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.

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

In 2025, Moscow was the largest city in Europe with an estimated urban agglomeration of 12.74 million people. The French capital, Paris, was the second largest city in 2025 at 11.35 million, followed by the capitals of the United Kingdom and Spain, with London at 9.84 million and Madrid at 6.81 million people. Istanbul, which would otherwise be the largest city in Europe in 2025, is excluded as it is only partially in Europe, with a sizeable part of its population living in Asia. Europe’s population is almost 750 million Since 1950, the population of Europe has increased by approximately 200 million people, increasing from 550 million to 750 million in these seventy years. Before the turn of the millennium, Europe was the second-most populated continent, before it was overtaken by Africa, which saw its population increase from 228 million in 1950 to 817 million by 2000. Asia has consistently had the largest population of the world’s continents and was estimated to have a population of 4.6 billion. Europe’s largest countries Including its territory in Asia, Russia is by far the largest country in the world, with a territory of around 17 million square kilometers, almost double that of the next largest country, Canada. Within Europe, Russia also has the continent's largest population at 145 million, followed by Germany at 83 million and the United Kingdom at almost 68 million. By contrast, Europe is also home to various micro-states such as San Marino, which has a population of just 30 thousand.

Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid in terms of population and one of the fastest growing cities in the country.

With over ************* inhabitants, Madrid ranked as the most populated province in Spain as of 2025. In the second place was Barcelona, with a population of almost *********** people. Only ** out of the ** Spanish provinces had over a million inhabitants at that time.

Madrid was the most visited city destination in Spain in 2023, having welcomed nearly ** million overnight visitors. The Catalonian capital followed second in the ranking that year, with roughly *** million tourists spending at least one night in the destination. How did Madrid rank in tourist visits and accommodation? In 2022, Madrid attracted over 4.5 million domestic and 4.6 million international tourists for stays exceeding one day, despite experiencing a more than 10 percent decrease compared to 2019 pre-pandemic levels. Furthermore, the Spanish capital has consistently ranked among the top ten European cities with the highest number of nights spent by tourists in paid accommodation, securing the 8th position that year. Which regions attracted the most international tourists? Spain's international tourism rebounded strongly from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, surpassing 100 million visitors in 2022. Catalonia led as the most visited region, attracting over **** million international tourists. The United Kingdom played a pivotal role as the primary source of international tourists, contributing over ** million travelers, followed by France with around ** million visitors.

This statistic shows the total number of vegetarian restaurants registered by HappyCow in the ten most populated cities from Spain as of **************. According to the HappyCow platform, on that date a total of approximately ** vegetarian restaurants were registered in the city of Barcelona, which represented the highest number of vegetarian restaurants in the study. Barcelona is the second most populated city in Spain, only behind Madrid.

It comes as no surprise that Barcelona, the second-largest city in Spain, is also amongst the most polluted in the country. In 2022, Barcelona's air quality station in L'Eixample registered a record nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) concentration of 42.2 micrograms per cubic meter of air (µg/m³). Meanwhile, out of the 33 air quality stations in Spain's capital Madrid, six had recorded nitrogen dioxide emissions ranking in the country's top 15.

The company Bicing hosted ***** public rental bikes in Barcelona in 2018, making it the largest bike-sharing company in Spain at that time. Valencia had ***** rentals available, making it the second-most convenient city for bike sharing.

London was by far the largest urban agglomeration in the United Kingdom in 2025, with an estimated population of *** 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 Istanbul having a population of around **** million and the Russian capital Moscow having a population of over **** 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 **** million people. Paris was followed by London in terms of population size, and then by the Spanish cities of Madrid and Barcelona, at *** million and *** million people, respectively. The Italian capital, Rome, was the next largest city at *** million, followed by Berlin at *** million. London’s population growth Throughout the 1980s, the population of London fluctuated from a high of **** million people in 1981 to a low of **** million inhabitants in 1988. During the 1990s, the population of London increased once again, growing from ****million at the start of the decade to **** million by 1999. London's population has continued to grow since the turn of the century, and despite declining between 2019 and 2021, it reached *** million people in 2023 and is forecast to reach almost *** million by 2047.

In 2018, Madrid held the largest offer among Spanish cities, with approximately **** thousand licensed taxis. Barcelona and Zaragoza ranked second and third, respectively.

Barcelona’s most popular tourist attraction in 2023 was the Basílica de la Sagrada Família, registering approximately *** million visitors. With a difference of less than 100,000 visitors, Park Güell followed second in the ranking that year. Both monuments, created by the world-renowned architect Antoni Gaudí, are landmarks of the city. The Basilica: Gaudí’s most famous work The Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família, as this Catholic temple is officially known, was declared a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO in 1984. Its construction had begun around a century earlier but remains unfinished since the project is solely funded by private donors. The completion date, planned for 2026 as commemoration for the 100 years of Gaudí’s death, will have to be postponed due to the suspension of the construction works during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Prior to the global health crisis, La Sagrada Família received more than *** million visitors annually. COVID-19 impact on tourism in Barcelona As a result of being a major tourist hotspot for travelers worldwide, Barcelona’s tourism sector experienced significant challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. For instance, the number of tourists staying in Barcelona’s hotels decreased by over ***** million during the global health crisis. Due to lower tourist demand, the number of hotels open in Barcelona also contracted, from *** in 2019 to *** in 2020. With less than ** million passengers recorded at Barcelona Airport in 2020, down from roughly ** million travelers in 2019, the airport reached a two-decade low in traveler numbers during the pandemic.

The city of Paris in France had an estimated gross domestic product of 757.6 billion Euros in 2021, the most of any European city. Paris was followed by the spanish capital, Madrid, which had a GDP of 237.5 billion Euros, and the Irish capital, Dublin at 230 billion Euros. Milan, in the prosperous north of Italy, had a GDP of 228.4 billion Euros, 65 billion euros larger than the Italian capital Rome, and was the largest non-capital city in terms of GDP in Europe. The engine of Europe Among European countries, Germany had by far the largest economy, with a gross domestic product of over 4.18 trillion Euros. The United Kingdom or France have been Europe's second largest economy since the 1980s, depending on the year, with forecasts suggesting France will overtake the UK going into the 2020s. Germany however, has been the biggest European economy for some time, with five cities (Munich, Berlin, Hamburg, Stuttgart and Frankfurt) among the 15 largest European cities by GDP. Europe's largest cities In 2023, Moscow was the largest european city, with a population of nearly 12.7 million. Paris was the largest city in western Europe, with a population of over 11 million, while London was Europe's third-largest city at 9.6 million inhabitants.

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.

In 2023, approximately 5,100 divorces were registered in the province of Valencia, making it the third province with the most registered divorces. Spain's largest cities, Madrid and Barcelona, ranked first and second respectively, with figures reaching over 10,000 cases in both cities.

In a survey conducted by BVA in 2015, most of French people chose New York City as the foreign city they would like to visit on holiday. The Big Apple remains popular in France, despite being one of the most expensive holiday destinations in the world in 2018. New York City’s famous architecture, as well as the Statue of Liberty or Central Park, keep attracting thousands of French who want to discover the city that never sleeps.

The French dream of distant cities

It appears that when it comes to popular foreign cities, French tourists seem to have a clear preference for cities which are far from home. In this ranking, New York was followed by Sydney and Montreal. This trend follows another a ranking from 2015 about the most attractive countries for holiday. According to the French, the United States was ranked first, before Canada and Australia. However, the French are still able to dream of their European neighbors. Florence, Barcelona and Rome were among the most popular cities according to French tourists. Mediterranean countries like Spain, Italy or Portugal were also among the destinations French people considered going to for summer holidays. Proximity, organization and price explain why, even if the French dream of holidays on the other side of the world, they tend to spend their holidays in Europe or even in their own country.

Reasons for travelling in France when you are French

Some regions in France, because of their pleasant living environment or their closeness to the sea, are among the most popular for French tourists. Corsica, Brittany and Provence-Alpes Côte d’Azur are three very famous tourist destinations in the country. It also seems that French tourists like to spend their holidays with family of friends, which could explain why most French people plan holiday trips in their own country.

The city with the largest transaction price for the purchase of new residential properties in Spain in 2019 was Barcelona, with an average transaction price for new dwellings of more than *** thousand euros per square meter at that time. Madrid ranked second during the same period, with an average transaction price of over *** thousand euros per square meter.