Birth rate in Spain in 2023, by autonomous community

The autonomous Spanish city of Melilla, located in the Northern coast of Africa, had the highest birth rate of Spanish cities in 2023: 8.99 births per 1,000 inhabitants. Asturias, on the other hand, had the lowest birth rate, with 4.51 births per 1,000 inhabitants. As of January 2024, Andalusia was the most populated autonomous community in Spain, with a total amount of approximately 8.6 million inhabitants.

Spain’s population increases

Spain had one of the lowest fertility rate in the European Union in 2023, with approximately 1.29 children being born alive to a woman during her lifetime. In comparison, the fertility rate in France was set at 1.79 that year, whereas Ireland reached 1.76. In 2024, the total population of Spain was around 48.4 million people and was forecast to increase by 2028.

Opposite trends

There are two reasons for the slow upward trend in Spain’s population. On the one hand, more people die in Spain than are being born in the latest years. On the other hand, while Spain’s population moved away from the country in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, the country became a net recipient of foreign immigration again after 2015.