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.
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.
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The total population in Spain was estimated at 49.1 million people in 2024, according to the latest census figures and projections from Trading Economics. This dataset provides - Spain Population - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.
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.
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<li>Total population for Spain in 2024 was <strong>47,473,373</strong>, a <strong>1.81% decline</strong> from 2023.</li>
<li>Total population for Spain in 2023 was <strong>48,347,910</strong>, a <strong>1.23% increase</strong> from 2022.</li>
<li>Total population for Spain in 2022 was <strong>47,759,127</strong>, a <strong>0.72% increase</strong> from 2021.</li>
</ul>Total population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship. The values shown are midyear estimates.
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Key information about Spain population
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<li>Spain population growth rate for 2022 was <strong>0.72%</strong>, a <strong>0.62% increase</strong> from 2021.</li>
<li>Spain population growth rate for 2021 was <strong>0.11%</strong>, a <strong>0.38% decline</strong> from 2020.</li>
<li>Spain population growth rate for 2020 was <strong>0.49%</strong>, a <strong>0.23% decline</strong> from 2019.</li>
</ul>Annual population growth rate for year t is the exponential rate of growth of midyear population from year t-1 to t, expressed as a percentage . Population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship.
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.
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Population, female (% of total population) in Spain was reported at 50.9 % in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Spain - Population, female (% of total) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.
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Spain ES: Population: Total data was reported at 46,572,028.000 Person in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 46,484,062.000 Person for 2016. Spain ES: Population: Total data is updated yearly, averaging 38,797,351.500 Person from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2017, with 58 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 46,773,055.000 Person in 2012 and a record low of 30,455,000.000 Person in 1960. Spain ES: Population: Total data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Spain – Table ES.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Total population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship. The values shown are midyear estimates.; ; (1) United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects: 2017 Revision. (2) Census reports and other statistical publications from national statistical offices, (3) Eurostat: Demographic Statistics, (4) United Nations Statistical Division. Population and Vital Statistics Reprot (various years), (5) U.S. Census Bureau: International Database, and (6) Secretariat of the Pacific Community: Statistics and Demography Programme.; Sum; Relevance to gender indicator: disaggregating the population composition by gender will help a country in projecting its demand for social services on a gender basis.
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Graph and download economic data for Infra-Annual Labor Statistics: Working-Age Population Total: From 15 to 64 Years for Spain (LFWA64TTESQ647N) from Q1 1999 to Q4 2024 about working-age, Spain, 15 to 64 years, and population.
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Spain: Population size, in millions: The latest value from 2023 is 48.37 million, an increase from 47.78 million in 2022. In comparison, the world average is 40.69 million, based on data from 196 countries. Historically, the average for Spain from 1960 to 2023 is 39.76 million. The minimum value, 30.46 million, was reached in 1960 while the maximum of 48.37 million was recorded in 2023.
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Population growth (annual %) in Spain was reported at 1.2253 % in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Spain - Population growth (annual %) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on May of 2025.
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Spain Population: Valencian Community: Valencia data was reported at 2,546,451.000 Person in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 2,540,707.000 Person for 2016. Spain Population: Valencian Community: Valencia data is updated yearly, averaging 2,540,707.000 Person from Dec 1997 (Median) to 2017, with 21 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 2,581,147.000 Person in 2009 and a record low of 2,172,796.000 Person in 1997. Spain Population: Valencian Community: Valencia 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.
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<li>Spain population density for 2021 was <strong>94.88</strong>, a <strong>0.07% increase</strong> from 2020.</li>
<li>Spain population density for 2020 was <strong>94.82</strong>, a <strong>0.49% increase</strong> from 2019.</li>
<li>Spain population density for 2019 was <strong>94.35</strong>, a <strong>0.73% increase</strong> from 2018.</li>
</ul>Population density is midyear population divided by land area in square kilometers. Population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship--except for refugees not permanently settled in the country of asylum, who are generally considered part of the population of their country of origin. Land area is a country's total area, excluding area under inland water bodies, national claims to continental shelf, and exclusive economic zones. In most cases the definition of inland water bodies includes major rivers and lakes.
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Censo de Población: Population by year of arrival in Spain, year of arrival in the Autonomous Community, sex, age (big groups) and nationality (Spanish/foreign). Annual. Autonomous Communities and Cities.
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Spain Population: Aragon data was reported at 1,307,984.000 Person in 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 1,308,750.000 Person for 2016. Spain Population: Aragon data is updated yearly, averaging 1,307,984.000 Person from Dec 1997 (Median) to 2017, with 21 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1,349,467.000 Person in 2011 and a record low of 1,183,234.000 Person in 1997. Spain Population: Aragon 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.
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Population Projections: Population residing in Spain on January 1, by sex, age and year. Annual. National.
As of January 2024, the Spanish-born population accounted for more than 42 million out of the national total. Foreign-born residents grew during the analyzed period of time, with over 6.5 million in 2023, while between 2014 and 2018 they amounted to less than five million. The population in Spain has also been analyzed by autonomous community, with Andalusia topping the list of the most populated regions.
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Population ages 0-14, female (% of female population) in Spain was reported at 12.64 % in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Spain - Population ages 0-14, female (% of total) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.
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.