<h6><strong>Eduardo González</strong></h6> <h4><strong>Spain ranks thirteenth in the 2025 global presence ranking of the Elcano Royal Institute, which specifies that Europe represents more than half of that external projection, followed by Latin America, although with less weight than twenty years ago, and the United States, where Spain has strengthened its presence.</strong></h4> The<a href="https://www.realinstitutoelcano.org/analisis/donde-esta-espana-analisis-de-la-presencia-global-espanola-desde-una-perspectiva-geografica/"> <strong>Elcano Royal Institute</strong></a> presented on Tuesday, November 25, data on the geographical distribution of Spain's global presence, compiled from the Elcano Global Presence Index, a tool that measures countries' external projection in the economic, military, and soft power spheres. The study compares its results with the objectives of the Foreign Action Strategy (2025-2028), in which Spain defines itself as a "Euro-Atlantic and Mediterranean power that acts as an intersection between Europe and Africa and Latin America." According to the report, Spain ranks thirteenth in the 2025 global presence ranking, behind Italy and ahead of Australia. Our country has maintained this position since 2011, a relatively high ranking compared to its position in terms of GDP and population (15th and 23rd, respectively). According to the Elcano study, Spain's transition to democracy was later than that of other European powers, and thus it entered an international community that had already institutionalized various mechanisms for multilateral cooperation. Since the 1990s, there has been intense internationalization reflected in the growth of its global presence, both in absolute terms and in terms of share (its weight in the global aggregate). Thus, between 1990 and 2010, Spain's share of global presence increased from 1.8% to 2.7%, "which is significant in this context of the declining relative weight of European countries." The Great Recession of 2008 reversed this trend and reduced Spain's global presence. This reduction, with some exceptions, was widespread among the other EU member states and continued until the pandemic, bringing Spain's share to its lowest point in history. As is well known, the pandemic particularly affected indicators related to the mobility of people (tourism, education, migration), key elements of soft power. Since the pandemic, Spain has once again registered growth in its external projection and has experienced a more robust recovery than that of its other European partners and even the main emerging economies. However, Spain's global presence remains lower than in 2010. The evolution of the global presence ranking, according to Elcano Royal Institute, reflects the geopolitical changes that have occurred in recent decades and consequently shows a gradual decline in the influence of the main European powers in favor of Asian countries. <h5><strong>Europe</strong></h5> By region, the European Union currently accounts for 38.7% of Spain's global presence, confirming the relevance and centripetal effect of the integration process. In other words, Spain's presence is primarily focused on the EU and, secondarily, on the rest of Europe with 16.2%, which together represent 54.9% of Spain's total presence. Within the EU, Spain's presence is highly concentrated in a few countries: France accounts for 8.5%, Germany 5.8%, and Italy and Portugal 3.6% and 3.5%, respectively. These four countries will therefore represent 21.5% of Spain's global presence in 2024, a figure that remains relatively stable throughout the period. Outside the European commons, the United Kingdom occupies a prominent position in Spain's global presence, with 7.9% in 2024, second only to France. However, its weight has diminished since Brexit. In 2015, it was the top destination for Spanish presence (10.4%), mainly due to stronger economic ties. Nevertheless, Brexit has not reduced the UK's relevance in foreign relations, both for the EU as a whole and for Spain in particular, as it remains the second-largest destination for service exports and foreign investment, as well as the main source of immigration and tourism to Spain. Spain's projection toward the EU is primarily economic. Twenty-eight of the 38.7 percentage points projected for the region are due to exports of energy, primary goods, manufactured goods, services, and foreign investment. Furthermore, the EU is the most important region for Spain's soft power presence—eight percentage points—leading in indicators of migration, tourism, sports, science, and technology, also influenced by regulatory frameworks such as the European single market and the Schengen Area. On the other hand, a significant development has emerged in recent years: the rise of a military presence in other EU countries, specifically with the deployment of troops to Romania, Slovakia, Estonia, and Latvia. This development is framed within the context of the conflict with Russia, which also affects Spain's increased participation in international missions in the European region. Consequently, the military presence in the rest of Europe is also growing. <h5><strong>Latin America, the US, and Africa</strong></h5> In any case, and despite the strong European predominance, Spain's external projection is currently more diversified than in the 1990s, in line with a Foreign Action Strategy that incorporates a growing number of partners and priority regions. Latin America remains one of the most important regions, with a 13% global presence projected for 2024, making it the third most important area for Spain's external projection, after the EU and the rest of Europe. Within the region, Mexico (3.1%), Brazil (2.3%), and Argentina (1.1%) stand out. On the other hand, ties with North America have strengthened over time, reaching 8.2% of Spain's global presence in 2024, driven by its economic dimension (6.4%), followed by its soft power dimension (1.8%). The United States, the third largest destination for Spain's economic outreach and the leading recipient of Spanish investment abroad, is the primary destination for Spain's global presence (7.5%). The US also stands out as the second largest destination for soft power, with a particular emphasis on the sports, science, and technology sectors. The data also demonstrate the importance of ties with Africa, representing 10.9% of global presence, ahead of Asia and North America. These ties have distinct profiles between North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa, and are influenced by the military dimension. Indeed, the military dimension shapes Spain's presence both north and south of the Sahara, through participation in NATO, EU, and United Nations missions. However, while Spain maintains a small but geographically dispersed military presence in Sub-Saharan Africa (Somalia, Central African Republic, Mali, Djibouti, Gabon, Senegal, and Mozambique), in the Maghreb, the Spanish military presence is entirely tied to the NATO mission launched in the Mediterranean in 2016. In contrast, its deployment to Asia remains low, with a projected 6.9% of its military presence projected for 2024, less than half that of Latin America and lower than that of Africa. The presence in the region is heavily concentrated in China (2.2%), India (0.6%), Japan (0.6%), and South Korea (0.5%).
