Spanish industry is the basis of the economy and is developing in many sectors such as light industry (textile, clothing, leather articles), metallurgic industry (iron, steel), chemical industry, electric machinery industry (car and plane factories, shipbuilders), petroleum industry and, the most appreciated by the consumers, food processing industry. Spain is also one of the biggest wine producers in the world. In 2013 the production of wine was estimated at 50.5 million hl, thanks to which Spain became a world leader in wine production. Before the changes introduced in the 1990s, smelting industry was mainly situated in Bilbao, Santander and Aviles. One of the most important energy centres is located in the valley of Escombreras, near Cartagena and it has been granted the largest financial support in the history of Spanish industry.
At the moment Spain is the twelfth largest world economy and, in terms of GDP, it is the seventh world economy. Spanish economy is one of the most open and international markets among the Eurozone countries, examples of which may be the financial and service sectors. Spain is also known as a country with strong agricultural traditions and that is why it remains one of the largest producers in the Western Europe. However, due to the rapid development of industry in the late 1950s, industry gained the advantage over agriculture and became the main branch of the country's economy.
A series of plans concerning economical development, which were initiated in 1964, caused the economy improvement but in the late 1970s, with the beginning of democracy and the open borders, there was a recession caused by the increase in oil prices and import growth. The following years marked a development of mining and smelting industry as well as shipbuilding and textile industry. At present, the development in the service sector and the changes in the Spanish society are distinctly reflected in the level of GDP and the indicator of employment in the sector. The income from the tourism industry allows the trade balance to be maintained. It is also significant that Spanish economical policy has evolved since Spain joined the European Union.
