While Spain’s population has increased slightly since the year 2000, the share of the rural and urban populations has remained relatively constant, with Spain being a highly urban country. This consistently high urbanization is a consequence of both economic and social factors. The Spanish wealth is generated in the cities to a large extent Two thirds of Spain’s economic output, as divided across economic sectors, comes from the service sector, with only three percent originating from agriculture. Naturally, service-based economies are easiest when people live closely, while agricultural practices need more land, and thus a rural population. Of course, this also brings economic costs, such as the high living and housing costs in Madrid. What draws people into cities? Social factors also drive people to cities. For some, it is being closer to family or culture, such as art museums. For others, it is finding a large city with green spaces, like Madrid. For others, it is the opportunity to watch a game in a world-class soccer stadium, perhaps FC Barcelona. These and other factors continue to keep Spaniards in their cities.

Spain ES: Population in Largest City: as % of Urban Population data was reported at 17.171 % in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 17.008 % for 2016. Spain ES: Population in Largest City: as % of Urban Population data is updated yearly, averaging 15.595 % from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2017, with 58 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 17.171 % in 2017 and a record low of 14.326 % in 1960. Spain ES: Population in Largest City: as % of Urban Population 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: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Population in largest city is the percentage of a country's urban population living in that country's largest metropolitan area.; ; United Nations, World Urbanization Prospects.; Weighted average;

In 2023, the share of urban population in Spain remained nearly unchanged at around 81.55 percent. Nevertheless, 2023 still represents a peak in the share in Spain with 81.55 percent. A country's urbanization rate refers to the share of the total population living in an urban setting. International comparisons of urbanization rates may be inconsistent, due to discrepancies between definitions of what constitutes an urban center (based on population size, area, or space between dwellings, among others).Find more key insights for the share of urban population in countries like Portugal.

Urban population (% of total population) in Spain was reported at 81.55 % in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Spain - Urban population (% of total) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.

The Urban Atlas is providing pan-European comparable land use and land cover data for Large Urban Zones with more than 100.000 inhabitants as defined by the Urban Audit. Urban Atlas' mission is to provide high-resolution hotspot mapping of changes in urban spaces and indicators for users such as city governments, the European Environment Agency (EEA) and European Commission departments.

Urban population growth (annual %) in Spain was reported at 1.5298 % in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Spain - Urban population growth (annual %) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.

Spain ES: Urban Population data was reported at 37,268,800.000 Person in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 37,095,211.000 Person for 2016. Spain ES: Urban Population data is updated yearly, averaging 29,103,091.500 Person from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2017, with 58 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 37,268,800.000 Person in 2017 and a record low of 17,227,480.000 Person in 1960. Spain ES: Urban Population 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: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Urban population refers to people living in urban areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated using World Bank population estimates and urban ratios from the United Nations World Urbanization Prospects. Aggregation of urban and rural population may not add up to total population because of different country coverages.; ; World Bank staff estimates based on the United Nations Population Division's World Urbanization Prospects: 2014 Revision.; Sum;

Spain urban population for 2023 was 39,449,423, a 1.55% increase from 2022.

<ul style='margin-top:20px;'>

<li>Spain urban population for 2022 was <strong>38,845,702</strong>, a <strong>1.07% increase</strong> from 2021.</li>
<li>Spain urban population for 2021 was <strong>38,433,346</strong>, a <strong>0.41% increase</strong> from 2020.</li>
<li>Spain urban population for 2020 was <strong>38,276,186</strong>, a <strong>0.8% increase</strong> from 2019.</li>
</ul>Urban population refers to people living in urban areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated using World Bank population estimates and urban ratios from the United Nations World Urbanization Prospects. Aggregation of urban and rural population may not add up to total population because of different country coverages.

Access to electricity, urban (% of urban population) in Spain was reported at 100 % in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Spain - Access to electricity, urban - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.

People using at least basic sanitation services, urban (% of urban population) in Spain was reported at 99.9% in 2022, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Spain - People using at least basic sanitation services, urban (% of urban population) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.

Spain ES: Urban Population Growth data was reported at 0.489 % in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 0.383 % for 2016. Spain ES: Urban Population Growth data is updated yearly, averaging 1.284 % from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2017, with 58 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 2.806 % in 1968 and a record low of -0.035 % in 2013. Spain ES: Urban Population Growth 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. Urban population refers to people living in urban areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated using World Bank population estimates and urban ratios from the United Nations World Urbanization Prospects.; ; World Bank staff estimates based on the United Nations Population Division's World Urbanization Prospects: 2018 Revision.; Weighted average;

Urban population in Spain was reported at 39428688 in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Spain - Urban population - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on April of 2025.

During the measured period, Valencia held the third largest number of urban bus passengers. Approximately 51.9 million individuals used the urban bus transport system in this Spanish city in 2019.

The database is one of the results of the project "Metropolitan Governance in Spain: Institutionalization and Models" (METROGOV, 2020-23), funded by the National R&D Plan 2019 of the Ministry of Science and Innovation (PID2019-106931GA-I00). Directed by Professor Tomàs, the project wants to understand the building and definition of models of metropolitan governance in Spain. There is no comprehensive work based on a common methodology that address this topic, this is why the METROGOV project seeks to cover this gap in the literature and the research.

The first specific goal of the project was to create a database of metropolitan institutions in Spain, including hard forms like metropolitan governments, metropolitan sectorial agencies and consortiums as well as soft forms as metropolitan strategic plans. The database provides an updated and rigorous portrait of the institutional thickness of urban agglomerations, gathering up to 384 metropolitan cooperation instruments in the Spanish functional areas. In other words, it is a picture of the institutional reality of Spanish urban agglomerations. This database provides precious information about the model of metropolitan governance, the municipalities involved and the sectors with most and less institutionalization.

As in Spain there is not an official or statistical definition of metropolitan areas, the project departed from the concept of Functional Urban Areas (FUA), considered as “densely inhabited city and a less densely populated commuting zone whose labour market is highly integrated with the city” (Eurostat). According to this definition, the commuting zone contains the surrounding travel-to-work areas of a city where at least 15 % of employed residents are working in a city. In the case of Spain, we find 45 big FUA, where the central city has more than 100.000 inhabitants. The database was structured considering these 45 Spanish FUAs, and it was necessary that at least 3 municipalities participated in the metropolitan cooperation tools.

In the grid, you will find the 384 instruments of metropolitan cooperation following different criteria. First of all, the models of metropolitan governance, from hard to soft: metropolitan government, metropolitan sectoral agency, “mancomunidad”, consortium, public or public-private company, territorial plan, sectoral plan, comarca, association of municipalities, strategic plan, European project, working group. Each instrument is also classified according to the subject of cooperation: transport, waste, water, housing, urbanism, etc. Other complementary information is added, such as: the year of creation; number and names of municipalities that are part of the entity; percentage of territory covered by this tool, etc.

A book has been recently published with the results of the project: Tomàs, M. (2023) (ed.). Metrópolis sin gobierno. La anomalía española en Europa. València: Tirant lo Blanch.

Spain: Percent urban population with access to drinking water: The latest value from 2022 is 99.8 percent, unchanged from 99.8 percent in 2021. In comparison, the world average is 69.9 percent, based on data from 93 countries. Historically, the average for Spain from 2000 to 2022 is 99.8 percent. The minimum value, 99.6 percent, was reached in 2000 while the maximum of 99.9 percent was recorded in 2008.

Population in the largest city (% of urban population) in Spain was reported at 17.16 % in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Spain - Population in the largest city - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.

Spain ES: Urban Land Area data was reported at 69,794.586 sq km in 2010. This stayed constant from the previous number of 69,794.586 sq km for 2000. Spain ES: Urban Land Area data is updated yearly, averaging 69,794.586 sq km from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2010, with 3 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 69,794.586 sq km in 2010 and a record low of 69,794.586 sq km in 2010. Spain ES: Urban Land Area 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: Land Use, Protected Areas and National Wealth. Urban land area in square kilometers, based on a combination of population counts (persons), settlement points, and the presence of Nighttime Lights. Areas are defined as urban where contiguous lighted cells from the Nighttime Lights or approximated urban extents based on buffered settlement points for which the total population is greater than 5,000 persons.; ; Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN)/Columbia University. 2013. Urban-Rural Population and Land Area Estimates Version 2. Palisades, NY: NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC). http://sedac.ciesin.columbia.edu/data/set/lecz-urban-rural-population-land-area-estimates-v2.; Sum;

The share of urban households with internet access in Spain saw no significant changes in 2023 in comparison to the previous year 2022 and remained at around 97.32 percent. Still, the share of urban households with internet access reached its highest value in the observed period in 2023. The EU survey on the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in households and by individuals is an annual survey conducted since 2002 aiming at collecting and disseminating harmonised and comparable information on the use of ICT in households and by individuals. Data presented in this domain are collected on a yearly basis by the National Statistical Institutes and are based on Eurostat's annual model questionnaire. This questionnaire is updated each year to reflect the evolving situation of information and communication technologiesFind more statistics on in Spain with key insights such as share of suburban households with internet access, share of rural households with internet access, and share of households with internet access.

In the fourth quarter of 2023, the average price of a square meter of urban land in cities with over 50,000 residents in Spain was around 278 euros per square meter. During the past years, the prices of urban land have remained relatively stable. The biggest fluctuations within the timeline occurred between 2006 and 2013, when the land value of cities with over 50,000 residents went from 673 to 284 euros per square meter.

Forecast: Production in Urban and Suburban Passenger Land Transport Sector in Spain 2024 - 2028 Discover more data with ReportLinker!