for an existing  business in a country different than the one of its origin.

Inward investments or foreign direct investments often result in a significant number of  mergers and acquisitions. Rather than creating new businesses, inward investments often  occur when a foreign company acquires or merges with an existing company. Inward  investments tend to help companies grow and open borders for international integration.

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A foreign direct investment (FDI) is a purchase of an interest in a company by a company or  an investor located outside its borders.

Generally, the term is used to describe a business decision to acquire a substantial stake in a  foreign business or to buy it outright in order to expand its operations to a new region. It is  not usually used to describe a stock investment in a foreign company.

• Foreign direct investments (FDI) are substantial investments made by a company  into a foreign concern.

• The investment may involve acquiring a source of materials, expanding a  company's footprint, or developing a multinational presence.

• As of 2020, the U.S. is second to China in attracting FDI.

Types of Foreign Direct Investment

Foreign direct investments are commonly categorized as horizontal, vertical, or  conglomerate.

• With a horizontal direct investment, a company establishes the same type of  business operation in a foreign country as it operates in its home country. A U.S.- based cell phone provider buying a chain of phone stores in China is an example.

• In a vertical investment, a business acquires a complementary business in another  country. For example, a U.S. manufacturer might acquire an interest in a foreign  company that supplies it with the raw materials it needs.

• In a conglomerate type of foreign direct investment, a company invests in a foreign  business that is unrelated to its core business. Since the investing company has no  prior experience in the foreign company's area of expertise, this often takes the  form of a joint venture.

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Spain’s fertility rate is at one of its lowest levels in decades at 1.35 births per woman. This is far below the population replacement rate of 2.1 births per woman. This is in part because Spain has a difficult labor market and fewer work-life balance policies, making it hard for young people to create families.

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Spain's net migration rate is 0.86 migrants per 1000, according the a study from 2020.
7.231.195 people are bored abroad and 5.434.153 has a foreign citizenship.

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Spain's Gini-Coefficient is 34.58 index points which is quite the average. For comparison, the world average in 2018 based on 64 countries was 35.55 index pints.
It's maximum was 36.7 index points in 1995 and the minimum was 31.8 in 2003.

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Unemployment rates and reasons for unemployment

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Unemployment rates and reasons for unemployment

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Spain has the highest unemployment rate in Europe. Spain unemployment rate for 2020 was 15.67%, a 1.57% increase from 2019. Spain unemployment rate for 2019 was 14.10%.

Reasons for unemployment

1.  Between 2000 and 2009, Spain accounted for around 30% of all new homes built in the European Union (EU). After Spain joined the euro in 1999, interest rates were low, property was seen as a good investment in a country with very high home ownership (85%), and there was a high foreign demand for holiday and retirement homes due to the 60 million tourists who visited Spain annually. When the property bubble burst, jobs were destroyed as quickly as they had been created.

2. Spain’s labor market laws were very flexible, largely as a result of widespread use and abuse of temporary contracts.

3. Immigrants were lured to Spain when the economy began to expand rapidly. Their number soared from more than 900,000 in 1995 to 5.7 million in 2012, the largest increase in a European country in the shortest time. They were particularly needed in the construction and agricultural sectors and more than half of the 3.3 million non-EU immigrants in Spain worked in the construction sector. When the economy went into recession, immigrants bore a large part of the surge in the unemployment, as many of them were on temporary contracts and were the first to lose their jobs.

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Union density: 16.8% in 2019
Employee rights

Full-time work is considered as 40 hours per week. Any overtime should be stated in your contract.

Those who work on night shifts (between 10 p.m and 6 a.m) receive higher per-hour payments.

Overtime work cannot exceed more than 80 hours per year.

It’s mandatory to take a minimum of 1.5 days off per week.

You can take a 15 min break after every 6 hours of work in a day.

If you’re younger than 18, there’re special laws for underage employees

You can’t work more than 8 hours per day.

You’re entitled to a 30 min break after working 4.5 hours in a day.

You’re required to take 2 days off in a row per week.

You cannot work night shifts.

So annual paid holiday leave is 22 working days (30 calendar days) for a full-time employee. You can take your leave either in one go or have them spread out.

Keep in mind that you won’t receive compensation for unused vacation days.

Marriage: 15 days

Moving: 1 day

Maternity/ Paternity leave- 16 weeks

Family emergency: 2-4 days

You can take a paid sick leave. But for this, you’ll need to have a medical examination and get a certificate from State Health Services.

If you take sick leave for more than 4 days, you’ll receive compensation. You’ll receive 60% of your salary up to 20 sick days. If you need more than 20 days, then social security will pay 75% of your salary

Further details: https://housinganywhere.com/Spain/spain-labor-laws

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Knowing labor laws is crucial if you already work in Spain or plan to find a job here. These laws ensure that you receive a fair wage, regulate working hours, promote better working conditions, prevent wrongful termination, and much more. So if you've questions about any of these, read this guide which will cover:

Spain Labor Law

Work Visa in Spain

Employment Contracts

Working hours in Spain

Holidays in Spain

Other types of paid leave in Spain

Sick Leave in Spain

Minimum Wage in Spain

Termination of work contracts in Spain

Spain welcomes a lot of international workers. In 2021, Foreign-born employment accounted for 21% of the total working population of Spain.

To work as a foreigner in Spain, you might need a visa, depending on your country of origin.

Any EU, EAA (European Economic Area), and Switzerland citizen can work in Spain without any visa. This means they can easily take up replaceable jobs like bartending or office assistant.

Non-EU expats need to have an employment contract in Spain before they can apply for a work visa and work permit.

UK citizens who became legal residents of Spain before 1 January 2021 don't need a work visa. But post-Brexit, you'll need a work visa.

It's important to note that finding a work sponsor is often difficult for non-EU workers because employers have to convince the Spanish government that they can't find EU citizens who can do the work. This means you have to find a job as a high-skilled immigrant or a shortage worker.

There're 5 different types of work visas you can apply for in Spain.

1. Employee Visa

2. Seasonal Work Visas

3. EU Blue Card

4. Self-employed and freelance visa

5. Au Pair Visa

Keep in mind that each work visa has different requirements. So make sure you know all the details and timelines before applying.

Contracts can be verbal and written in Spain. But according to the employment law in Spain, temporary employment contracts, part-time contracts, and internships contracts have to be in writing.

Written contracts provide more certainty for both parties, making it easier to protect your rights. You can request a written contract from your employer.

If you're older than 18, you can sign an employment contract. If you are between the ages of 16 and 18, you must have permission from your family to work. Legally you can't work if you're younger than 16.

Types of employment contracts in Spain:

Indefinite contracts are the most common type in Spain. They don't have an end date. Indefinite contracts are hard to break and include severance payment (a payment you receive if you leave the company involuntary). There're also indefinite contracts specifically for people with disabilities. They usually have many incentives, such as tax benefits.

Work experience contracts

Work experience contracts are temporary contracts. They should last a minimum of 6 months and a maximum of 2 years. To be eligible for this type of contract, you have to have either a university degree or vocational qualifications in the last 4 years.

If you're aged between 16 and 21 and aren't eligible for work experience contracts, you can get training contracts. Same as work experience contracts, their duration is from 6 months to 2 years.

You'll receive a temporary contract when you're hired for specific temporary projects. You can only have a temporary contract of 6 months in one year.

Typical Spanish employment contract template will include the following details:

Your and your employer's name

Working hours

Location of work

Probationary period

Contract duration

Holiday days

Salary and compensations paid over 14 or 12 months

Confidentiality clauses

Notice periods

Severance pay in case of an indefinite contract

Full-time work is considered as 40 hours per week. Any overtime should be stated in your contract.

Those who work on night shifts (between 10 p.m and 6 a.m) receive higher per-hour payments.

Overtime work cannot exceed more than 80 hours per year.

It's mandatory to take a minimum of 1.5 days off per week.

You can take a 15 min break after every 6 hours of work in a day.

If you're younger than 18, there're special laws for underage employees

You can't work more than 8 hours per day.

You're entitled to a 30 min break after working 4.5 hours in a day.

You're required to take 2 days off in a row per week.

You cannot work night shifts.

Spaniards love to socialize, and it's important for them to have a healthy balance between work and life. So annual paid holiday leave is 22 working days (30 calendar days) for a full-time employee. You can take your leave either in one go or have them spread out.

Keep in mind that you won't receive compensation for unused vacation days.

You'll also have a day off during the national and regional holidays. Regional holidays change depending on where you live but you can check them on the website of your local autonomous community.

If the public holiday is on Sunday, you'll have a day off next Monday.

There're also different types of paid leave available depending on your situation:

Marriage: 15 days

Moving: 1 day

Maternity/ Paternity leave- 16 weeks

Family emergency: 2-4 days

If you're feeling sick or can't work temporarily for medical reasons, you can take a paid sick leave. But for this, you'll need to have a medical examination and get a certificate from State Health Services.

If you take sick leave for more than 4 days, you'll receive compensation. You'll receive 60% of your salary up to 20 sick days. If you need more than 20 days, then social security ( Sistema Nacional de la Seguridad Social) will pay 75% of your salary.

Spain has the 7th highest minimum wage ( Salario Mínimo Interprofesional) out of 22 Europen Countries. As of 2022, the minimum wage in Spain is €7.55 per hour.

You're entitled to receive minimum wage in Spain regardless of age, gender, contract, or race.

Some things to note:

Salaries in Spain are typically paid out 14 times, with the 2 additional payments in July and December. In this case, your minimum wage per month will be €965.

Students taking internship roles don't receive minimum wage. The compensation package for student interns includes a max of €300 for travel and food.

If you've graduated but are doing an internship, you're entitled to minimum wage.

Labor Law states that to terminate a work contract in Spain, both employees and employers must give written notice at least 15 days in advance. If termination is mutually agreed upon, then you don't have to stick to the 15-day rule.

Resignation

You can resign from your work anytime. You can do this by giving written notice to your employer at least 15 days in advance.

If the reason for your departure is 1.) non-agreed working conditions, 2.) changing working conditions, 3.) change of the resident country, then you might be eligible for compensation.

Termination during the trial period

Both parties can terminate the employment contract during the probationary period without notice.

Termination of an indefinite contract

After the probationary period, the employment law in Spain allows employers to end the contract for three reasons:

1. Objective dismissal (extinción del contrato por causas objetivas): When an employee can't fulfill work duties as stated in the contract. If the employer was aware of the employee's lack of skills during the trial period, then the employer can't terminate the contract on objective dismissal grounds.

If a worker can't perform because of technical changes (such as a change in use of machinery) in the workplace, then the employer has to give 2 months adaptation period to the employee.

2. Disciplinary dismissal ( despido disciplinario): When an employee violates their work contract (always coming to work late, unnotified absence, etc.), engages in inappropriate physical or verbal altercations, damages the work property, etc.

3. Collective dismissal ( Despido Collective ): When the company needs to layoff many employees on economic grounds.

If your contract ended on objective or collective dismissal grounds, then you're entitled to severance pay of 20 days' pay per year of service up to 12 months (subject to change).

Wrongful termination

It is illegal for an employer to dismiss an employee while pregnant or on sick leave. If you think they fired you wrongfully, you can file a complaint at the Labor Court.
Please reach out to content@housingnayhwere.com if you have any suggestions or inquiries about the content on this page.

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Knowing labor laws is crucial if you already work in Spain or plan to find a job here. These laws ensure that you receive a fair wage, regulate working hours, promote better working conditions, prevent wrongful termination, and much more.

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Spain has the 7th highest minimum wage out of 22 European Countries. As of 2022, the minimum wage in Spain is €7.55 per hour.
The largest cities in Spain offer the highest average salaries.

Your pay rate will increase as you gain work experience. As a guideline, with 2 - 5 years of work experience, you’ll earn an average of 32% more than an entry-level employee.

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How is it defined?

The HDI is a summary composite measure of a country's average achievements in three basic aspects  of human development: health, knowledge and standard of living. It is a measure of a country's  average achievements in three dimensions of human development:

• a long and healthy life, as measured by life expectancy at birth;

• knowledge, as measured by mean years of schooling and expected years of schooling; and • a decent standard of living, as measured by GNI per capita in PPP terms in US$.

The HDI sets a minimum and a maximum for each dimension, called "goalposts", then shows where  each country stands in relation to these goalposts. This is expressed as a value between 0 and 1. The  higher a country's human development, the higher its HDI value.

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What are the consequences and implications? 

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What are the consequences and implications? 

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The HDI is used to capture the attention of policy-makers, the media and nongovernmental  organizations, and to change the focus from the usual economic statistics to human outcomes. It was  created to re-emphasize that people and their capabilities should be the ultimate criteria for  assessing the development of a country, not economic growth.

The HDI is also used to question national policy choices and to determine how two countries with the  same level of income per person can have widely different human development outcomes. For  example, two countries may have similar incomes per person, but have drastically differing life  expectancy and literacy levels, such that one of the countries has a much higher HDI than the other.  These contrasts stimulate debate on government policies concerning health and education to  determine why what can be achieved in one country is beyond the reach of the other.

The HDI is also used to highlight differences within countries, between provinces or states, and  across genders, ethnicities and other socioeconomic groupings. Highlighting internal disparities along  these lines has raised the national debate in many countries.

Human Development Index (0 - 1) in the European union: The average for 2020 based on 26  countries was 0.895 points.The highest value was in Ireland: 0.955 points and the lowest value was in  Croatia: 0.783 points. The indicator is available from 1980 to 2020.

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Human Development Index (0 - 1), 1980 - 2020: For that indicator, we provide data for Spain from  1980 to 2020. The average value for Spain during that period was 0.836 points with a minimum of  0.702 points in 1980 and a maximum of 0.904 points in 2020. The latest value from 2020 is 0.904  points. For comparison, the world average in 2020 based on 185 countries is 0.724 points.

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Human Development Index (0 - 1), 1980 - 2020: For that indicator, we provide data for Germany  from 1980 to 2020. The average value for Germany during that period was 0.884 points with a  minimum of 0.739 points in 1980 and a maximum of 0.947 points in 2020. The latest value from 2020  is 0.947 points. For comparison, the world average in 2020 based on 185 countries is 0.724 points.

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Criticism of the Human Development Index (HDI)

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Criticism of the Human Development Index (HDI)

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Critics argue that the HDI assigns weights to certain factors that are equal tradeoffs when these measurements may not always be equally valuable. For example, countries could achieve the same HDI through different combinations of life expectancy and GNI per capita. This would imply that a person's life expectancy has an economic value.

An additional year of life would add to the GNI and thus be different in countries with different GNI per capita.

It also correlates factors that are more common in developed economies. For example, a higher level of education would tend to lead to higher GNI per capita. Critics argue the benefit or lack thereof of including two highly correlated values when perhaps one would be a better indicator of a country's well-being.

The HDI also fails to take into account factors such as inequality, poverty, and gender disparity. A country with a high value for GNI per capita would indicate a developed country, but what if that GNI is reached by marginalizing certain genders or ethnic classes? And what if that GNI is achieved by a small percentage of the population that is wealthy and, therefore, ignores the poor?

Furthermore, the values of the factors that make up the HDI are bound between 0 and 1. This means that certain countries that already have high GNIs, for example, have little room to improve in terms of GNI score even if their GNI continues to grow and improve. This same parameter affects the logic of the life expectancy score.

Why Is the Human Development Index (HDI) Controversial?

The HDI is controversial because it is highly influential yet considered to be deeply flawed. The United Nations itself even admits that the HDI is not “a comprehensive measure of human development” and that the index is slow to reflect recent policy changes and improvements to the lives of a nation’s citizens.

What Are the Biggest Criticisms of the HDI?

The HDI was designed to measure development not just in terms of how much money people have but also in terms of education and length of life. The problem is not everyone is happy about the choice of indicators nor the way they are aggregated.

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Definition:

Ecological Footprint accounting measures the demand on and supply of nature.

On the demand side, the Ecological Footprint adds up all the productive areas for which a population,  a person or a product competes. It measures the ecological assets that a given population or product  requires to produce the natural resources it consumes (including plant-based food and fiber  products, livestock and fish products, timber and other forest products, space for urban  infrastructure) and to absorb its waste, especially carbon emissions.

The Ecological Footprint tracks the use of productive surface areas. Typically these areas are:  cropland, grazing land, fishing grounds, built-up land, forest area, and carbon demand on land.

On the supply side, a city, state or nation’s biocapacity represents the productivity of its ecological  assets (including cropland, grazing land, forest land, fishing grounds, and built-up land). These areas,  especially if left unharvested, can also serve to absorb the waste we generate, especially our carbon  emissions from burning fossil fuel.

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We see this assessment as highly relevant for sustainability, competitiveness and long-term well-being, because living within the regenerative capacity of the Earth’s ecosystems is a necessary (although not sufficient) condition for human long-term success. And, as Ecological Footprint accounting demonstrates, we are failing to meet this condition by a long shot.

Still, as with any metrics, the Ecological Footprint has clear limitations. These are identified in more detail in papers on the method, results or applications, or in the upcoming book "Ecological Footprint: Managing our Biocapacity Budget." Limitations of the metric include:

It is not a full metric of sustainability. They only capture the key, minimum necessary condition for sustainability: to what extent overall human demand is within the regenerative capacity of our planet. Other dimensions, such as human well-being or environmental quality, are also important sustainability issues yet are not captured by the accounts.

It measures aggregate regeneration and demand. These are outcome measures; in other words, the regeneration of an ecosystem is the result or outcome of the current state of soils, water availability, biodiversity and many other factors. Ecological Footprint accounts do not provide specific metrics for these sustainability factors, but both factors and outcomes are key pieces of information in addressing multifaceted issues like sustainability.

It does not forecast. Ecological Footprint accounts only keep track of actual activities, as any bookkeeping does. They simply record inputs and outputs as they are and provide no extrapolation as to how much biocapacity might be depleted by human activities in the future.

It most likely underestimates global overshoot. Ecological Footprints accounts for countries are strictly based on United Nations statistics. These statistics may not include all consumption items, and biocapacity data based on those statistics may overstate long-term productivity, since the impact of deforestation, soil depletion or water scarcity on future productivity is not captured.

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The Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) ranks of countries around the world, based on how  corrupt their public sectors are perceived to be. The results are given on a scale of 0 to 100,  where 0 is highly corrupt and 100 is very clean.

How are country scores calculated?

Each country´s score is a combination of at least 3 data sources drawn from 13 different  corruption surveys and assessments. These data sources are collected by a variety of  reputable institutions, including the World Bank and the World Economic Forum.

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Computing one score to accurately cover such variety is always going to be very difficult. Plus, if a state were ever to register a score of 100, what precisely would that mean? What does a country that apparently has no corruption at all actually look like? Or, conversely, what would a country that scored 0 (totally corrupt) look like? Any discussion of utopias usually ends in disagreement, and it is very likely that that would be the case here.

Furthermore, measuring concepts such as democracy, justice, fairness and indeed corruption is hard at the best of times, but those who do it well acknowledge that their attempts are always approximations. Indeed, statisticians have developed their own language to discuss the problems in getting these measurements right. Even though the CPI’s methodology has undoubtedly got more rigorous over the years, none of this is overtly acknowledged. This has led some researchers to cast doubt on whether this data can be put to any real use at all.

One particular challenge concerns the problem of defining corruption. It is not always clear what respondents actually understand the term corruption to mean. The terms bribery and corruption often appear to be used interchangeably plus responses to the various surveys are very likely to be shaped by – whether directly or indirectly – the assumptions and attitudes of the western business community. That is the case for the simple reason that the majority of people asked have roots in this particular milieu.

Problem

The CPI also measures perceptions of corruption rather than corruption itself. TI regularly and consistently acknowledges that this can be problematic. While knowing more about how citizens perceive a phenomenon certainly has its uses, it is also plausible that perception and reality might differ considerably. As Ritva Reinikka and Jakob Svensson succinctly note “perception indices raise concerns about biases”. These potential biases may well mean that the CPI is actually (and inadvertently) distorting reality, and simply reinforcing stereotypes and clichés. A further limitation is that the CPI focuses on perceptions of public sector corruption. In other words, the corruption that takes place in and around governments and public servants. It says nothing about corruption in private business.

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A composite index measuring the peacefulness of countries made up of 23 quantitative and  qualitative indicators each weighted on a scale of 1-5. The lower the score the more peaceful  the country.

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https://news.sky.com/story/spain-debating-plans-to-become-first-country-in-europe-to-offer-menstrual-leave-12615102

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Spain has approved a draft bill that widens abortion rights for teenagers as it becomes the first country in Europe to entitle workers to paid menstrual leave.

The measures are part of a package of proposals that will be sent to Spain's parliament for debate.

It includes an extension of abortion rights, scrapping the requirement for 16 and 17-year-olds to obtain parental consent before terminating a pregnancy.

Meanwhile, it proposes giving workers who suffer from severe period pain three days of optional medical leave a month, with two additional days permitted in exceptional cases.

"We will recognise in the law the right to leave for women who have painful periods that will be financed by the state," equality minister Irene Montero tweeted on Friday.

She said it would no longer be "normal to go to work in pain", adding the move would "end the stigma, shame and silence around periods".

Jose Luis Escriva, Spain's minister for inclusion, social security and migration, sought to temper expectations last week, describing the leaked proposal as a draft that was still "under discussion" within the country's coalition government.

It means that Spain has become the first country in Europe to allow workers to take menstrual leave.

While some described the policy as long overdue, others cautioned against it.

On whether the measure could put off some employers from hiring women, Spanish daily newspaper El Mundo reported the cost of the leave would be undertaken by the state - citing Ms Montero, with her warning: "Not hiring for this would be discriminating against women."

"You have to be careful with this type of decision," said Cristina Antonanzas, deputy secretary of UGT, one of the country's largest trade unions, adding the move could indirectly impact "women's access to the labour market".

"I don't know if it does us women a disservice," she told Cadena SER radio station.

But Spain's other major trade union, the CCOO, said the proposed measure was "justified" if period pain prevents a woman from working, and called it a major "legislative advance" that will recognise a health problem that has been "ignored" until now.

"If we men had periods, this leave would have come decades ago. That is the problem," tweeted Inigo Errejon, leader of the left-wing party Mas Pais.

Spain's secretary of state for equality, Angela Rodriguez, floated the idea of providing some sort of menstrual leave in March.

"It's important to be clear about what we mean by painful period," she told El Periodico newspaper.

"We're not talking about a slight discomfort, but about serious symptoms such as diarrhoea, fever and bad headaches."

Last year, some local Spanish governments in the Catalonia and Castellon regions, embraced the idea and offered staff menstrual leave.

Only a small number of countries offer menstrual leave including Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, Zambia and Indonesia.

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Spain approves bill to become first country in Europe to offer menstrual leave

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Spain has approved a draft bill that widens abortion rights for teenagers as it becomes the first country in Europe to entitle workers to paid menstrual leave. The measures are part of a package of proposals that will be sent to Spain's parliament for debate.

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Pros Explained

Diversifies investor portfolios: Individual investors have the potential to achieve greater portfolio efficiency (return per unit of risk), as FDI diversifies their holdings outside of a specific country, industry, or political system. Generally, a broader base of investments will dampen overall portfolio volatility and provide for stronger long-term returns.

Provides technology to developing countries: Recipient businesses receive "best practices" management, accounting, or legal guidance from their investors. They can incorporate the latest technology, operational practices, and financing tools. By adopting these practices, they enhance their employees' lifestyles. That raises the standard of living for more people in the recipient country. FDI rewards the best companies in any country. It reduces the influence of local governments over them.

Provides financing to developing countries: Recipient countries see their standard of living rise. As the recipient company benefits from the investment, it can pay higher taxes. Unfortunately, some nations offset this benefit by offering tax incentives to attract FDI.

Promotes stable, long-term lending: Another advantage of FDI is that it offsets the volatility created by "hot money." That's when short-term lenders and currency traders create an asset bubble. They invest lots of money all at once, then sell their investments just as fast. That can create a boom-bust cycle that ruins economies and ends political regimes. Foreign direct investment takes longer to set up and has a more permanent footprint in a country.

Cons Explained

Not suitable for strategically important industries: Countries should not allow foreign ownership of companies in strategically important industries. That could lower the comparative advantage of the nation, according to an IMF report.

Investors have less moral attachment: Foreign investors might strip the business of its value without adding any. They could sell unprofitable portions of the company to local, less sophisticated investors.

Unethical access to local markets: They can use the company's collateral to get low-cost, local loans. Instead of reinvesting it, they lend the funds back to the parent company.