In 2024, the total population of Spain was around 48.38 million people. By 2029, it was forecast to grow up to 50.76 million inhabitants.

Population of Spain While Spain’s fertility rate has been relatively decreasing over the past decade, its year-over-year population growth has been increasing continuously since 2016. The collapse of the job and real estate markets may have led the Spanish to postpone having (more) kids or to migrate to other countries in search of a more stable economy, while inflow of migrates has increased . This theory is supported by data on the average age of Spain’s inhabitants; a look at the median age of Spain’s population from 1950 up until today shows that the Spanish get older on average – perhaps due to the aforementioned factors.

Economic recovery Speaking of Spain’s economy, economic key factors suggest that the country is still recovering from the crisis. Its gross domestic product (GDP) was in admirable shape prior to the collapse, but it still has not returned to its former glory. Only recently has Spain reported actual GDP growth since 2008. Nevertheless, during 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic, Spain's GDP had a decrease of more than 11 percent. This in turn, led to an increase of the country’s unemployment rate after years of slowly but surely decreasing following an alarming peak of 26 percent in 2013. Future perspectives are, however, somewhat brighter, as GDP is forecast to maintain a positive growth rate at least until 2029, even exceeding two percentage points in 2025.

In 2025, the population of Spain was estimated at ***** million women and ***** million men. For both genders, the largest group was that made up of people aged 49 years, with ******* females and ******* males.

In 1800, the population of Spain was approximately 14.7 million. This figure would rise consistently throughout the 19th century, and early 20th century. The population growth rate was set to increase in the mid-1900s, but this was interrupted by the Spanish Civil War, which would claim around half a million lives between 1936 and 1939. In spite of the war, the Spanish population continued to grow throughout these years, and reached 28 million by the middle of the century. Between the 1950s and 1970s, Spain observed a significant increase in its population growth, facilitated by the baby boom that followed the Second World War (as in most of Western Europe) as well as general medical improvements and increased life expectancy.

Beginning in the 1980s, Spain would begin a demographic transition marked by a dramatic drop in the fertility rate of the country, resulting in the population only growing by two million between the mid-1980s and 2000 (compared to an increase of two million every five or six years beforehand). There was a sharp rise in Spain’s population from 2000 to 2008, as strong economic growth would be accompanied by a dramatic surge in immigration to the country. This would plateau at just over 46 million in 2008 however, as the Great Recession took its toll on the country’s economy, and in 2020, Spain is estimated to have a population of approximately 46.8 million, which is the sixth-largest in Europe.

Graph and download economic data for Population, Total for Spain (POPTOTESA647NWDB) from 1960 to 2024 about Spain and population.

Andalusia, with a total number of 8.6 million inhabitants, ranked first on the list of most populous autonomous communities in Spain as of January 1st, 2025. The least populated regions of Spain were the two autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla, both with a population of under 90,000 inhabitants that year. The population of Spain has been increasing for many years after experiencing a downward trend between 2012 and 2015, and is projected to grow by nearly half a million by 2027. The population of Spain is dying more than being born Spain has one of the lowest fertility rate in the European Union, with barely 1.29 children per woman. According to the most recent data, more people died in Spain than were being born in 2023, with figures reaching over 434,000 deaths versus 320,000 newborns. Immigration countered this trend One of the key points to balance out this population downtrend in Spain is immigration. Spain’s immigration figures finally started to pick up in 2015 after a downward trend that presumably initiated after the 2008 financial crisis. Nevertheless, Spaniards still migrate is much larger numbers than before the crisis. According to the latest data, nationals aged between 25 and 34 years represented the largest bulk of emigrants.

Spain Population: Madrid data was reported at 6,576,009.000 Person in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 6,507,184.000 Person for 2016. Spain Population: Madrid data is updated yearly, averaging 6,271,638.000 Person from Dec 1997 (Median) to 2017, with 21 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 6,576,009.000 Person in 2017 and a record low of 5,091,336.000 Person in 1997. Spain Population: Madrid data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by National Statistics Institute. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Spain – Table ES.G001: Population: at 1st of January.

Historical dataset showing total population for Spain by year from 1950 to 2025.

Graph and download economic data for Infra-Annual Labor Statistics: Working-Age Population Total: From 25 to 54 Years for Spain (LFWA25TTESQ647N) from Q1 1999 to Q2 2025 about 25 to 54 years, working-age, Spain, and population.

Key information about Spain population

• The Spain population reached 48.1 million people in Dec 2023, compared with the previously reported figure of 47.5 million people in Dec 2022
• The data reached an all-time high of 48.1 million people in Dec 2023 and a record low of 28.1 million people in Dec 1950

CEIC extends history for annual Population. National Statistics Institute provides year-end Population. Population prior to 1997 is a Mid-year estimate sourced from the International Monetary Fund.


Further information about Spain population data

• In the latest reports, Spain Unemployment Rate increased to 10.4 % in Sep 2025
• Monthly earnings of the Spain population was 2,680.1 USD in Jun 2025
• Spain Labour Force Participation Rate increased to 59.3 % in Sep 2025

As of January 2025, roughly 25.01 million women lived in Spain, thus outnumbering men by about 980,000. A report on expected population of EU member states forecasts the number of Spanish inhabitants growing to 49.9 million by 2050, which would make the Mediterranean nation the fourth most populated country in the EU, after Germany, France and Italy. Data relating to the population of Spain by gender and autonomous community shows the most populous region was Andalusia, with 4.4 million females and 4.2 million males, followed by the communities of Catalonia and Madrid. Moroccans made up the largest share of foreign nationals living in Spain, closely followed by Romanian nationals.

Actual value and historical data chart for Spain Urban Population Percent Of Total

Spain Population: Andalusia: Cordoba data was reported at 784,852.000 Person in 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 788,219.000 Person for 2016. Spain Population: Andalusia: Cordoba data is updated yearly, averaging 788,287.000 Person from Dec 1997 (Median) to 2017, with 21 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 805,857.000 Person in 2010 and a record low of 767,175.000 Person in 1997. Spain Population: Andalusia: Cordoba data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by National Statistics Institute. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Spain – Table ES.G001: Population: at 1st of January.

As of July 2024, out of the 48.80 million residents of Spain, approximately 6.6 million individuals were foreign residents. Spanish-born residents accounted for 42 million in 2024, a figure that has been declining since 2020, in contrast to the foreign-born population, which has been gradually increasing.

This geopackage (gpkg) file, which is an essential data repository, houses comprehensive information pertaining to Spain's official kantons as of 2022, encompassing critical data such as population statistics, surface area measurements, official region names, associated codes, and intricate geographical geometries that collectively provide a detailed and up-to-date snapshot of Spain's regional landscape.

Yearly (annual) dataset of the Spain Population, including historical data, latest releases, and long-term trends from 1960-12-31 to 2024-12-31. Available for free download in CSV format.

Spain Population: Catalonia: Barcelona data was reported at 5,606,913.000 Person in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 5,576,037.000 Person for 2016. Spain Population: Catalonia: Barcelona data is updated yearly, averaging 5,416,447.000 Person from Dec 1997 (Median) to 2017, with 21 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 5,606,913.000 Person in 2017 and a record low of 4,666,271.000 Person in 1997. Spain Population: Catalonia: Barcelona data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by National Statistics Institute. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Spain – Table ES.G001: Population: at 1st of January.

Graph and download economic data for Employment to Population Ratio for Spain (SLEMPTOTLSPZSESP) from 1991 to 2024 about Spain, employment-population ratio, population, and employment.

Comprehensive socio-economic dataset for Spain including population demographics, economic indicators, geographic data, and social statistics. This dataset covers key metrics such as GDP, population density, area, capital city, and regional classifications.

Censo de Población: Population and median age by gender and country of birth (Spain/foreign). Annual. Municipalities.

Actual value and historical data chart for Spain Population Growth Annual Percent