Population of Spain: Demographics, Density and Largest Urban Areas

Spain’s population is approaching 50 million residents, but that national total tells only part of the story. The country combines very dense metropolitan regions, busy Mediterranean and island population centers, and large interior areas where settlements are spread much farther apart. According to Spain’s National Statistics Institute, the resident population reached 49,801,559 people on 1 July 2026, the highest figure in the current statistical series.

The numbers also show a country whose population is still growing. Spain had about 444,000 more residents in July 2026 than one year earlier. Women slightly outnumber men, more than one-fifth of residents were born outside Spain, and just over one-fifth of the population was aged 65 or older in the latest finalized annual age data.

Spain’s Population In 2026

The most recent nationwide population estimate available from the National Statistics Institute, commonly known as INE, places Spain at 49,801,559 residents on 1 July 2026. The figure is provisional because Spain updates its Continuous Population Statistics every quarter and later reconciles provisional values with the Annual Population Census.

This distinction matters when comparing numbers from different publication dates. A February estimate for January, for example, can later be revised when additional administrative information becomes available. For a current population figure, the latest revised quarterly series is the more useful reference.

That means Spain added roughly 1.7 million residents between January 2023 and July 2026. Growth did not occur at exactly the same speed each quarter, but the direction over this period was consistently upward.

Who Lives In Spain?

Population size becomes more useful once it is broken into age, sex, nationality and place of birth. These measures describe different parts of Spain’s demographic profile and should not be treated as interchangeable.

Women and Men

On 1 July 2026, Spain had approximately 25.34 million women and 24.46 million men. Women therefore represented about 50.9% of residents, while men represented about 49.1%.

Spain’s Age Structure

The latest finalized Annual Population Census provides a clean age breakdown for 1 January 2025. Of Spain’s 49.13 million residents at that date, approximately 6.87 million were younger than 16, 32.07 million were aged 16 to 64, and 10.18 million were 65 or older.

The 16–64 group remains by far the largest. Still, roughly one resident in five is aged 65 or older. INE’s newer demographic projections put the 65-and-over share at about 21% around 2026, which is consistent with the direction visible in the finalized census data.

Nationality and Place Of Birth Are Different Measures

A person can be born outside Spain and later become a Spanish citizen, so foreign nationality and foreign-born population produce different totals.

• On 1 July 2026, 7,437,543 residents had foreign nationality, about 14.9% of the population.
• At the same date, 10,291,807 residents had been born abroad, about 20.7% of all residents.
• The gap between those figures includes people who were born abroad and later acquired Spanish nationality.

The finalized 2025 census also shows where much of the foreign-born population originated. Among residents born outside Spain, the largest birthplace groups included Morocco, Colombia and Venezuela. Morocco accounted for 12.3% of the foreign-born population, Colombia 10.3%, and Venezuela 7.3% at the beginning of 2025.

Population Density Across Spain

Spain covers about 506,000 square kilometers. Its official population density was 97.1 inhabitants per square kilometer on 1 January 2025. If the same national area is compared with the July 2026 population estimate, the figure rises to roughly 98.4 people per square kilometer.

That average can be deceptive. Spain does not spread its population evenly across the map. Metropolitan Madrid has an exceptionally high regional density, while several large interior autonomous communities have fewer than 30 residents per square kilometer. Coastal, island and major metropolitan regions tend to record much higher values.

Densest Autonomous Communities

Using INE’s population and area figures for 1 January 2025, the Community of Madrid was the densest autonomous community, excluding the two small autonomous cities. It had around 886 residents per square kilometer.

Madrid stands out because a population of more than seven million people is concentrated within an autonomous community covering just over 8,000 square kilometers. The Basque Country, Canary Islands, Catalonia, Balearic Islands and Valencian Community also sit well above the national average.

Lower-Density Interior Regions

Move into some of Spain’s largest interior regions and the pattern changes sharply. Castilla y León, for example, covers more than 94,000 square kilometers but had about 2.4 million residents in 2025. Its density was just 25.5 people per square kilometer.

• Aragón: 28.6 residents per km²
• Castilla-La Mancha: 26.8 residents per km²
• Castilla y León: 25.5 residents per km²
• Extremadura: 25.3 residents per km²

This contrast helps explain why looking only at Spain’s national density misses so much. Two Spanish regions can belong to the same country yet have population densities differing by more than thirty times.

Where Most People Live

Spain’s largest population centers are not distributed evenly among its autonomous communities. Andalusia was the most populous community in the finalized 2025 data, followed by Catalonia and the Community of Madrid.

These totals reveal two different kinds of population concentration. Andalusia has the largest regional population partly because it is geographically extensive and contains several major cities. Madrid reaches more than seven million within a much smaller area, which is why its density is so much higher.

Spain’s Largest Cities By Municipal Population

For city rankings, the cleanest comparable measure is the population within each municipal boundary. According to the finalized Annual Population Census for 1 January 2025, Madrid was by far Spain’s largest municipality, followed by Barcelona.

Madrid had a little more than twice Barcelona’s municipal population. Valencia, in third place, had fewer than half as many residents as Barcelona. Zaragoza and Sevilla were much closer to each other, both sitting just below 700,000 residents.

Spain’s Largest Functional Urban Areas

For a broader picture, INE also uses Functional Urban Areas. These combine a central city with surrounding municipalities that have strong commuting links to it. This is closer to what many people mean when they casually say “metro area.”

The largest Spanish urban systems are centered on Madrid and Barcelona. Other major functional urban areas include Valencia, Sevilla, Bilbao, Málaga and Zaragoza. Their exact boundaries are not fixed forever: INE and Eurostat periodically revise functional urban areas as commuting patterns and statistical classifications are updated.

Valencia and Sevilla form another tier of large urban concentration, while Bilbao anchors one of northern Spain’s major urban systems. Málaga has a growing Mediterranean urban corridor, and Zaragoza is the dominant population center of Aragón.

How Urbanized Is Spain?

One of the clearest figures comes from the 2025 census of municipalities. Spain had 8,132 municipalities, yet population was heavily concentrated in the larger ones.

• 40.9% of residents lived in municipalities with more than 100,000 inhabitants.
• 27.0% lived in municipalities with 10,001 to 50,000 inhabitants.
• 12.5% lived in municipalities with 50,001 to 100,000 inhabitants.
• 16.6% lived in municipalities with 1,001 to 10,000 inhabitants.
• About 3% lived in municipalities with 1,000 residents or fewer.

There were only 68 municipalities with more than 100,000 inhabitants, but together they contained more than two-fifths of Spain’s population. At the other end of the scale, nearly 5,000 municipalities had fewer than 1,000 residents.

How Spain’s Population Is Changing

Spain’s population growth in the latest data has been closely associated with an expanding foreign-born resident population. By July 2026, the number of residents born outside Spain had reached 10.29 million. That was about 137,000 more than only three months earlier.

Regional growth is not uniform either. During the second quarter of 2026, INE recorded population increases across almost every autonomous community. The strongest percentage rises during that quarter were in the Valencian Community, Balearic Islands, Asturias, Murcia, Aragón, Castilla-La Mancha and Catalonia.

This movement gradually changes the balance between regions. Places already containing large metropolitan or coastal population centers can gain residents while some lightly populated interior areas remain far below the national density average.

Households In Spain

Population growth also appears in the household statistics. Spain had an estimated 19,874,860 households on 1 July 2026. That was about 59,000 more households than three months earlier and more than 350,000 above the January 2025 level.

The number of households does not move in perfect step with population because household size varies. A population can gain households even when each individual household contains fewer people on average.

What Spain’s Population Map Really Shows

Spain is easier to understand demographically when three ideas are kept together: total population, density and urban concentration. The country has almost 50 million residents, yet its average density remains below 100 people per square kilometer because the national territory is large.

Within that national average are striking differences. Madrid exceeds 880 residents per square kilometer at the autonomous-community level, while Castilla y León and Extremadura sit close to 25. Large cities and their surrounding commuter belts hold a substantial share of the population, while thousands of smaller municipalities account for a much smaller portion of the national total.

So, is Spain densely populated? It depends where you stand. In metropolitan Madrid, central Barcelona or other major urban corridors, population concentration is high. Across large parts of the interior, settlement is much more dispersed. The national average sits between two very different geographic realities.

Common Questions About Spain’s Population

What Is The Population Of Spain In 2026?

Spain had an estimated 49,801,559 residents on 1 July 2026, according to the latest provisional Continuous Population Statistics available from INE.

Has Spain Reached 50 Million People?

Not yet in the latest official estimate. The July 2026 population was about 198,000 people below 50 million. If population continued to move upward, the 50-million threshold would be close, but an exact date should not be assumed before new official figures are published.

What Is Spain’s Population Density?

The official density was 97.1 residents per square kilometer on 1 January 2025. Using the July 2026 population against the same official national area produces an approximate density of 98.4 residents per square kilometer.

What Is The Largest City In Spain?

Madrid is Spain’s largest municipality by population. It had 3,477,497 residents in the finalized census for 1 January 2025. Barcelona ranked second with 1,713,247.

Which Region Of Spain Has The Largest Population?

Andalusia had the largest population among Spain’s autonomous communities in the 2025 finalized figures, with 8,676,713 residents. Catalonia ranked next with 8,124,126, followed by the Community of Madrid with 7,113,886.

Which Part Of Spain Is Most Densely Populated?

Among the autonomous communities, the Community of Madrid had the highest 2025 population density at 886.2 residents per square kilometer. The small autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla have much higher mathematical densities because their land areas are very small.

How Many People In Spain Were Born Abroad?

About 10.29 million residents had been born outside Spain as of 1 July 2026, equal to roughly 20.7% of the resident population.

Sources

• INE — Continuous Population Statistics, 1 July 2026
• INE — Annual Population Census, First Results 2025
• INE — Population And Provincial Indicators, 1 January 2025
• INE — Official Population Figures Of Spanish Municipalities
• INE — Urban Indicators, 2025 Edition