Memo: Rural development plans in Spain: National rural network (Programa de la Red Rural Nacional 2007-2013)

Rural areas cover 91.3 % of the Spanish territory and about 20% of the population live in these areas. The Spanish situation is characterized by important territorial discrepancies, mainly between the interior and the coastal areas.

Globally speaking, about 50 % of the total surface area of Spain is utilised as agricultural land (25.2 million ha), 75% of which are classified as LFA, whilst 10.47 million ha are covered by forests. Around 15% of agricultural land is irrigated consuming about 75% of the total Spanish water consumption.

Stopping rural depopulation is the biggest challenge for Spain, given that a large area of the territory suffers from problems of depopulation, mainly due to poor living conditions resulting from topography, climate or scarcity of water, among other causes. The primary sector (agriculture, hunting and forestry) constitutes the main source for maintaining population and employment in the rural areas.