Spanish called a leading economic asset of Spain

Editorialists in Spain are abuzz these days over a recent report that shows that the Spanish language itself generates about 15 percent of the gross national product of the country. The report, El valor económico del español (The Economic Value of Spanish), issued by the Fundación Santander Central Hispano, also predicted that by 2004 the language will generate more than 100 million euros annually.
 
Crowed the Spanish newspaper ABC in an editorial today, noting that Spanish surpasses French in economic importance for Europe: "Today the language of Cervantes and Octavio Paz serve, also, to create well-being among the people. The culture and the economy sail in the same ship." Read the editorial (in Spanish).
 
Vocabulary note: In this editorial and other recent articles about the report, you'll run across the acronym PIB. That stands for producto interior bruto, the equivalent of gross domestic product or GDP.