Education

Literacy Rates

Spain

• total population: 97.9%

• male: 98.7%

• female: 97.2% (2003 est.)

United States

• total population: 99%

• male: 99%

• female: 99% (2003 est.)

School Life Expectancies

Spain

• total: 16 years

• male: 16 years

• female: 17 years (2006)

United States

• total: 16 years

• male: 15 years

• female: 16 years (2006)

Education Expenditures

Spain

• 4.2% of GDP (2005)

United Staes

• 5.3% of GDP (2005)

Drop-out Rates

Spain

• 50% by third year (age 16)

• 25-30% after that

• Worst country in all of Europe

United States

• 70% Graduation Rate

University Costs

Spain

• Private: $8,000 to $12,000/year

• Public: FREE

United States

• Private 4-year: $26,273/year

• Public 4-year: $7,020/year

• Public 2-year: $2,544/year

Economic and Governmental Comparisons

GDP

• Spain’s GDP (PPP) - $1.395 trillion (12th).

• Spain’s GDP Per Capita - $30,588 (28th).

•U.S. GDP (PPP) – $14.444 trillion (1st).•U.S. GDP Per Capita – $47,440 (6th).

Government

Spain

• Parliamentary democracy and Constitutional Monarchy

• King – Juan Carlos I

• Prime Minister – José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero.

USA

•Federal Constitutional Republic•President – Barack O’bama•Vice President – Joe Biden.

-There are about 240 American billionaires.-275,000 American households have a net worth of $10 million or more.- About four million Americans (1.4%) have a net worth of $1 million or more.-About five percent of households are considered high income and are defined as households that earn more than $90,000 annually.-The median household income for all 50 states in 2004 is $44,000.-However the gap between the wealthy and poor is quite large in America.

American Wages

This year, for the first time, Spain has joined the top 10 countries possessing the most dollar millionaires (or some €800,000) in terms of liquid financial assets (cash, bank deposits, stocks and bonds). According to the World Wealth Report produced by the investment bank Merrill Lynch, there are now 148,600 Spanish millionaires—an increase of nearly 6 percent last year. Although the report found nearly 1,500 of these millionaires had financial assets worth more than €24 million, Spain’s tax agency reports that only 65 people had declared they were worth more than €30 million for tax purposes.

Spanish Wages

Type of Return Number of Returns Gross Collections(Millions of $)Individual income tax 138,893,908 1,366,241Corporation income tax 2,507,728  395,536Employment taxes   30,740,592  849,733 Excise taxes  907,165 53,050Gift tax 252,522 2,420Estate tax  49,924 24,558

American Tax Stats

Income (above allowances) Spain’s national tax rate Provincial tax rate Total tax rate€0 - €17,707 15.66% 8.34%

24%€17,707 - €33,007 18.27% 9.73% 28%€33,007 - €53,407 24.14% 12.86%

37%€53,407 and above 27.13% 15.87% 43%

Spanish Tax Stats

Youth Entertainment in Spain & USA

Cellular Devices

USA Cell Phone Statistics

• 90% of youth over the age of 7 have cell phones

• 88% use cell phones frequently

Spain Cell Phone Statistics

• 96% of youth have cell phones

• 92% use cell phones frequently

Internet Usage

USA

• 10% of people in USA have dial-up connection

• 30% don’t have internet home internet access

Spain

• 70% use internet

• 76% agree with the affirmation that Internet serves to “communicate with people who defend ideas similar to ours.

Leisure Time

USA

• Youth in school have an average of 4 hours of free time a day

• 2 in 5 American teens get drunk at least 4 times a month

Spain

• Youth in school have an average of 6 hours a of free time a day

• 1 in 4 Spanish teens get drunk at least 3 times a month

Life ExpectancyU.S. vs. Spain

Factors

• Vaccination• Improvements in motor vehicle safety• Safer workplaces• Control of infectious diseases• Safer and healthier foods• Healthier mothers and babies• Family planning• Flouridation of drinking water• Recognition of tobacco use as a health hazard• Decline in deaths from coronary heart disease and stroke

*U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention list of top 10 greatest health achievements contributing to life expectancy

Vaccination/Control of Infectious Disease Comparison

Spain

• 96-97% of 1-year-old children are vaccinated against infectious diseases.

United States

• About 90% of 1-year-old children are vaccinated.

• In 2009 the Institute of Medicine came up with a National Vaccine Plan that has made the process faster for developing new vaccinations.

Motor Vehicle Safety Comparison

Spain

• Speed limit is 75 mph on motorways.

• Speed limit is 55-60 mph on open road.

• Speed limit is 30 mph in town.

• There is radar enforcement.

• Cell phones are not allowed while driving.

• Front and back seat belts are required.

• Legal drinking age is 18.

United States

• Speed limit is 70-75 mph on motorways.

• Speed limit is 55-60 mph on open road.

• Speed limit is 20-35 mph in town.

• There is radar enforcement.

• Cell phone laws vary by state.

• Seat belt laws vary by state.

• Legal drinking age is 21.

Workplace Safety Comparison

Spain

Number of mild accidents (per 100,000)- 921.787

Number of serious accidents (per 100.000)- 8.830

Number of Deaths (per 100.000)- 846

United States

Number of deaths (per 100,000)- 212

Number of mild injuries (per 100,000)- 452

Safer and Healthier Foods Comparison

Spain

• Foods in restaurants have more vegetables.

• Restaurants are working on maintaining good hygienic practices in the restaurants.

United States

• Nutrition labels are required on every food item or drink for sale.

• Every child is required to take a health course in high school.

• Public schools are required to follow the food pyramid guide.

Healthier Mothers/Babies Comparison

• There are generally nine checkups, one per month.

• Ultrasounds are done in the same room as the ordinary checkup.

United States

• There are prenatal programs in every state.

• The average number of prenatal checkups is 13.

• The major factor of infant mortality is low birth weight.

EnvioRmentUnited States vs. Spain

Weather

Urbanism

Terrain

Central Business DistRict

United States

• Builds suburbs and malls around cities

• Skyscrapers overtake the center of cities

• Apartments circle the center of the cities and then expand

Spanish

• Builds big buildings and skyscrapers and malls around the middle of the cities.

• Old buildings make up downtowns and a big part of Spanish cities.

• Residents live inside the cities.

Landscape/ TerrainUnited States

• Bordered by Canada, Mexico, Atlantic and Pacific Oceans

• East: broad, flat coastal plain lines Atlantic and Gulf shores. Texas/Mexico- New York City

• Areas further in feature rolling hills and temperate forests

• Appalachian Mountains, Great Lakes, and rivers such as the Mississippi.

• Southeast: Mississippi River, Ohio, and Tennesse Rivers

• Mideast: rolling hills and productive farmland

• Midwest: Great Plains, Rocky Mountains, plateaus, desert

• Southern: Great Basin, small flats, drainage basins, small mountain ranges

• Southwest: low lying desert region

Hawaii and AlaskaAlaska: mountains from broad, flat tundra plainsHawaii: volcanoes

Landscape/ Terrain

Spain• Mainland is dominated by

high plateaus and mountain ranges, such as Sierra Nevada

• Rivers run from the mountains: Tagus, Ebro, Duero, Guadiana, and Guadalquivi

• Alluvial plains along the coast

• Surrounded by a mountain range, Portugal, and the Atlantic Ocean

Climate Of United States

Semiarid- Western U.S.Mediterranean Climate-

CaliforniaHumid Continental- NortheastHighland Climate- Mountains

in WestMidlatitude Dester- SouthwestHumid Subtropical Climate-

SoutheastMarine West Coast- Northwest

CoastTropical Wet/Dry Season-

Florida TipRain

Falls mostly in Marine West Coast, then South East,

Northeast, then Middle West, North to South

Climate of SpainContinental Mediterranean Climate-

inland areas of the peninsulaOceanic Climate- Galicia and coastal

strip near the Bay of Biscay. Often known as Green Spain

Semiarid Climate- SoutheastMediterranean Climate- From

Andalusian Plain, on the seaward side of the mountain ranges that run

near the coastSubtropical Climate- Canary Islands,

casts of Granada and MalagaRain:

Falls mainly in the northern mountains. Does not stay mainly in

the plains.

Art in Spain

Spain has a wonderfully artistic heritage!

During the Golden Age, artists such as El Greco and Diego

Velázquez emerged.In the 18th century, Francisco de

Goya became Spain’s most prolific painter with his

unflattering portraits of royalty.The 20th century soon came and with it brought new artists such as Pablo Picasso, Juan Gris, Joan Miró, and Salvador Dalí became

ambassadors of the artistic culture in Spain.

Art in the

United States

Compared with Spain, art in the United States is

somewhat bland. While Spanish artists were doing impressionist work in the 18th century, many artists in the United states were

focused on doing landscapes and portraits

in a realistic style.Famous American artists include Jackson Pollock, Norman Rockwell, Andy Warhol, and Dorothea

Lange.

Music in Spain

Music in Spain is very diverse from region to region and has had a huge impact on music throughout the world.

The Spanish guitar was invented in Andalusia in the 1790’s when a sixth string was added to the Moorish lute. Flamenco music is also very popular in Andalusia. It consists of three forms: the song, the dance, and the guitar.The music of Galicia is influenced by Ireland and France.Also, the contemporary music scene in Spain, centered in Madrid and Barcelona, has made strong contributions to contemporary music within the areas of Pop, rock, hip hop, and heavy metal music.Spain has also had a huge role in the history of classical music from Renaissance composers like Tomás Luis de Victoria to the zarzuela of Spanish opera to the ballets of Manuel de Falla.

Literature in Spain

Fernando de Rojas wrote the book Celestina in 1499. This book is considered to be one of the greatest in Spanish literature, and maks the end of medieval literature and the beginning of the literary renaissance in Spain.Another famous author of Spain is Miguel de Cervantes. He wrote two volumes a decade apart of Don Quixote. Don Quixote was one of the most influential works of literature to emerge from the Spanish Golden Age.

Spanish Cinema

Luis Buñuel was the first filmmaker to achieve universal recognition, and soon after him came Pedro Almodóvar in the 1980s. Other famous Spanish directors are Segundo de Chomón, Florián Rey, Luis García Berlanga, Juan Antonia Bardem, Carlos Saura, Julio Médem, and Alejandro Amenábar. Famous Spanish actors include Antonia Banderas, Penélope Cruz, and José Luis Garci.