Spain Population

Spain is one of Europe’s oldest states. The Spanish conquerors made the country a world power, and in recent times Spain has gone from bloody civil war to becoming a popular destination. The high unemployment rate in Spain is a major societal problem, and especially many young people are left without a job.

Key figures and facts

• Capital: Madrid
• Ethnic groups: Spaniards 86.4%, Moroccans 1.8%, others 11.8% (2018 estimate)
• Language: Spanish, Catalan, Galician, Basque
• Religion: Catholics 68.9%, atheists 11.3%, agnostics 7.6% other/unspecified/none 12.1% (2019 est.)
• Population: 46,397,452 (2018)
• Control Form: Parliamentary Monarchy
• Area: 505 370 km2
• Currency: euro
• GNP per capita: 36 305 PPP $
• National Day: October 12th

Spain Population

The population in Spain was estimated at 46.9 million in 2019. In the period 2000-2010, annual population growth was 1.5 percent, but this trend has reversed. From 2013, a decline in the population was registered for the first time in thirty years. The birthrate was on the way down for a long time, but increased somewhat in the 2000s, mainly due to high birth rates among immigrant women. Despite this, Spain has one of Europe’s lowest birth rates, with 7.86 per 1,000 residents in 2019.

The total fertility rate is 1.25 per woman (2019). One important reason for the low birth rates is that Spanish women postpone childbirth well into the fertile age. In 2019, the average age of births was 32 years. Life expectancy is high, with 85.89 years for women and 80.52 years for men.

Spain has traditionally had great emigration to Latin America. However, since the mid-1950s, emigration to countries in Western Europe has been considerably greater, an estimated around 1 million people. Germany, France and Switzerland have been important recipient countries. In the early 2000s, immigration was far greater than emigration, and the proportion of foreigners in the population increased from 2.3 percent in 2000 to 12.2 percent in 2010.

The largest group of immigrants in Spain comes from Morocco, followed by Romania, the United Kingdom, Italy and Colombia. In recent years there has been a sharp increase in the number of immigrants from Venezuela. Spain is also a country that has experienced significant immigration of pensioners from other countries in Europe, of which an estimated 20,000 Norwegians.

The population of Spain is culturally quite homogeneous, despite the fact that the country has been conquered by a number of peoples throughout history. In the south (Andalucía) there are some Arab features in the population following the long dominance of the Moors in this part of the country. The Gypsies stand out as their own people, with their own culture and way of life.

In the Western European context, Spain is relatively sparsely populated, with around 92 residents per km² (2018). In general, coastal areas along the Mediterranean and the Bay of Biscay, as well as the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands, are densely populated. Particularly high density is found around the cities of Barcelona and Madrid, with 500–750 residents per km². The inland areas are relatively thinly settled, and provinces such as Soria and Teruel have only nine residents per km². There is also a constant relocation from these areas to the Madrid region or to the towns along the coast. In 2001, around 80 percent of the population lived in urban areas.

For Spain’s largest cities, see table at the bottom.

Population of Spain by Year (Historical)

Year	Population	Annual Growth Rate	Population Density	Global Rank
2020	46,754,667	0.040%	93.7345	30
2019	46,736,665	0.090%	93.6984	30
2018	46,692,747	0.100%	93.6104	30
2017	46,647,317	0.030%	93.5193	30
2016	46,634,029	-0.080%	93.4927	30
2015	46,671,815	-0.110%	93.5684	30
2010	46,930,904	1.290%	94.0878	27
2005	44,019,012	1.520%	88.2501	28
2000	40,824,643	0.520%	81.8459	28
1995	39,787,308	0.300%	79.7663	28
1990	39,202,414	0.240%	78.5937	26
1985	38,733,765	0.540%	77.6541	25
1980	37,698,085	0.990%	75.5778	24
1975	35,879,098	1.150%	71.9310	22
1970	33,883,638	1.060%	67.9305	22
1965	32,146,152	1.120%	64.4472	18
1960	30,402,300	0.920%	60.9511	18
1955	29,048,284	0.690%	58.2366	17
1950	28,069,624	0.000%	56.2745	16

Major Cities in Spain by Population

Rank	City	Population
1	Madrid	3,255,833
2	Barcelona	1,621,426
3	Valencia	814,097
4	Sevilla	703,095
5	Zaragoza	674,206
6	Malaga	568,194
7	Murcia	436,759
8	Palma	401,159
9	Las Palmas de Gran Canaria	381,736
10	Bilbao	354,749
11	Alicante	334,646
12	Cordoba	328,317
13	Valladolid	317,753
14	Vigo	297,221
15	Gijon	277,443
16	Eixample	266,366
17	L’Hospitalet de Llobregat	256,927
18	Latina	256,533
19	Carabanchel	253,567
20	A Coruna	245,945
21	Puente de Vallecas	244,040
22	Sant Marti	235,608
23	Gasteiz / Vitoria	235,550
24	Granada	234,214
25	Elche	230,001
26	Ciudad Lineal	228,060
27	Oviedo	223,894
28	Santa Cruz de Tenerife	222,306
29	Fuencarral-El Pardo	219,974
30	Badalona	219,436
31	Cartagena	211,885
32	Terrassa	210,830
33	Jerez de la Frontera	207,421
34	Sabadell	206,382
35	Mostoles	206,367
36	Alcala de Henares	204,463
37	Pamplona	198,380
38	Fuenlabrada	197,725
39	Almeria	188,699
40	Leganes	185,955
41	San Sebastian	185,246
42	Sants-Montjuic	183,009
43	Santander	182,589
44	Castello de la Plana	179,894
45	Burgos	178,855
46	Albacete	169,605
47	Horta-Guinardo	167,981
48	Alcorcon	167,856
49	Getafe	167,053
50	Nou Barris	166,199
51	Hortaleza	161,550
52	San Blas-Canillejas	157,256
53	Salamanca	155,508
54	Tetuan de las Victorias	154,889
55	Logrono	151,996
56	La Laguna	150,550
57	City Center	149,607
58	Huelva	148,695
59	Arganzuela	148,686
60	Badajoz	148,223
61	Sarria-Sant Gervasi	147,801
62	Sant Andreu	147,621
63	Salamanca	147,596
64	Chamberi	145,823
65	Usera	141,078
66	Tarragona	140,212
67	Chamartin	139,889
68	Lleida	135,808
69	Marbella	134,512
70	Leon	134,194
71	Villaverde	126,691
72	Cadiz	126,655
73	Retiro	125,947
74	Dos Hermanas	122,832
75	Mataro	121,611
76	Gracia	121,391
77	Santa Coloma de Gramenet	119,606
78	Torrejon de Ardoz	118,051
79	Jaen	116,446
80	Moncloa-Aravaca	116,420
81	Algeciras	116,098
82	Parla	115,500
83	Delicias	110,409
84	Ourense	107,631
85	Alcobendas	107,403
86	Reus	107,007
87	Moratalaz	104,812
88	Ciutat Vella	102,236
89	Torrevieja	101,681
90	Telde	99,904
91	Barakaldo	98,349
92	Lugo	96,567
93	San Fernando	96,255
94	Girona	96,077
95	Santiago de Compostela	94,981
96	Caceres	93,020
97	Lorca	91,795
98	Coslada	90,169
99	Talavera de la Reina	88,745
100	El Puerto de Santa Maria	87,585
101	Cornella de Llobregat	86,408
102	Las Rozas de Madrid	86,229
103	Orihuela	86,053
104	Aviles	84,131
105	El Ejido	84,116
106	Guadalajara	82,928
107	Roquetas de Mar	82,554
108	Palencia	82,540
109	Algorta	82,513
110	Pozuelo de Alarcon	82,317
111	Sant Boi de Llobregat	82,317
112	Toledo	82,180
113	Les Corts	82,159
114	Pontevedra	81,465
115	Getxo	80,659
116	Gandia	79,909
117	Sant Cugat del Valles	79,142
118	Ceuta	78,563
119	Arona	78,503
120	Torrent	78,432
121	Chiclana de la Frontera	77,182
122	Manresa	76,447
123	San Sebastian de los Reyes	75,801
124	Ferrol	74,162
125	Velez-Malaga	74,079
126	Ciudad Real	73,903
127	Mijas	73,676
128	Melilla	73,349
129	Rubi	72,876
130	Fuengirola	71,371
131	Benidorm	70,923
132	Alcala de Guadaira	70,044
133	Ponferrada	68,625
134	Rivas-Vaciamadrid	68,294
135	Majadahonda	67,999
136	Campina	67,793
137	Vicalvaro	66,328
138	Zamora	66,182
139	Sagunto	65,959
140	Vilanova i la Geltru	65,779
141	Sanlucar de Barrameda	65,694
142	Estepona	65,481
143	Torremolinos	65,337
144	Villa de Vallecas	65,051
145	La Linea de la Concepcion	64,484
146	Molina de Segura	63,954
147	Paterna	63,912
148	Santa Lucia	63,526
149	Viladecans	63,378
150	El Prat de Llobregat	63,307
151	Valdemoro	62,639
152	Grao de Murviedro	62,257
153	Castelldefels	61,969
154	Alcoy	61,441
155	Linares	61,227
156	Irun	60,840
157	Granollers	60,547
158	Motril	60,168
159	Santutxu	59,889
160	Arrecife	59,016
161	Benalmadena	58,743
162	Cerdanyola del Valles	58,636
163	la Nova Esquerra de l’Eixample	58,113
164	Avila	56,744
165	Barri de Sant Andreu	56,707
166	Segovia	56,549
167	Merida	56,284
168	Cuenca	55,755
169	Torrelavega	55,186
170	Elda	55,057
171	Collado-Villalba	54,916
172	Aranjuez	53,944
173	San Vicent del Raspeig	53,015
174	Mollet del Valles	52,373
175	San Bartolome de Tirajana	52,050
176	Huesca	51,948
177	Puertollano	51,731
178	Calvia	51,663
179	Sagrada Familia	51,512
180	Arganda	51,378
181	Vila-real	51,094
182	la Vila de Gracia	50,817
183	Utrera	50,554
184	Ibiza	48,573
185	el Raval	48,292
186	Portugalete	47,994
187	Sant Gervasi – Galvany	46,932
188	Santurtzi	46,867
189	Esplugues de Llobregat	46,751
190	Barri de les Corts	46,301
191	Gava	45,883
192	Sama	45,454
193	Antequera	45,057
194	Alzira	44,579
195	Denia	44,353
196	Mieres	43,959
197	Dreta de l’Eixample	43,883
198	Llefia	43,716
199	Mislata	43,645
200	Colmenar Viejo	43,589
201	Pinto	43,390
202	Barajas de Madrid	43,312
203	Boadilla del Monte	43,303
204	Figueres	43,219
205	Adeje	43,093
206	Sant Feliu de Llobregat	42,808
207	Basauri	42,546
208	Lucena	42,137
209	l’Antiga Esquerra de l’Eixample	42,050
210	Tres Cantos	41,785
211	Sants	41,202
212	La Orotava	41,060
213	Plasencia	41,037
214	Alcantarilla	40,973
215	San Fernando de Henares	40,870
216	Poble Sec	40,795
217	Mairena del Aljarafe	40,589
218	Manacor	40,437
219	Ecija	40,289
220	Puerto Real	40,072
221	Blanes	39,936
222	Granadilla de Abona	39,882
223	Vic	39,733
224	Soria	39,417
225	Lloret de Mar	39,252
226	Miranda de Ebro	39,153
227	Andujar	39,000
228	Igualada	38,807
229	Errenteria	38,656
230	Rincon de la Victoria	38,555
231	Sant Antoni	38,401
232	Burjassot	38,322
233	Vilafranca del Penedes	38,314
234	el Camp de l’Arpa del Clot	38,250
235	Tomelloso	37,984
236	Ontinyent	37,624
237	Naron	37,601
238	Vilagarcia de Arousa	37,465
239	Los Realejos	37,448
240	Ripollet	36,977
241	Ronda	36,716
242	Los Palacios y Villafranca	36,713
243	Arucas	36,148
244	Llucmajor	35,967
245	el Guinardo	35,880
246	Realejo Alto	35,852
247	La Rinconada	35,817
248	El Vendrell	35,710
249	Don Benito	35,680
250	Puerto del Rosario	35,556
251	Ubeda	35,538
252	Teruel	35,285
253	Villena	35,111
254	Mazarron	35,110
255	Cieza	35,089
256	Tortosa	35,032
257	Alhaurin de la Torre	35,003
258	Yecla	34,914
259	San Pedro de Alcantara	34,811
260	Tudela	34,606
261	Burriana	34,454
262	Aguilas	34,422
263	el Camp d’en Grassot i Gracia Nova	34,245
264	Villajoyosa	33,686
265	Sant Adria de Besos	33,650
266	el Poblenou	33,531
267	Almendralejo	33,477
268	Olot	33,413
269	Montcada i Reixac	33,342
270	Oleiros	33,332
271	Marratxi	33,237
272	Maspalomas	32,889
273	Aranda de Duero	32,817
274	Azuqueca de Henares	32,633
275	Cambrils	32,311
276	Puerto de la Cruz	32,108
277	Sant Joan Despi	31,919
278	Fort Pienc	31,852
279	El Carmel	31,732
280	Galapagar	31,709
281	Santa Pola	31,649
282	Castro-Urdiales	31,559
283	Javea	31,482
284	Torre-Pacheco	31,384
285	San Javier	31,321
286	Camargo	31,293
287	Santa Eularia des Riu	31,203
288	Arcos de la Frontera	31,099
289	Leioa	31,086
290	Valdepenas	31,036
291	Barbera del Valles	31,033
292	Carballo	30,879
293	Hellin	30,865
294	San Andres del Rabanedo	30,795
295	Xirivella	30,580
296	Alcazar de San Juan	30,564
297	Manises	30,397
298	la Marina de Port	30,368
299	Alaquas	30,281
300	Oliver-Valdefierro	30,117
301	Puente-Genil	29,922
302	Redondela	29,890
303	Puerto del Carmen	29,889
304	Pinar de Chamartin	29,889
305	Atamaria	29,889
306	Salt	29,874
307	Aldaia	29,803
308	Arteixo	29,651
309	Calp	29,555
310	Sestao	29,365
311	Xativa	29,275
312	Ingenio	29,208
313	Inca	29,197
314	el Putxet i el Farro	29,167
315	San Roque	29,138
316	Galdakao	29,115
317	Totana	29,100
318	Rota	29,068
319	Ciutadella	29,049
320	La Sagrera	29,023
321	Mao	29,014
322	la Verneda i la Pau	28,902
323	Aguimes	28,813
324	Sueca	28,797
325	Crevillente	28,498
326	Moron de la Frontera	28,344
327	Oliva	28,308
328	Sant Pere de Ribes	28,242
329	Carmona	28,233
330	Algemesi	28,197
331	Vinaros	28,162
332	Durango	28,118
333	Culleredo	28,116
334	Coria del Rio	27,989
335	Sant Vicenc dels Horts	27,590
336	Almunecar	27,585
337	Sitges	27,557
338	Ribeira	27,407
339	Eibar	27,308
340	Premia de Mar	27,288
341	el Clot	27,059
342	Santa Uxia de Ribeira	27,048
343	Novelda	27,024
344	Catarroja	26,924
345	Ames	26,872
346	Martorell	26,570
347	Horta	26,565
348	Benicarlo	26,544
349	Salou	26,538
350	Villarrobledo	26,531
351	Nijar	26,405
352	El Campello	26,400
353	Villaviciosa de Odon	26,364
354	Lebrija	26,323
355	Caravaca	26,304
356	Sant Andreu de la Barca	26,290
357	la Prosperitat	26,184
358	Pineda de Mar	26,092
359	Sant Marti de Provencals	26,085
360	Camas	25,904
361	Marin	25,858
362	Lepe	25,775
363	Villanueva de la Serena	25,727
364	Almozara	25,656
365	el Baix Guinardo	25,655
366	Cangas do Morrazo	25,637
367	Almansa	25,616
368	Onda	25,580
369	Jumilla	25,574
370	Vilapicina i la Torre Llobeta	25,470
371	La Bonanova	25,463
372	Quart de Poblet	25,388
373	Valls	24,981
374	Santa Perpetua de Mogoda	24,937
375	Almassora	24,852
376	Iturrama	24,735
377	Sarria	24,708
378	Calahorra	24,676
379	Martos	24,544
380	Porta	24,493
381	Galdar	24,294
382	Adra	24,262
383	Sants – Badal	24,233
384	Candelaria	24,208
385	Calafell	24,154
386	Erandio	24,151
387	Cullera	24,010
388	Ibi	24,002
389	Molins de Rei	23,956
390	la Maternitat i Sant Ramon	23,947
391	Icod de los Vinos	23,913
392	Montilla	23,729
393	Altea	23,669
394	San Pedro del Pinatar	23,627
395	Tacoronte	23,451
396	Paiporta	23,408
397	Priego de Cordoba	23,402
398	Baza	23,248
399	Alhaurin el Grande	23,208
400	Olesa de Montserrat	23,190

Religion

The Catholic Church has largely retained its position, despite extensive secularization of Spanish society, and almost 90 percent of the population is officially registered as members. Under the 1978 Constitution, Spain no longer has a state church, but the Catholic Church receives some financial support from the state. Protestants make up a few percent of the population.

Muslims make up 4 percent of the population of Spain with around 2 million (2019). Immigration of North Africans and Africans started in the 1960s and 1970s. This minority has been growing rapidly, and the dark numbers are considered large. The Abu Bakr Mosque in Madrid, the largest in Spain, opened in 1992 and is funded by Saudi Arabia. The regions with the most Muslims are Catalonia, Madrid, Andalucía, Valencia and Murcia, while Ceuta and Melilla are cities with a large proportion of Muslim residents. Only in 1992 was Islam recognized by the Spanish state in line with Christian denominations and the like Jewish faith community.

The Jewish minority is estimated at approximately 45,000 people.

History

Even before 200, the Christian was in Spain, and in the 300s there was a viable church. The real heyday of the Catholic Church first came with the transition to the Visigoths’ reign in 589. Muslim forces conquered the Visigothic kingdom in the early 700s. In keeping with the Qur’an, Christianity was tolerated, but persecution occurred.

In the 8th century Christian kingdoms arose in northern Spain. These gradually expanded their areas southward. Around 1250, most of the Iberian Peninsula had come under Christian rule, with the exception of Granada, which was Moorish until 1492. The fight against Islam strongly contributed to linking Spanish nationalism to the Catholic faith.

After the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon were united in 1479, Jews and Muslims were tried forcibly Christian. Jews who refused were banished. The Inquisition was organized, first in Andalusia in 1480, because Jews and Muslims were suspected of secretly practicing their old faith. Later the Inquisition was launched against Protestant groups.

The 16th century was a time of prosperity for religious life, with the foundation of the Jesuit order and great Christian mystics such as John of the Cross and Teresa of Ávila. During this period, Catholic Christianity as the basis for Spanish identity was fortified.

The 19th century was influenced by the influence of French political and religious liberalism. The Liberals introduced a Freedom of Conscience Act in 1869, but in 1876 a constitution was drafted that recognized Catholicism as a state religion and set narrow limits to other faiths.

When the monarchy fell in 1931, the Spanish Republic introduced a separation between church and state, banned the Jesuit order and tried to close Catholic private schools. When a group of generals led by Francisco Franco rebelled in 1936, the church stood on the side of the rebels.

After Franco’s victory in 1939, the ties between church and state were re-established. In the 1960s, however, the ecclesiastical criticism of the regime grew stronger. After Franco’s death in 1975, the church was easily integrated into the new Spanish democracy.

Administrative divisions

Region/Province	Capital	Area in km²	Residents (2011)
Andalusia	Sevilla	87 595	8 279 730
Almería	Almería	8 775	689 442
Cádiz	Cádiz	7 436	1 229 507
Córdoba	Córdoba	13 771	787 729
Granada	Granada	12 647	912 524
Huelva	Huelva	10 128	509 142
Jaén	Jaén	13 496	653 317
Málaga	Málaga	7 306	1 614 041
Sevilla	Sevilla	14 036	1 884 026
Aragon	Zaragoza	47 720	1 316 776
Huesca	Huesca	15 636	219 682
Teruel	Teruel	14 810	141 570
Zaragoza	Zaragoza	17 274	955 524
Asturias	Oviedo	10 604	1 053 522
Basque Country (País Vasco)	Vitoria-Gasteiz	7 234	2 131 417
Álava	Vitoria-Gasteiz	3 037	312 394
Guipúzcoa	Donostia-San Sebastian	1 980	687 615
Vizcaya	Bilbao	2 217	1 131 409
Cantabria	Santander	5 289	566 700
Castilla-La Mancha	Toledo	79 461	2 048 394
Albacete	Albacete	14 924	395 472
Ciudad Real	Ciudad Real	19 813	519 484
Cuenca	Cuenca	17 140	211 399
Guadalajara	Guadalajara	12 214	248 666
Toledo	Toledo	1570	673 373
Castilla-Leon	Valladolid	94 224	2 482 516
Ávila	Ávila	8 050	166 613
Burgos	Burgos	14 292	360 288
León	León	15 581	477 961
Palencia	Palencia	8 052	167 239
Salamanca	Salamanca	12 350	342 854
Segovia	Segovia	6 921	159 040
Soria	Soria	10 306	92 251
Valladolid	Valladolid	8 111	527 152
Zamora	Zamora	10 561	189 117
Cataluña	Barcelona	32 113	7 290 302
Barcelona	Barcelona	7 728	5 331 760
Girona (Girona)	Girona (Girona)	5 910	727 754
Lérida (Lleida)	Lérida (Lleida)	12 172	431 365
Tarragona	Tarragona	6 303	799 424
Extremadura	Mérida	41 634	1 083 482
Badajoz	Badajoz	21 766	679 070
Caceres	Caceres	19 868	404 413
Galicia	Santiago de Compostela	29 575	2 732 501
La Coruña	La Coruña	7 951	1 125 001
Lugo	Lugo	9 856	337 853
Orense	Orense	7 273	321 783
Pontevedra	Pontevedra	4 495	947 864
Madrid	Madrid	8 028	6 389 950
Murcia	Murcia	11 314	1 475 407
Navarra	Pamplona	10 391	623 604
La Rioja	Logrono	5 045	311 623
Valencia	Valencia	23 255	5 002 105
Alicante	Alicante	5 817	1 905 128
Castellon	Castellón de la Plana	6 632	590 191
Valencia	Valencia	10 806	2 506 787
Islas Baleares	Palma de Mallorca	4,992	1 098 014
Islas Canarias	Las Palmas and Santa Cruz	7 492	2 110 903
Las Palmas	Las Palmas de Gran Canaria	4 111	1 087 152
Santa Cruz de Tenerife	Santa Cruz de Tenerife	3 381	1 023 571
Rural areas of Morocco	–
Ceuta	–	20	76 907
Melilla	–	12	75 673
Second	–	1	–

Biggest cities

City	Residents (2011)
Madrid	3 265 038
Barcelona	1 615 448
Valencia	798 033
Sevilla	703 021
Zaragoza	674 725
Málaga	568 030
Murcia	442 203
Palma de Mallorca	405 318