The province in which the Catalan capital, Barcelona, is located has experienced a significant increase in population since 1996. In January 2023, the inhabitants of the province of Barcelona amounted to nearly *** million, which is also the highest figure registered during the period under consideration.

As of January 2025, Catalonia's population stood at over eight million, making it the second most populated autonomous community in Spain. Catalonia had 682,998 inhabitants aged between 45 and 49 years old, the largest age group. Meanwhile, children aged zero to four years old totaled 290,941.

In 2024, Madrid was the city with the most inhabitants in Spain. In that year, more than 3.42 million people lived in the city. Barcelona was the second-largest city with 1.69 million residents.

Població de Barcelona agregada per edat en grups de cinc anys segons el registre del Padró Municipal d'Habitants a data 1 de gener de cada any

Població de Barcelona empadronada sola al domicili agregada per sexe i edat en grups de cinc anys segons el registre del Padró Municipal d'Habitants a data 1 de gener de cada any

Població de Barcelona agregada per sexe i edat en grups de cinc anys segons el registre del Padró Municipal d'Habitants a data 1 de gener de cada any

Madrid was the largest city in Spain in 2024, with around 3.4 million inhabitants. Barcelona followed second, with nearly 1.7 million people residing there. The most populated city in the Spanish islands that year was Palma de Mallorca.

The Spain condominiums and apartments market exhibits robust growth potential, fueled by a burgeoning tourism sector, increasing urbanization, and a rising demand for upscale residential properties. The market's compound annual growth rate (CAGR) exceeding 5.40% from 2019 to 2024 suggests a consistently expanding market. Key drivers include Spain's attractive climate, diverse cultural offerings, and strong investor interest in the real estate sector, particularly in major cities like Madrid, Barcelona, and Valencia. Government initiatives to stimulate construction and improve infrastructure also contribute to market expansion. While data on the precise market size in 2025 is not explicitly provided, extrapolating from the CAGR and assuming a market size of (let's assume) €500 million in 2024, the 2025 market size would likely exceed €527 million. This estimation reflects the continued upward trend and strong growth factors. The market segmentation reveals significant regional variations, with major cities like Madrid, Barcelona, and Valencia dominating the market share due to higher population density and increased property values. Potential restraints include fluctuating economic conditions, stringent building regulations, and land scarcity in prime locations which can impact supply and price fluctuations. The competitive landscape is characterized by a mix of both large established construction firms like Ferrovial Construccion SA and Dragados Sociedad Anonima, and smaller, regional players. These firms cater to a diverse clientele ranging from individual homebuyers to institutional investors. Future growth prospects remain positive, driven by ongoing urbanization trends, increased foreign investment, and continued development of luxury residential projects catering to high-net-worth individuals and the growing tourism market. Strategic partnerships and technological advancements in construction techniques will further shape the market's evolution over the forecast period (2025-2033). However, careful monitoring of macroeconomic indicators and effective risk management will be crucial for sustained market growth. This comprehensive report provides an in-depth analysis of the Spain condominiums and apartments market, covering the period from 2019 to 2033. It offers valuable insights into market size, trends, key players, and future growth prospects, using 2025 as the base and estimated year. The report leverages historical data (2019-2024) to forecast market dynamics (2025-2033), equipping stakeholders with critical information for informed decision-making. Search terms like Spain real estate market, Barcelona apartments, Madrid condos, Spanish property investment, Valencia apartments for sale are incorporated for optimal online visibility. Recent developments include: Oct 2022: A build-to-rent (BTR) cooperation between Layetana Living and Aviva Investors was established in Spain. According to the statement, the collaboration between Aviva and the Spanish developer Layetana will construct a more than EUR 500 million (USD 531.20 million) residential portfolio, already securing its first development project. Based on the recommendation of international real estate consultancy Knight Frank, the partnership purchased a 71-unit residential building in Barcelona's Sants neighborhood. Construction is scheduled to begin at the end of 2023., Sept 2022: Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, a global residential real estate brokerage franchise network, expanded its services in the Valencian Community. It is now running with Maryana Kim directing a new office in Denia, in the northern section of the Costa Blanca. It was the fourth facility that Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Spain opened in 2022.. Key drivers for this market are: High demand with signs of increased residential project developments and buyers in the market, The growing population in Bahrain is driving the luxury residential real estate sector. Potential restraints include: The Bahrain real estate sector has been growing at a slower pace in recent years, The increased cost of credit due to higher interest rates is starting to dent demand for luxury real estate in Bahrain. Notable trends are: Rise in International Buyers in Spain.

In 2024, the average number of employees in tourism industries in Catalonia, Spain amounted to a little over 300,000, which represents a significant increase of around 3.5 percent versus the previous year.

Most residents of Catalonia considered themselves equally Catalan and Spanish. This is the result of a survey conducted in March and May 2024 which revealed that approximately 34 percent of the population in this northern region identified Catalan and Spanish to the same degree. The share of the population that identified as more Catalan than Spanish or only Catalan, however, was also significant, with shares of 21.6 percent and 18.7 percent, respectively. Catalonia in SpainThe Catalan participation in the Spanish GDP was estimated at 20 percent in 2023. This figure maintained steadily over the last few years, with an average share of about 20 percent of the total GDP of the country. The average GDP per capita in Catalonia was significantly higher than that of the rest of Spain at 34,534 euros in 2022. During the same period, Spain’s average GDP per capita was 28.276 euros. As of 2024, Catalonia was the second most populous autonomous community in Spain with about eight million people. The Catalan language: a symbol of the region’s identityThe Catalan and Spanish languages coexist in the coastal region of Catalonia, both enjoying official and equal status. As of 2024, about 47 percent of the population of Catalonia considered Spanish their mother tongue, whereas about 40 percent reported being native speakers of Catalan. Despite the fact that the vast majority of books in Spain are published in Spanish, the Catalan language ranked second in the country’s editorial scene at about nine percent of book publications, revealing the weight of this language among other languages spoken in Spain. In fact, Catalan was one of the most translated languages in this country according to the latest studies.

The number of tourists who stayed in accommodations establishments in the Spanish city of Barcelona amounted to nearly **** million in 2024. Hotels hosted the largest number of overnight visitors in Barcelona, with approximately ****** million in total.

As recorded by the source, Moroccans ranked as the foreign nationality with more residents in Spain in 2023, closely followed by Romanians. After years of losing its foreign population, Spain’s immigration figures started to pick up in 2015, with the number of people that moved to the Mediterranean country surpassing the number of foreigners that decided to leave.

A matter of balance The net migration rate of Spain changed its course mainly due to the great inflow of foreigners that move to reside in the Mediterranean country. Spain’s immigration flow slowed down after the 2008 financial crisis, albeit the number of foreigners that opted to change their residence saw a significant growth in the last years. In 2022, Colombians ranked first as the foreign nationality that most relocated to Spain, distantly followed by Moroccans and Ukranians.

Spain does not have the highest number of immigrants in Europe In recent years, the European Union confronted a rising number of refugees arriving from the Middle East. Migration figures show that Germany accommodated approximately 15 million foreign-born citizens, ranking it as the country that most hosted immigrants in Europe in 2022. By comparison, Spain’s foreign population stood slightly over seven million, positioning the Western Mediterranean country third on the European list of foreign-born population. Unfortunately, thousands of persons have died ore gone missing trying to reach Spanish territory, as more and more irregular migrants opt to use dangerous maritime routes to arrive at Southern Europe from Africa's coasts.

Spain has a long history of Islamic tradition under its belt. From cuisine to architecture, the southern European country has been linked to the North of Africa through many common elements. At the end of 2023, there were approximately 2.41 million Muslims in Spain, most of them of Spanish and Moroccan nationality, with upwards of eight hundred thousand believers in both cases. With a Muslim population of more than 660,000 people, Catalonia was home to the largest Muslim community in Spain as of the same date.

The not so Catholic Spain

Believers of a religion other than Catholicism accounted for approximately 3 percent of the Spanish population, according to the most recent data. Although traditionally a Catholic country, Spain saw a decline in the number of believers over the past years. Compared to previous years, when the share of believers accounted for slightly over 70 percent of the Spanish population, the Catholic community lost ground, while still being the major religion for the foreseable future.

A Catholic majority, a practicing minority

Going to mass is no longer a thing in Spain, or so it would seem when looking at the latest statistics about the matter: 50 percent of those who consider themselves Catholics almost never attend any religious service in 2024. The numbers increased until 2019, from 55.5 percent of the population never attending religious services in 2011 to 63.1 percent in 2019. The share of population that stated to be practicing believers and go to mass every Sunday and on the most important holidays accounted for only 15.5 percent.

London was by far the largest urban agglomeration in the United Kingdom in 2023, with an estimated population of 9.65 million people, more than three times as large as Manchester, the UK’s second-biggest urban agglomeration. The agglomerations of Birmingham and Leeds / Bradford had the third and fourth-largest populations respectively, while the biggest city in Scotland, Glasgow, was the fifth largest. Largest cities in Europe Two cities in Europe had larger urban areas than London, with the Russian capital Moscow having a population of almost 12.7 million. The city of Paris, located just over 200 miles away from London, was the second-largest city in Europe, with a population of more than 11.2 million people. Paris was followed by London in terms of population-size, and then by the Spanish cities of Madrid and Barcelona, at 6.75 million and 5.68 million people respectively. Russia's second-biggest city; St. Petersburg had a population of 5.56 million, followed by Rome at 4.3 million, and Berlin at 3.5 million. London’s population growth Throughout the 1980s, the population of London fluctuated from a high of 6.81 million people in 1981 to a low of 6.73 million inhabitants in 1988. During the 1990s, the population of London increased once again, growing from 6.8 million at the start of the decade to 7.15 million by 1999. London's population has continued to grow since the turn of the century, reaching a peak of 8.96 million people in 2019, and is forecast to reach 9.8 million by 2043.

After the 2008 financial crisis, many Spaniards lost their jobs and the Mediterranean country was left with one of the highest unemployment rates in the European Union. In recent years, at least until the economic crisis provoked by the COVID-19, everything pointed at a slow but sure recovery of the job market in Spain, although the unemployment rate among the younger age groups remained still quite high. In fact, over ** percent of those aged 16-19 did not have a job between 2020 and 2022. This figure goes down to approximately **** percent in ages 20-24 and 15.58 for 25 to 29-year-olds. In stark contrast, youth unemployment figures in the European Union reached **** percent in April 2023. The unemployed rate for under 25s was the highest in Spain, followed by Greece and Italy, all the three Mediterranean countries featuring rates of over ** percent in the younger workforce groups. An ongoing and tough recoverySpanish unemployment rate skyrocketed in 2008, jumping from * percent in the first quarter that year up to ***** percent during the same quarter a year after. The Spanish unemployment crisis hit hardest in 2013, when a record high of ** percent of the population did not have a job. In numbers, that share translates into 6.3 million professionals in 2013 left out of the workforce. The job market initiated a recovery thereafter, making moderate and laborious progress and reducing the numbers to approximately *** million unemployed workers in the first quarter of 2023. The impact of the coronavirus on the Spanish economy caused the unemployment rate to surge again throughout 2020, but still remained far from the figures reached after the financial crisis. The unemployment situation in the European Union Spain was the European country with the highest unemployment rate in August 2023, with **** percent of the labor force out of work. The unemployment rate in Greece, in second place, stood at a rate of **** percent in that timeframe, which is still considerably higher than that of the rest of the European Union.

Mallorca received more than 13 million hotel guests in 2023, which was the highest number registered that year among popular beach destinations in Spain. Barcelona and its coast followed in the ranking, with around 12.6 million tourists at hotel establishments.