The past, present and future of Spanish analytical chemistry.

The article presents information about the past, present and future of Spanish analytical chemistry. In the last few years the international scientific community has paid a great deal of attention to the considerable rise of Spanish analytical chemistry and the spectacular improvement in its international ranking, not only in the number of papers published but mainly in relation to Spain's gross domestic product. This rise has a fling of the 1960s, when the chemical industry experienced dramatic growth as a consequence of the economic liberation. In the 1970s, the renewal of scientific equipment at universities and research institutions began to change the panorama and the 40 published papers in 1960 rose to nearly 100 in 1970 and about 200 in 1982 according to Analytical Abstracts.