Spain's population surpassed 48 million inhabitants for the first time in history in 2023. In 2024 the population peaked, there are 48,946,035[3] people living in Spain. Its population density, at 96 inhabitants per square kilometre (250/sq mi), is lower than other Western European countries, yet, with the exception of microstates, it has the highest real density population in Europe, based on density of inhabited areas.[4] With the exception of the capital Madrid, the most densely populated areas lie around the coast.
The population of Spain doubled during the twentieth century, but the pattern of growth was extremely uneven due to large-scale internal migration from the rural interior to the industrial cities. Eleven of Spain's fifty provinces saw an absolute decline in population over the century.
In 2022, the average total fertility rate (TFR) across Spain was 1.16 children born per woman.[5]
Spain accepted 478,990 new immigrant residents in the first six months of 2022 alone. During these first six months, 220,443 people also emigrated from Spain, leaving a record-breaking net migration figure of 258,547.[6] The data shows that more women than men chose to move to Spain during 2022, this is due to higher rates of emigration from Latin America.[6]
History
Notable events in modern Spanish demography:
1808–1814. Peninsular War and Spanish War of Independence: 0.24–0.4–1.0 million deaths.
Late 19th century and early 20th century: Relative economic stagnation and mass emigration to American countries.
1939. End of the Civil War. Establishment of a dictatorship, start of rationing policies. Deepening of economic depression, mass emigration to European and American countries due to economic and political motives (Republican exile).
1941. Approval of benefits for large families with at least four children.[7]
1945. Establishment of tax deductions for parents.[8]
1952. End of rationing policies.
1975. End of the dictatorship, mass return of emigrated people.
The population of Spain doubled during the twentieth century as a result of the demographic boom in the 1960s and early 1970s. After that time, the birth rate fell during the 1980s and Spain's population growth stalled.
Many demographers have linked Spain's very low fertility rate to the country's lack of a family support policy. Spain spends the least on family support out of all western European countries—0.5% of GDP. A graphic illustration of the enormous social gulf in this field is the fact[citation needed] that a Spanish family would need to have 57 children to enjoy the same financial support as a family with 3 children in Luxembourg[citation needed].[citation needed]
During the early 2000s, the mean year-on-year demographic growth set a new record with its 2003 peak variation of 2.1%, doubling the previous record reached back in the 1960s when a mean year-on-year growth of 1% was experienced.[11] In 2005 alone, the immigrant population of Spain increased by 700,000 people.[12]
The arrival of migrating young adults was the main reason for the slight increase in Spain's fertility rate.[13] From 2002 through 2008 the Spanish population grew by 8%, of whom 7% were foreign.[14]
Population
The following demographic statistics are from the World Population Review in 2019.[15]
One birth every minute
One death every minute
Net gain of one person every 131 minutes
One net migrant every 13 minutes
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.
Note: Crude migration change (per 1,000) is a trend analysis, an extrapolation based on average population change (current year minus previous) minus natural change of the current year (see table vital statistics). Average population is an estimate of the population in the middle of the year and not at the end of the year.
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.
Population growth
Birth and death rates and natural changes of Spain in 1950–2012.Provinces of Spain by life expectancy in 2022[16]
Population growth rate
0.13% (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 143rd
In 2023, 242,326 (75.6%) babies were born to mothers with Spanish nationality (including naturalized immigrants), 29,075 (9.1%) to mothers with an American nationality (both North and South America), 23,593 (7.4%) to mothers with an African nationality (including North Africa), 18,661 (5.8%) to mothers with a European nationality (both EU and non-EU countries of Europe), and 6,814 (2.1%) to mothers with an Asian nationality.[24]
Birthplace of mothers
In 2023, 220,218 (68.7%) babies were born to Spanish-born mothers, 47,336 (14.8%) to American-born mothers (North and South America), 26,960 (8.4%) to African-born mothers, 18,696 (5.8%) to European-born mothers (all countries of Europe except for Spain), and 7,395 (2.3%) to Asian-born mothers.[25]
Islander population (The surface of the islands will be given in hectares except for the largest islands of the Canary and Balearic archipelagos, as well as the Plazas de Soberanía.):
Spain has been described as a de factoplurinational state.[30][31] The identity of Spain rather accrues of an overlap of different territorial and ethnolinguistic identities than of a sole Spanish identity. In some cases some of the territorial identities may conflict with the dominant Spanish culture. Distinct traditional identities within Spain include the Basques, Catalans, Galicians, Andalusians and Valencians,[failed verification][32] although to some extent all of the 17 autonomous communities may claim a distinct local identity.
Definition of ethnicity or nationality in Spain is fraught politically. The term "Spanish people" (pueblo español) is defined in the 1978 constitution as the political sovereign, i.e. the citizens of the Kingdom of Spain. The same constitution in its preamble speaks of "peoples and nationalities of Spain" (pueblos y nacionalidades de España) and their respective cultures, traditions, languages and institutions.
The formerly nomadic Gitanos and Mercheros are distinctly marked by endogamy and discrimination but they are dispersed through the country.[citation needed]
The arrival of the gitanos (Spanish for "gypsies"), a Romani people, began in the 16th century; estimates of the Spanish Roma population range from 750,000 to over one million.[34][35][36][37][38] There are also the mercheros (also called quinquis), a formerly nomadic minority group. Their origin is unclear.
Historically, Sephardic Jews and Moriscos are the main minority groups originating in Spain and with a contribution to Spanish culture.[39] The Spanish government formerly offered Spanish citizenship to Sephardic Jews.[40]
In terms of emigration vs. immigration, after decades of net emigration after the Spanish Civil War, Spain has experienced massive large-scale immigration for the first time in modern history over the past 30 years. As of 2024, there were 8,915,831 foreign-born people in Spain, making up to 18.31% of the Spanish population[41] Of these, 6,581,028 (13.51%) didn't have Spanish citizenship.[42][43] This makes Spain one of the world's preferred destinations to immigrate to, being the 4th country in Europe by immigration numbers and the 10th worldwide. Of these, more than 860,000 were Romanian, and 760,000 were Moroccan while the number of Ecuadorians was around 390,000. Colombian population amounted to around 300,000. There are also a significant number of British (359,076 as of 2011, but more than one million are estimated to live permanently in Spain) and German (195,842) citizens, mainly in Alicante, Málaga provinces, Balearic Islands and Canary Islands. The largest Asian immigrant group, the Chinese, number slightly over 166,000. Immigrants from several sub-Saharan African countries have also settled in Spain as contract workers, representing 4.08% of all the foreign residents in the country.
Percentage of people of foreign origin over two generations under the age of 15 in Spain
As of 2024, Spain had a foreign population of 6,581,028.[45][46] The largest groups of foreigners were those of Moroccan, Romanian, British, Chinese and Italian citizenship.[45]
Meanwhile in 2024, Spain had a foreign-born population of 8,915,831, being those born in the Americas the largest group, and Europe being the second most common continent of origin after South America.[47]
The Reconquista was the long process by which the Catholics reconquered Spain from Islamic rule by 1492. The Spanish Inquisition was established in 1478 to complete the religious orthodoxy of the Iberian Peninsula. In the centuries that followed, Spain saw itself as the bulwark of Catholicism and doctrinal purity; since then, Catholicism has been the main religion in Spain.[53][54]
Spanish missionaries carried Catholicism to the Americas and the Philippines, establishing various missions in the newly colonized lands. The missions served as a base for both administering colonies as well as spreading Christianity.[55][56][57]
The Spanish Constitution of 1978 abolished Catholicism as the official state religion, but recognizing the role it plays in Spanish society.[58]
From the end of the Francoist dictatorship to the present day, a secularization process has taken place that has meant a progressive decrease in religious practice, in the attendance at the different religious rites (baptisms, communions and Catholic marriages) and in the percentage of Spaniards who identify as Catholic,[59] Consequently, a majority of Spaniards today ignore Catholic doctrines on matters such as pre-marital sex, homosexuality and contraception.[60][61] Despite the drop, Catholic identity nevertheless remains an important part of Spain's culture.[59]
As of 2018[update], 68.5% of the population define themselves as Catholic, 26.4% as non-believers or atheists, and 2.6% other religions according to the official Spanish Center for Sociological Research.[62] Among believers, 59% assert they almost never go to any religious service, by contrast, 16.3% attend one or more religious service almost every week.[62][63]
A study made by the Union of Islamic Communities of Spain demonstrated that there were about 1,700,000 inhabitants of Muslim background living in Spain as of 2012[update], accounting for 3–4% of the total population of Spain. The vast majority was composed of immigrants and descendants originating from Morocco and other African countries. More than 514,000 (30%) of them had Spanish nationality.[64] The recent waves of immigration have also led to an increasing number of Muslims, Buddhists, Sikhs and Hindus. After the Reconquista in 1492, Muslims did not live in Spain for centuries. Their ranks have since been bolstered by recent immigration, especially from Morocco and Algeria.[citation needed]Judaism was practically non-existent in Spain from the 1492 expulsion until the 19th century, when Jews were again permitted to enter the country. Currently there are around 62,000 Jews in Spain, or 0.14% of the total population. Most are arrivals in the past century, while some are descendants of earlier Spanish Jews. Approximately 80,000 Jews are thought to have lived in Spain prior to its expulsion.[65] However the Jewish Encyclopedia states the number over 800,000 to be too large and 235,000 as too small: 165,000 is given as expelled as possibly too small in favour of 200,000, and the numbers of converts after the 1391 pogroms as less. Other sources suggest 200,000 converts mostly after the pogroms of 1391 and upwards of 100,000 expelled. Up until recently, descendants of these Sephardic Jews expelled in 1492 were eligible for Spanish citizenship if they requested it.[66]
About 70% of Spain's students in non-university education attend public schools;[69] 79.1% of students in higher education are enrolled in public universities.[70] The remainder attend private schools or universities, many of which are operated by the Catholic Church.[71]
Compulsory education begins with primary school or general basic education for ages 6–16. It is free in public schools and in many private schools, most of which receive governmentsubsidies[citation needed]. Following graduation, students attend either a secondary school offering a general high school diploma or a school of professional study in all fields – law, sciences, humanities, and medicine – and the technical schools offer programs in engineering and architecture.
^In fertility rates, 2.1 and above is a stable population and has been marked blue, 2 and below leads to an aging population and the result is that the population decreases.
^The term 'nationality' (Spanish: nacionalidad) was chosen carefully in order to avoid the more politically charged term 'nation'.
^"Estimations"(JPG). Gfbv.it. Archived from the original on 5 April 2016. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
^"The Situation of Roma in Spain"(PDF). Open Society Institute. 2002. Archived from the original(PDF) on 1 December 2007. Retrieved 15 September 2010. The Spanish government estimates the number of Gitanos at a maximum of 650,000.
^BARÓMETRO DE DICIEMBRE 2020(PDF) (Report) (in Spanish). Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas. 2020. p. 30. Archived(PDF) from the original on 21 December 2020.
^Laicidad and Religious Diversity in Latin America. Springer. 2016. p. 10. ISBN9783319447452.
^Cornelio, Jayeel Serrano (2016). Being Catholic in the Contemporary Philippines: Young People Reinterpreting Religion. Routledge. ISBN9781317621966.
^Tarver Ph.D., H. Micheal; Slape, Emily (2016). The Spanish Empire: A Historical Encyclopedia [2 volumes]: A Historical Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. p. 198. ISBN9781610694223.
^Constitución española [Constitution of Spain] (PDF) (Constitution). BOE. Vol. 311. 29 December 1978. art, 14, 16 & 27.3. BOE-A-1978-31229. Retrieved 26 April 2024. No religion shall have a state character. The public authorities shall take into account the religious beliefs of Spanish society and shall consequently maintain appropriate cooperation relations with the Catholic Church and other confessions.
^ abCentro de Investigaciones Sociológicas (Centre for Sociological Research) (January 2018). "Barómetro de enero de 2018" (in Spanish). p. 19. Archived from the original(PDF) on 12 July 2013. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
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