Demographics of Spain - Statistics & Facts
Demography is defined as the statistical study of the human population with a special focus on population size, population density, and composition.
The latest results show that there were more deaths in Spain than births in 2022, with figures reaching over 460,000 deaths versus 329,000 newborns. In 2022, the fertility rate was highest in the Spanish autonomous city of Melilla, with women of this region giving birth to an average of 1.56 children. In contrast, the Canary Islands ranked as the Spanish region that featured the lowest fertility rate in the Mediterranean country, with the average woman having approximately less than one child during the same period.
The large inflow of foreign nationals has led to a positive net migration rate in recent years, depite the constant loss of Spanish nationals. For most of the last 12 years, Spaniards have left the country more than they have returned, resulting in negative numbers until 2017 and from 2020 onwards. In 2022, net migration of Spanish people stood at -2,704. The main countries of destination of these national emigrants are the UK, France and the U.S.. Migration flows to the UK have increased sharply since the financial crisis, almost tripling since 2013. In 2022, however, there was a marked decline in this direction of migration.
Growing population
The population of Spain amounted to approximately 47.8 million people in 2023, after many years of growth, and was projected to increase by one million by 2028. The population of the Mediterranean country has been increasing despite the fact that Spain has one of the lowest fertility rate in the European Union, with barely 1.29 children born per woman, according to the latest reports. During the last years, the country showed a steep rise in population density, growing from 92.9 to 94.73 inhabitants per square kilometer between 2014 and 2021. This figure is still far from the European average, which stood at over 112 inhabitants per square kilometer.The latest results show that there were more deaths in Spain than births in 2022, with figures reaching over 460,000 deaths versus 329,000 newborns. In 2022, the fertility rate was highest in the Spanish autonomous city of Melilla, with women of this region giving birth to an average of 1.56 children. In contrast, the Canary Islands ranked as the Spanish region that featured the lowest fertility rate in the Mediterranean country, with the average woman having approximately less than one child during the same period.
Migratory flows
One of the key points to balance out this population shrinkage in Spain is immigration. After many years of losing its foreign population, Spain’s immigration figures finally started to pick up in 2015, with the number of people that moved to the Mediterranean country surpassing the number of foreigners that decided to leave by over 150,000 persons from 2017 onwards. As can be seen in the latest records, Colobiams ranked first as the foreign nationality that most relocated to Spain in 2022, followed by Moroccans and Ukrainians.The large inflow of foreign nationals has led to a positive net migration rate in recent years, depite the constant loss of Spanish nationals. For most of the last 12 years, Spaniards have left the country more than they have returned, resulting in negative numbers until 2017 and from 2020 onwards. In 2022, net migration of Spanish people stood at -2,704. The main countries of destination of these national emigrants are the UK, France and the U.S.. Migration flows to the UK have increased sharply since the financial crisis, almost tripling since 2013. In 2022, however, there was a marked decline in this direction of migration.
