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Science and technology inSpain relates to the set of policies, plans and programs carried out by the SpanishMinistry of Science and Innovation[1] and other organizations aimed at research, development and innovation (R&D&I), as well as the reinforcement Spanish scientific and technological infrastructures and facilities such as universities and commercial laboratories.
Spain has become the ninth scientific power in the world with 2.5% of the total number of scientific publications, thus surpassing Russia in the world ranking of scientific production[2] and surpassingSwitzerland and Australia in scientific quality.
Law 13/1986 on the "Promotion and General Coordination of Scientific and Technical Research" placed science for the first time on the Spanish political agenda, laying the foundations for research and its financing, organization and coordination between the State and the autonomous regions.[3] That regulation also led to the birth of the national research plan as an "instrument for financing science".[3] It also meant that public research organizations could create companies, as a solution to the lack of companies that encouraged new technologies and the disconnection of the science-technology system with the productive system.[4]
It is regulated by Law 14/2011, of 1 June 2011, on "Science, Technology and Innovation", which entered into force six months after its publication.[5] According to the Ninth Final Provision of the Law, some of its provisions have the character of basic legislation.[6][7] This provides a mechanism for national, regional and corporative entities to cooperate and optimise their resources.[8]
Article 21 of the Law contemplates the pre-doctoral contract.[9]
In 2020, the Ministry published the prior consultation on the reform of the Science Law. Through the 2021 Budget Law, the legal figure of the state agency was reintroduced for theState Research Agency[10] (AEI) and theSpanish National Research Council (CSIC), which had been transformed into an autonomous body in 2015.[11] State agencies have greater independence for the management of their budget. A new Science Law is expected to be approved in 2022.
In 2020, Spain will invest 1.24% of its GDP in scientific research, well below the European average of 2.12%.[12]
Up to 2020, eight editions of the National R&D&I Plan have been published, covering the period from 1988 to 1991 to 2007–2020, currently in force.[13]
Each year a Work Program of the National R&D&I Plan is approved, which serves as a short-term programming tool, and is managed by the Ministries ofScience and Innovation (MICINN); Industry, Tourism and Trade;Education (MEFP); and Environment, Rural and Marine Affairs (MARM).
At the end of 2020 the Spanish Government officially presented its Digital Plan 2025 which focussed on the recovery, transformation and resilience of scientific endeavour as a significant contributor to the Spanish economy. The Minister of Digital Development Carme Artigas has announced that starting from late 2022 the country proposes to set up a secure environment where a wide range of companies will be able to test their risky AI systems for socially sensitive areas such as law enforcement, medical diagnostics or educational intervention.[14] The rules proposed by the European Commission in 2021 will be applied with strict oversight in compliance with Spain's National Artificial Intelligence Strategy (ENIA).[15]
"Nanoinventum" is a project led by theUniversity of Barcelona to incorporate science andnanotechnology principles into elementary school level curriculums. The main objective is to help young people become familiar with scientific language and to cultivate a passion for nanotechnology and science in general.[16]
Public Research Organizations (OPI) carry out a large part of the R&D&I activities that are financed with public funds and usually manage some of the programs included in the National Plans.
The following OPI's are attached to the Ministry of Science and Innovation:
The following OPI's are attached to other ministerial departments:
The Advisory Committee for Singular Infrastructures (until 2006 called the Advisory Committee for Large Scientific Facilities, CAGIC)[17] distinguishes between two types of Scientific and Technological Facilities:Large Scientific Facilities (GIC) andMedium Size Facilities (ITM). Their recognition as such is the responsibility of the Interministerial Commission for Science and Technology (CICYT).
Singular Scientific and Technical Infrastructure (ICTS) refers to a facility that is unique or exceptional in Spain, that requires a relatively high investment cost, and that its importance in research or development justifies its availability.
At present, the following facilities are recognized as Spanish ICTS (outdated list):[18]
In addition, these are ICTS located in Spain, but with international participation:
A Medium Size Installation is defined as an Installation that is unique in Spain, requiring an investment cost of between 3 and 8 million euros and a maintenance cost of more than half a million euros per year.
Spain participates in several international scientific programs and organizations. The benefit obtained from this participation is twofold: on the one hand, Spanish scientists can use the facilities for the development of their projects; on the other hand, the business network has the opportunity to make important business contracts.
Some of the facilities in which Spain participates are:
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Spain was ranked 29th in theGlobal Innovation Index in 2025.[19][20]
In 2020Pablo Jarillo-Herrero was awarded theWolf Prize in Physics, considered the prelude to the Nobel Prize.[21] In 2009Juan Ignacio Cirac was nominated for the same prestigious award for his research inquantum computing andquantum optics.[22]
Among the Spanish contributions tochemistry are the research ofFrancisco Mojica that led to the birth of theCRISPRgene editing technique, a term he personally coined.Mariano Barbacid is one of the most internationally recognizedbiochemists, among his contributions is that he managed to isolate the human H-rasoncogene inbladdercarcinoma. This was an incredible breakthrough in the study of the molecular basis of cancer. He currently directs theSpanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO).
In 2020, Spain ranked seventh in the world in terms of scientific impact in Mathematics.[23] Internationally, centers such as theInstitute of Mathematical Sciences (ICMAT), founded in 2007, and theBasque Center for Applied Mathematics (BCAM), founded in 2008, stand out. Carlos Beltrán solvedSmale's Problem number 17, finding aprobabilistic algorithm with polynomialcomplexity, and published his solution in 2009.[24]
Michael Servetus described in the 16th century thepulmonary circulation of the blood.Francisco Romero in 1801 performed the firstheart operation.[25][26]
Spain has aNobel Prize in Medicine,Santiago Ramón y Cajal (1906), pioneer in the description of the functioning of thenervous system. Others were on the verge of being nominated, such asJaime Ferrán y Clúa, discoverer of thecholera vaccine, which put an end to the epidemic that devastated Spain in the 19th century. He would later develop vaccines fortetanus,typhoid,tuberculosis andrabies.[27] Also nominated were José Gómez Ocaña and August Pi i Sunyer.[28] In the 19th century, theBalmis Expedition was the first international health expedition in history, with the aim of bringing thesmallpox vaccine to all continents, a disease that was causing thousands of deaths of children worldwide. In 1921, surgeon Fidel Pagés developed theepidural anesthesia technique. The engineerManuel Jalón Corominas invented the disposablehypodermic needle. TodayPedro Cavadas is internationally recognized for his milestones intransplant surgery.
Thegalleon, a Spanish invention, enabled the birth of theSpanish Empire and its conquest of the seas.[29]Narcís Monturiol, inventor ofair-independent propulsion, andIsaac Peral were among the creators of thesubmarine.Juan de la Cierva invented thearticulated rotor and theautogyro, precursor of thehelicopter. In 1907,Leonardo Torres Quevedo (1852–1936) started up the world's firstaerial lift for passengers onMount Ulía inSan Sebastián.[30]
In thebiotechnology sector, institutions such as the NationalBiotechnology Center, companies such asPharmaMar and Zendal and researchers such as Mariano Esteban stand out.
Spain currently hasgeneration II nuclear reactors, with the most advanced countries developing thegeneration IV reactor.[31] It can be said that the father of nuclear energy in Spain was José María Otero de Navascués.[32] Today theCenter for Energy, Environmental and Technological Research (CIEMAT) is the main Spanish research center in this area, which has theTJ-IIstellarator, and is planning a successor, the TJ-III. Pablo Rodríguez Fernández is a leading researcher in the race fornuclear fusion.[33]Granada is a candidate to hostIFMIF-DONES from 2030 onwards.[34][35][36]
Ramón Verea (1833–1899) created the first mechanical calculator capable of direct multiplication.
Leonardo Torres Quevedo (1852–1936) created modern wirelessremote-control operation principles[37][38] and analog calculating machines that could solve algebraic equations.[39] In 1912, he built an automaton for playing chess endgames,El Ajedrecista, which has been considered the firstcomputer game in history.[40] He also introduced the idea offloating-point arithmetic to computers for the first time.[41][42]
José García Santesmases (1907–1989) built the firstanalog computer and the first Spanish-mademicroprocessor. In 1967 he launched the Factor-P, the first computer manufactured in Spain.[43]
In 2016 and 2017BQ became the third best-sellingsmartphone brand in Spain, with phones designed in the country.[44][45] Towards the end of the 1990s and early 2000s several companies manufactured laptops in Spain, most notably Airis[46] and Inves.[47] By 2021, Primux, Slimbook, Vant and Mountain already designed and assembled their computers in Spain.[48][49]
Between 1987 and 2009 there was a largemicrochip factory inTres Cantos, but it closed due to the difficulty of competing with the Asian market.[50] Currently there are Spanish companies withmicrochip production capacity on a smaller scale, but which also have design capacity, such as Televés, a pioneer in Europe in the use ofDIE electronic components (electronic components without encapsulation)[51] and which also has the capacity to manufactureMMIC circuits,[52] Ikor, and Anafocus, dedicated to the manufacture ofCMOS image sensors.
Between 1983 and 1992, Spain became one of the largest producers of video games, in what is called thegolden age of the Spanish video game. TodayFX Interactive, heir ofDinamic Software, is among the most prominent companies.
At the end of the 1990s IRC-Hispano was the reference as a social community in the Hispanic world. Other software companies that have achieved great repercussion are the search engine Olé,Terra Networks orTuenti. Today,Wallapop, Fotocasa,Cabify andRakuten TV stand out.
The evolution of astronomical navigation, thanks to the contributions of astronomers such asAlonso de Santa Cruz, Juan Arias de Loyola andJorge Juan y Santacilia was also key to Spain's preponderance in the oceans.
Since 1968 theNational Institute for Aerospace Technology has concatenated scientific satellite programs, starting with theIntasat Program, continuing with the Minisat program which was a qualitative leap in the 90's, and continuing up to the current Small Satellite Constellation Program. Many of the instruments used in space missions toMars andasteroids are developed at theAstrobiology Center (CAB). Among the major contributors in the space area areEmilio Herrera, inventor of thestratonautical space suit, predecessor of thespace suit; Enrique Trillas, promoter of space science programs; andPedro Duque, the first Spanish astronaut.
In Spain there are many science and technology parks, all of them are usually grouped in the Association of Science and Technology Parks of Spain (APTE).
The international R&D&I programs in which Spain participates are usually focused on the European area, and the most important are the following:
TheSpanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT) is a public foundation under the Ministry of Science and Innovation,[53] whose mission is to foster science and innovation, promoting their integration and approach to society. TheNational Museum of Science and Technology (MUNCYT) is dedicated to conservation and topopular science and technology. It has two sites, one inAlcobendas and the other inA Coruña.
In 1912 Leonardo Torres Quevedo ... devised the first computer game ... The machine played a KRK chess endgame, playing rook and king against a person playing a lone king.
