The year 1977 evokes images of change, freedom, openness and mutual understanding. Many Spanish people can remember where they were when the recent democratic history of our country began. Others, because of their age, grew up while this was being consolidated, or had the good fortune to be born in a modern Spain that was fully integrated in Europe. For the past forty years, each generation has contributed, to a greater or lesser extent according to the era in which they were born, to the creation of a more prosperous and open society. The recent economic downturn that we have endured and the problems that continue after it have blurred our collective memory. It’s time to recover that – to remember where we came from and to transmit to the next generation that another period of advances and integration is possible. In order to do that, it’s necessary to regain our self-esteem and confidence in our own capabilities. Achieving a better country for everyone is in our hands, we already proved that 40 years ago.
The socioeconomic balance is a clear reflection that Spain is a success story. Since 1977, per capita income for the Spanish has doubled in real terms and gone from 76.1% of the EU average to the current 92%. The incorporation of women in the job market is a reality – their participation has grown from 28% to 53%. At the same time, the productive model has been through a process of tertiarisation , as in the rest of the advanced economies, with the service sector accounting for 75% of employment (42% in 1977). Exports have increased from 13.3% to 33.1% of GDP, highlighting the role of Spanish multinationals, some of which are world leaders. Integration in the European project boosted foreign investment attractiveness and provided our economy with greater price and interest rate stability. In conclusion, Spain’s current economy is more competitive and open to the world.
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