Demography of Spain

Spain has about 46 million inhabitants. It is a modern population that finished the demographic transition, but the last generations of that transition are still alive. That involves that Spain has a very low birth and death rates, especially in children. These facts cause an alarming ageing of the population.

The population of Spain has a very stable model, from the 19th century. More people lives on the coast and Madrid, whereas the interior regions are more underpopulated. Only Lugo is a province on the coast with a low population density.

Madrid is an exceptional case because its high population is due to its capitality. That attracted a lot of people during the 60's and 70's of the 20th century. Only Valladolid has a high population in the interior. In many of the provinces only the capital has a urban status: Ávila, Cuenca, Soria, Teruel...

The most populous regions are Andalusia, Catalonia, Madrid, Balearic Islands and the Basque Country. They are the most industrialized and rich regions.

Spain is an urban society. 78% of Spaniards are living in urban areas, despite the phenomenon of dispersion around the major cities.

One fact marked the history of the Spanish population and emigration. Since the discovery of America emigration to this continent has been continuous. But it was precisely after the independence of Spanish America when more people immigrated to America.

During the 60s and 70s of the twentieth century, because the difficult economic situation in Spain, there were two massive migratory phenomenon: the rural one, which depopulated the countryside concentrating people in cities and emigration to Europe: Germany, France or Switzerland.

During most of its history Spain has been a country of emigrants, however, since the entry into the European Union, and particularly since the late 1990s, Spain became a land of immigration because the big economic growth. Immigrants are young people who are usually employed in agriculture (Almeria, Murcia, Lleida, Barcelona) construction (Madrid, Barcelona, Basque Country, Galicia) and mining (Asturias, Leon, Palencia) as well as unskilled service: waiters, caretakers, etc.

Countries of origin are the American countries (Ecuador, Colombia, Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela, Mexico, Peru) African countries (Morocco, Algeria, Cape Verde and sub-Saharan countries in general) countries of eastern Europe (Romania, Russia, Hungary, Poland, Yugoslavia) and countries of the Far East (China in particular).

Spain is also the land for retired people from Northern Europe. They are looking for a better quality of life, cheaper prices and good weather.