Spain Population 2024 (Live)

47,488,465

Spain’s population peaked at 47.08 million people in 2011. In the years following, Spain’s population declined until 2017 when it began increasing again back to 46.75 million in 2020. Between 2016 and 2020, the population increased at very small rates between 0.03% and 0.1%.

After 2021, however, the country is expected to experience another population decline that is projected to be much steeper later in the century. Spain's population is projected to decline to 33.33 million people by 2099.

Spain’s fertility rate is at one of its lowest levels in decades at 1.35 births per woman. This is far below the population replacement rate of 2.1 births per woman. This is in part because Spain has a difficult labor market and fewer work-life balance policies, making it hard for young people to create families.

Population Rank
Growth Rate
2024 World Percentage
Land Area
499,556.60
The current population of Spain is 47,488,465 based on projections of the latest United Nations data. The UN estimates the July 1, 2024 population at 47,473,373.

Spain Growth Rate

Spain Population 2024 (Live)

Spain Population Clock

Spain Population (as of 3/11/2024)47,488,465
Next UN Estimate (July 1, 2024)47,473,373
Births per Day954
Deaths per Day1,199
Migrations per Day110
Net Change per Day-136
Population Change Since Jan. 1-9,656

Components of Population Change

One birth every 1.52 minutes
One death every 1.2 minutes
One immigrant every 13.08 minutes
Net loss of one person every 10.58 minutes

Spain Population Clock

City
2024 Population
Madrid3,255,944
Barcelona1,621,537
Valencia814,208
Sevilla703,206
Zaragoza674,317
Malaga568,305
Murcia436,870
Palma401,270
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria381,847
Bilbao354,860

Spain Area and Population Density

According to the census in 2008, Spain had about 46,157,822 inhabitants. 505,992 square kilometers make up the total surface area of this country. This translated to a population density of about 91.4 people per square kilometer, or 229 per square mile. The population density is lower than that of most other Western European Countries. With the exception of Madrid, the capital of Spain, the populous regions in the Kingdom of Spain are along the coastline of the country.

Largest Cities in Spain

Spain has a fairly high rate of people living in urban populations and as such as several sizable cities. The two largest are Madrid and Barcelona, which have populations of 6,155,116 and 5,179,243, respectively. Other notable large cities are Valencia, Seville, Bilbao, and Malaga - all of which have populations slightly above or below one million.

Spain Population Density Map

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Year
Population
Growth Rate
Density (/km²)
Population Rank
Density Rank
202447,473,3730.14%9532119
202347,519,6280.31%9532118
202047,363,8070.49%9530115
201947,131,3720.73%9430116
201846,792,0430.45%9430115
201746,584,1700.24%9330115
201546,431,342-0.06%9330115
201046,572,7721.29%9327108
200543,685,3741.41%8828109
200040,741,6510.46%8228112
199539,814,5730.47%8028109
199038,889,8890.22%7827112
198538,471,9200.52%7725107
198037,491,6660.95%7524101
197535,760,4311.14%722398
197033,792,6171.03%682299
196532,112,0151.09%641997
196030,415,5910.89%611896
195529,095,3740.72%581789

Spain Population by Year (Historical)

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Year
Population
Growth Rate
Density (/km²)
Population Rank
Density Rank
202447,473,3730.14%9532119
202547,420,0240.02%9533121
203047,076,573-0.14%9436123
203546,629,612-0.19%9337127
204046,047,876-0.25%9240132
204545,269,679-0.34%9145138
205044,219,565-0.47%8949144
205542,858,208-0.62%8651144
206041,256,870-0.76%8355145
206539,548,432-0.84%7957148
207037,858,084-0.87%7658152
207536,313,459-0.83%7360154
208034,998,697-0.73%7062157
208533,877,249-0.65%6863156
209032,855,479-0.61%6665158
209531,867,655-0.61%6466157

Spain Population by Year (Projections)

Spain Population Pyramid 2024

Spain Median Age

43.9

Total

42.7

Male

45.1

Female

Spain Population by Age

There are people over age 18 in Spain.

Census Years

Year
Date
20211 January 2021
20111 November 2011
20011 November 2001
19911 March 1991

Spain Population Pyramid

Spain, officially known as the Kingdom of Spain, is a sovereign state and a member state of the European Union, situated on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwest Europe. To the south, it’s bordered by the Mediterranean Sea apart from a small boundary with Gibraltar; to the north and northeast it is bordered by France, Andorra and the Bay of Biscay; while to the west and northwest it borders the Atlantic Ocean and Portugal. The 754 miles (1,214 km) of border with Portugal is the longest uninterrupted border within the European Union.

The country is a democracy under a constitutional monarchy and is organized in a parliamentary style of government. It’s a developed country and is the 14th largest economy in the world by nominal GDP. The Kingdom of Spain has very high standards as well as the 10th highest quality of life index rating in the world as of 2005 statistics.

The population of Spain was previously recorded in 2012 as 46.6 million people. This is a significant figure since the total population back in 1960 was 30.5 million as reported by Eurostat - a 52% increase over the last half-century. The 2016 estimate is 48,146,134, its all-time high compared to a record low of 30.46 million in December 1960. The figure now represents 0.67% of the world’s population, which means that one in every 151 people is a resident of Spain.

Spain Demographics

In terms of languages used in the home and as official government communications, the World Factbook gives us a breakdown of: Castilian Spanish (official nationwide) 74%, Catalan (official in Catalonia, the Balearic Islands, and the Valencian Community language (where it is known as Valencian)) 17%, Galician (official in Galicia) 7%, Basque (official in the Basque Country and in the Basque-speaking area of Navarre) 2%, Aranese (official in the northwest corner of Catalonia (Vall d'Aran) along with Catalan.

Spain Religion, Economy and Politics

The Kingdom of Spain currently has no official religion. This is despite the fact that over 90% of the population prefer to identify themselves as Catholic. The constitution of 1978 removed Roman Catholicism as the official state religion. While large portions of the population are believed to be Catholic, 63% confirmed that they never attend any religious services in the country.

Spain’s life expectancy is the highest in Europe, surpassing even the likes of Australia, the US, Canada and Norway. Life expectancy is 79.6 for males and 85.6 for females, which averages to a total life expectancy of 82.6. This places the Kingdom of Spain at rank 5 in World Life Expectancy, according to a WHO report published in 2013. The median age is Spain is currently at approximately 42.7 years of age.

The life expectancy at birth gives the number of years an infant would live if the prevailing mortality conditions at the time of birth were to stay the same all throughout his or her lifetime. Spain has the 3rd lowest level of lives lost in the world. Some attribute this to the Mediterranean diet, while others say it’s because the country is performing well against causes of death such as various types of cancer.

A sharp drop in the birth rates was witnessed during the last quarter of the 20th century. Spain’s fertility rate of 1.49 is subsequently lower than the EU average, but there has been a rise in the rate ever since the late 1990s. The birth rate rose from 9.10 births per 1000 people to 10.9 over a period of ten years from 1996 to 2006. The birth rate in 2016 is estimated to be 9.6. In 2018, the fertility rate of women is at 1.5 births per woman, with women reaching age 30 before birthing their first child.

In terms of quality of life, healthcare, and necessary access to drinking water and sanitation, Spain is doing relatively well. 100% of the population has improved access to clean water, and only 1% remain in a position of struggle in terms of access to improved sanitation measures. Additionally, healthcare receives approximately 9% of the national GDP annually, funding at least 3 physicians per 1,000 residents and at least 3 beds per 1,000 residents. When we look at the World Happiness Report as shared by Wikipedia, we see that Spain has reached a ranking of 36th, with a score of 6.3 for overall happiness. This report considers a variety of influencing factors, including GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom to make choices, generosity and perceptions of corruption in their country of residence.

Spain Population History

The population of Spain has been on the rise, especially after the adoption of the 3-month amnesty program by the government that allowed immigrants to be awarded legal status as residents of Spain. When the population struck the 40 million mark, the population density stood at about 79 persons per square kilometer.

The population growth rate experienced a drastic rise at the start of the 20th century due to a boom in the industrial sectors of Spain, and even more so in the 1960s and 1970s. However, this was compounded by uneven distribution in the population over time. Urban areas witnessed massive growth, with the Spanish villages experiencing huge drops. In the 1980s, when the economy faced a lot of stalemates, population growth was also directly affected. The state of the economy also forced some of the Spanish citizens to migrate to other European countries, negatively impacting population growth.

The growth rate was, however, restored in the 1990s. The citizenry of the Kingdom of Spain is a mixture of natives as well as various foreign immigrants. Spain’s population has increased significantly as a result of migration from Latin America, East Europe, North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa. People are migrating to Spain in large numbers, mainly to spend their retirement days along the coastline but also due to the many opportunities for businesses to thrive.

Spain Population Rank 2024
Country Age
Area (km²)
505,992
2024 Growth Rate
Capital
GDP (IMF '23)
$1,582.05
GDP (UN '22)
$1.42 Tn

Spain - General Info

Sources