Demographics of Spain

Notable events in modern Spanish demography:

• 1808–1814. Peninsular War and Spanish War of Independence: 0.24–0.4–1.0 million deaths.
• Late 19th century and early 20th century: Relative economic stagnation and mass emigration to American countries.
• 1918. Flu pandemic, over 200,000 dead in Spain.
• 1936. Start of the Spanish Civil War.
• 1939. End of the Civil War. Establishment of a dictatorship, start of rationing policies. Deepening of economic depression, mass emigration to European and American countries due to economic and political motives (Republican exile).
• 1941. Approval of benefits for large families with at least four children.{{Cite web |last=todopapas |title=La evolución de las familias numerosas |url=https://www.todopapas.com/ |access-date=2022-11-25 |website=www.todopapas.com |language=es}}
• 1945. Establishment of tax deductions for parents.{{cite web |last=Fernández |first=Celia Valiente |title=Forgetting the past: The familiar policy of Spain (1975-1996) |url=http://e-archivo.uc3m.es/bitstream/handle/10016/5416/olvidando_valiente_GAPP_1996.pdf?sequence=1 |publisher=Charles III University of Madrid}}
• 1952. End of rationing policies.
• 1975. End of the dictatorship, mass return of emigrated people.
• 1977. Legalization of contraception. Decline of birth rates.
• 1985. Legalization of abortion.
• 1988. After centuries of net negative migration, the first events of illegal immigration from Africa occur.{{Cite web |title=La primera patera llegó a Canarias hace 20 años |url=https://www.publico.es/actualidad/primera-patera-llego-canarias-20.html |access-date=2022-11-25 |website=www.publico.es|date=13 September 2008 }}
• 1991. Spain becomes a net receiver of migrants after decades of mass emigration.{{cite web |date=7 July 2014 |title=Saldo migratorio en España desde 1940 / Net migration in Spain since 1940 |url=http://www.perpe.es/2014/07/07/es4714/}}
• 1994. Lowering of threshold of requirements to become a large family: only three children needed.
• 2000-2009. Mass migration from Latin America, Romania and other countries, coupled with a moderate increase of the fertility rate, results in a large population in the first ten years of the 21st century.
• 2007. Approval of €2,500 benefit for births.
• 2010. Legalization of elective abortion.
• 2011. Withdrawal of the €2,500 benefit for births.
• 2015. First negative natural change since the Civil War due to the aging of Spanish population.
• 2018. Population begins to grow again, thanks to the growth of immigration from abroad.

The population of Spain doubled during the twentieth century as a result of the demographic boom in the 1960s and early 1970s. After that time, the birth rate fell during the 1980s and Spain's population growth stalled.

Many demographers have linked Spain's very low fertility rate to the country's lack of a family support policy. Spain spends the least on family support out of all western European countries—0.5% of GDP. A graphic illustration of the enormous social gulf in this field is the fact{{Citation needed|date=December 2008}} that a Spanish family would need to have 57 children to enjoy the same financial support as a family with 3 children in Luxembourg{{Citation needed|date=June 2022}}.

{{Citation needed|date=August 2008}}

During the early 2000s, the mean year-on-year demographic growth set a new record with its 2003 peak variation of 2.1%, doubling the previous record reached back in the 1960s when a mean year-on-year growth of 1% was experienced.{{Cite journal |date=2006 |title=Official report on Spanish recent Macroeconomics, including data and comments on immigration |url=http://www.la-moncloa.es/NR/rdonlyres/2E85E75E-E2D9-4148-B1DF-950B06696A6C/74823/Chapter_2.PDF |url-status=dead |journal=National Reform Program |volume=2 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080726044742/http://www.la-moncloa.es/NR/rdonlyres/2E85E75E-E2D9-4148-B1DF-950B06696A6C/74823/Chapter_2.PDF |archive-date=2008-07-26 |access-date=2022-11-25 |via=la-moncloa.es}} In 2005 alone, the immigrant population of Spain increased by 700,000 people.{{cite web |url=http://www.ine.es/inebase/cgi/axi?AXIS_PATH%3D%2Finebase%2Ftemas%2Ft20%2Fe245%2Fp08%2Fl0%2F%26FILE_AXIS%3D04001.px%26CGI_DEFAULT%3D%2Finebase%2Ftemas%2Fcgi.opt%26COMANDO%3DSELECCION%26CGI_URL%3D%2Finebase%2Fcgi%2F |title=Instituto Nacional de Estadística. Base de datos INEbase |access-date=29 September 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929140743/http://www.ine.es/inebase/cgi/axi?AXIS_PATH=%2Finebase%2Ftemas%2Ft20%2Fe245%2Fp08%2Fl0%2F&FILE_AXIS=04001.px&CGI_DEFAULT=%2Finebase%2Ftemas%2Fcgi.opt&COMANDO=SELECCION&CGI_URL=%2Finebase%2Fcgi%2F |archive-date=29 September 2007 }}

The arrival of migrating young adults was the main reason for the slight increase in Spain's fertility rate.{{Cite web |title=Evolution of the global fertility rate between 1975 and 2005 |url=http://www.ine.es/inebase2/tabla.jsp?searchString=&L=0&idTabla=18&periodicidad=12&unidades=Nacidos+por+1000+mujeres+de+15+a+49+a%F1os&diviDescripcion=Indicadores+Demogr%E1ficos+B%E1sicos&divi=IDB&capitulo=Natalidad+y+Fecundidad&tabla=Tasa+global+de+fecundidad%2C+por+1000+mujeres.+Total+nacional+y+comunidades+aut%F3nomas&his=0 |access-date=2022-11-25 |publisher=Instituto Nacional de Estadística |archive-date=29 September 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929142153/http://www.ine.es/inebase2/tabla.jsp?searchString=&L=0&idTabla=18&periodicidad=12&unidades=Nacidos+por+1000+mujeres+de+15+a+49+a%F1os&diviDescripcion=Indicadores+Demogr%E1ficos+B%E1sicos&divi=IDB&capitulo=Natalidad+y+Fecundidad&tabla=Tasa+global+de+fecundidad,+por+1000+mujeres.+Total+nacional+y+comunidades+aut%F3nomas&his=0 |url-status=dead }} From 2002 through 2008 the Spanish population grew by 8%, of whom 75% were foreign.{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.es/20080804/nacional-sociedad/nuevos-habitantes-espana-extranjero-200808042246.html|title=El 75% de los nuevos habitantes de España es extranjero, según un estudio - Nacional_Sociedad - Nacional - ABC.es|last=ABC|website=ABC|date=4 August 2008}}

The following demographic statistics are from the World Population Review in 2019.{{citation |title=World Population Review: Spain Population 2018 |date=14 June 2018 |url=http://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/spain-population/}}

• One birth every minute
• One death every minute
• Net gain of one person every 131 minutes
• One net migrant every 13 minutes

{{GraphChart

| width = 700

| height = 150

| xAxisTitle=year

| yAxisTitle= million

| yAxisMin=

| yGrid= 0,1

| xGrid= 10

| legend=

| type = line

| x = 1900,1901,1902,1903,1904,1905,1906,1907,1908,1909,1910,1911,1912,1913,1914,1915,1916,1917,1918,1919,1920,1921,1922,1923,1924,1925,1926,1927,1928,1929,1930,1931,1932,1933,1934,1935,1936,1937,1938,1939,1940,1941,1942,1943,1944,1945,1946,1947,1948,1949,1950,1951,1952,1953,1954,1955,1956,1957,1958,1959,1960,1961,1962,1963,1964,1965,1966,1967,1968,1969,1970,1971,1972,1973,1974,1975,1976,1977,1978,1979,1980,1981,1982,1983,1984,1985,1986,1987,1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994,1995,1996,1997,1998,1999,2000,2001,2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022

| y1= 18.5, 18.6, 18.7, 18.8, 19, 19.1, 19.3, 19.4, 19.5, 19.7, 19.8, 19.9, 20, 20.2, 20.3, 20.4, 20.6, 20.7, 20.9, 21, 21.1, 21.3, 21.5, 21.7, 22, 22.2, 22.4, 22.6, 22.9, 23.1, 23.3, 23.5, 23.9, 24.1, 24.3, 24.6, 24.8, 25, 25.3, 25.5, 25.8, 26, 26.2, 26.5, 26.6, 26.8, 27, 27.1, 27.6, 27.8, 28, 28.2, 28.5, 28.7, 29, 29.2, 29.4, 29.7, 29.9, 30.2, 30.5, 30.7, 31.1, 31.4, 31.7, 32.1, 32.4, 32.7, 33.1, 33.4, 33.8, 34.2, 34.6, 34.9, 35.3, 35.7, 36.1, 36.6, 36.7, 37.3, 37.5, 37.7, 37.9, 38.1, 38.3, 38.4, 38.5, 38.6, 38.7, 38.8, 38.9, 38.9, 39.1, 39.2, 39.3, 39.4, 39.5, 39.6, 39.7,39.9, 40.3, 40.5, 41, 41.8, 42.5, 43.3, 44, 44.8, 45.7, 46.2, 46.5, 46.7, 46.8, 46.7, 46.5, 46.4, 46.4, 46.5, 46.7, 46.9, 47.3, 47.4, 47.4

,

| y1Title= population (million)

}}

{{GraphChart

| width = 700

| height = 250

| xAxisTitle=years

| yAxisTitle= ‰

| yAxisMax= 20

| yAxisMin= -10

| yGrid=

| xGrid=

| legend=

| hAnnotatonsLine= 0

| hAnnotatonsLabel=

| type = line

| x = 1900,1901,1902,1903,1904,1905,1906,1907,1908,1909,1910,1911,1912,1913,1914,1915,1916,1917,1918,1919,1920,1921,1922,1923,1924,1925,1926,1927,1928,1929,1930,1931,1932,1933,1934,1935,1936,1937,1938,1939,1940,1941,1942,1943,1944,1945,1946,1947,1948,1949,1950,1951,1952,1953,1954,1955,1956,1957,1958,1959,1960,1961,1962,1963,1964,1965,1966,1967,1968,1969,1970,1971,1972,1973,1974,1975,1976,1977,1978,1979,1980,1981,1982,1983,1984,1985,1986,1987,1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994,1995,1996,1997,1998,1999,2000,2001,2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022

| y1= 4.9, 7.1, 9.6, 11.4, 8.6, 9.4, 7.8, 9.0, 10.1, 9.3, 9.7, 8.1, 10.6, 8.4, 7.8, 8.8, 7.6, 6.6, -4.0, 4.9, 6.1, 9.1, 10.0, 9.8, 10.1, 9.6, 10.8, 9.6, 11.1, 10.7, 11.4, 10.2, 11.8, 11.4, 10.2, 10.1, 8.1, 3.7, 0.1, -2.0, 7.9, 0.9, 5.4, 9.6, 9.5, 10.9, 8.6, 9.5, 12.2, 10.1, 9.3, 8.5, 11.1, 10.8, 10.8, 11.1,10.8,11.9,13.1,12.7,13.0,12.7,12.2,12.4,13.4,12.5,12.2,12.2,11.6,10.9,11.2,10.6,11.2,10.7,11.0,10.5,10.5,10.0,9.2,8.4,7.5,6.3,6.0,4.8,4.5,3.7,3.3,3.0,2.6,2.2,1.8,1.5,1.7,1.2,0.8,0.4,0.3,0.5,0.1,0.2,0.9,1.1,1.2,1.4,1.9,1.8,2.5,2.4,3.0,2.4,2.3,1.9,1.1,0.8,0.6,-0.1,0.0,-0.7,-1.2,-1.2,-3.2, -2.4, -2.8

| y2= , -2.3, -3.7, -6.6, 0.4, -2.6, -0.6, -2.3, -2.4, -2.2, -4.6, 0.9, -6.1, -1.9, -0.9, -2.9, 1.1, -0.3, 12.1, -0.6, 0.1, -2.5, 1.2, 0.8, 1.3, -1.9, -0.1, -0.3, -0.1, 0.6, -2, -3, 4.4, -2, -0.9, -0.8, 1.3, 5.6, 9.3, 11.3, 1.4, 0.3, 3.9, -0.3, -4.7, -5.3, 1, -5.1, 3.9, -2.2, -2.2, -0.5, -2.7, -2.5, -2.5, -2.8,-2.4, -3.5, -4.8, -4.4, -4.4, -3.3, -1.8, -2, -3, -2.2, -1.7, -1.8, -1.2, -0.5, -0.8, 2.1, -0.9, -0.6, -0.6, 0.8, 1.4, 2.3, -4.4, 6.4, -1.2, -0.7, -0.7, -0.1, -0.4, -0.1, -0.3, -0.6, -0.4, -0.2, -0.2, 0.8, 1.6, 1.9, 1.9, 1.9, 2, 2.1, 3.4, 4.9, 7.4, 4.1, 12.4, 17.6, 15, 15.5, 13.7, 14.9, 16.4, 10, 3.1, 2.1, 2.1, -2.7, -5.3, -1.3, -0.2, 2.5, 4, 7.2, 11.6, 3.8, 3.5

| y1Title=Natural change (per 1,000)

| y2Title=Crude migration change (per 1,000)

}}

Note: Crude migration change (per 1,000) is a trend analysis, an extrapolation based on average population change (current year minus previous) minus natural change of the current year (see table vital statistics). Average population is an estimate of the population in the middle of the year and not at the end of the year.

{{GraphChart

| width = 700

| height = 150

| xAxisTitle=years

| yAxisTitle= TFR

| yAxisMax= 5

| yAxisMin=

| yGrid= 0,1

| xGrid= 10

| legend=

| hAnnotatonsLine=2.1

| hAnnotatonsLabel=

| type = line

| x = 1900,1901,1902,1903,1904,1905,1906,1907,1908,1909,1910,1911,1912,1913,1914,1915,1916,1917,1918,1919,1920,1921,1922,1923,1924,1925,1926,1927,1928,1929,1930,1931,1932,1933,1934,1935,1936,1937,1938,1939,1940,1941,1942,1943,1944,1945,1946,1947,1948,1949,1950,1951,1952,1953,1954,1955,1956,1957,1958,1959,1960,1961,1962,1963,1964,1965,1966,1967,1968,1969,1970,1971,1972,1973,1974,1975,1976,1977,1978,1979,1980,1981,1982,1983,1984,1985,1986,1987,1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994,1995,1996,1997,1998,1999,2000,2001,2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022

| y1= 4.49, 4.71, 4.70, 4.68, 4.67, 4.66, 4.61, 4.57, 4.52, 4.48, 4.43, 4.39, 4.35, 4.30, 4.26, 4.22, 4.20, 4.19, 4.17, 4.16, 4.14, 4.08, 4.02, 4.02, 3.92, 3.82, 3.87, 3.70, 3.80, 3.69, 3.68, 3.58, 3.64, 3.59, 3.38, 3.31, 3.18, 2.89, 2.56, 2.12, 3.09, 2.47,2.53,2.88,2.84,2.91,2.70,2.67,2.88,2.68,2.45,2.47,2.51,2.55,2.59,2.62,2.66,2.69,2.72,2.74,2.77,2.79,2.8,2.88,3.01,2.94,2.91,2.85,2.86,2.87,2.88,2.88,2.86,2.84,2.89,2.75,2.68,2.59,2.48,2.36,2.22,2.09,1.96,1.84,1.73,1.64,1.56,1.50,1.45,1.40,1.36,1.33,1.32,1.26,1.21,1.18,1.17,1.19,1.15,1.20,1.23,1.24,1.26,1.31,1.33,1.35,1.36,1.40,1.46,1.39,1.38,1.34,1.32,1.27,1.32,1.33,1.34,1.31,1.26,1.24,1.19, 1.19, 1.16

| y1Title=Total Fertility Rate

}}

File:Natural population growth of Spain since 1950.png

File:Life expectancy map of Spain 2023 with names.png |access-date=14 February 2025}}]]

;Population growth rate

:

:0.13% (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 143rd

:0.78% (2017 est.)

{{See also|List of Spanish provinces by life expectancy}}

1882–1950

Sources: Our World In Data and the United Nations.

File:Life expectancy by WBG -Spain -diff.png in Spain since 1960]]

File:Life expectancy in Spain.svg

1950–2015

Source: UN World Population Prospects{{cite web|title=World Population Prospects – Population Division – United Nations|url=https://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/DataQuery/|access-date=15 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160919061238/https://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/DataQuery/|archive-date=19 September 2016|url-status=dead}}

Life expectancy at birth

:total population: 82.21 years. Country comparison to the world: 29nd

:male: 79.22 years

:female: 85.39 years (2021 est.)

Infant mortality rate

:3.14 deaths/1,000 live births (2021 est.). Country comparison to the world: 216th

;Crude death rate

:

:9.78 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est.) Country comparison to the world: 55th

File:Total fertility rate of Spain overtime to 2016.svg

[[File:Spain total fertility rate by region 2014.png|thumb|Spain total fertility rate by province (2014)

]]

The total fertility rate is the number of children born per woman. It is based on fairly good data for the entire period. Sources: Our World In Data and Gapminder Foundation.{{citation|url=https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/children-born-per-woman?year=1800&country=ESP|title=Total Fertility Rate around the world over the last centuries|author=Max Roser|date=2014|work=Our World In Data, Gapminder Foundation|access-date=7 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180807185751/https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/children-born-per-woman?year=1800&country=ESP|archive-date=7 August 2018|url-status=dead}}

;Crude birth rate

:

:8.05 births/1,000 population (2021 est.) Country comparison to the world: 212th

Total fertility rate

:1.16 children born/woman (2022){{cite web|url=https://www.ine.es/dyngs/INEbase/es/operacion.htm?c=Estadistica_C&cid=1254736177003&menu=ultiDatos&idp=1254735573002|title=Indice coyuntural de fecundidad|publisher=Instituto Nacional de Estadística|access-date=19 June 2024 }} Country comparison to the world: 207th

Mother's mean age at first birth

:30.9 years (2017 est.)

0-14 years:

15.02% (male 3,861,522/female 3,650,085)

15-24 years:

9.9% (male 2,557,504/female 2,392,498)

25-54 years:

43.61% (male 11,134,006/female 10,675,873)

55-64 years:

12.99% (male 3,177,080/female 3,319,823)

65 years and over:

18.49% (male 3,970,417/female 5,276,984) (2020 est.)

Median age:

:total: 43.9 years. Country comparison to the world: 21st

:male: 42.7 years

:female: 45.1 years (2020 est.)

File:Spain 1950-2014 Population pyramid.gif

File:Spain_animated_population_pyramid_by_country_of_birth.gif

{{clear}}

File:Pirámide de población de España (1900).png

In 2023, 242,326 (75.6%) babies were born to mothers with Spanish nationality (including naturalized immigrants), 29,075 (9.1%) to mothers with an American nationality (both North and South America), 23,593 (7.4%) to mothers with an African nationality (including North Africa), 18,661 (5.8%) to mothers with a European nationality (both EU and non-EU countries of Europe), and 6,814 (2.1%) to mothers with an Asian nationality.{{Cite web|url=https://www.ine.es/jaxiT3/Datos.htm?t=58929|title=Births, by country of nationality of the mother and month.|website=INE}}

In 2023, 220,218 (68.7%) babies were born to Spanish-born mothers, 47,336 (14.8%) to American-born mothers (North and South America), 26,960 (8.4%) to African-born mothers, 18,696 (5.8%) to European-born mothers (all countries of Europe except for Spain), and 7,395 (2.3%) to Asian-born mothers.{{Cite web|url=https://www.ine.es/jaxiT3/Datos.htm?t=58930|title=Births, by country of birth of the mother and month.|website=INE}}

===Current vital statistics===

{{cite web |title=Monthly estimates of births|url=https://www.ine.es/en/experimental/nacimientos/experimental_nacimientos.htm?L=1|website=Instituto Nacional de Estadística }}{{cite web |title=Weekly death estimates|url=https://www.ine.es/en/experimental/defunciones/experimental_defunciones.htm?L=1|website=Instituto Nacional de Estadística}}

Total fertility rate (TFR) in Spain by province as of 2023:{{Cite journal |last=Vilchinskii |first=A. S. |date=2023-07-06 |title=Autonomous Community of Galicia in the Contemporary Political System of Spain |url=https://doi.org/10.24975/2313-8920-2023-10-1-67-79 |journal=Post-Soviet Issues |volume=10 |issue=1 |pages=67–79 |doi=10.24975/2313-8920-2023-10-1-67-79 |issn=2587-8174|doi-access=free }}

{{Hidden begin

|title= Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (01.I.2021) (Data refer to registered resident population.): {{Cite web |title=UNSD — Demographic and Social Statistics |url=https://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic-social/products/dyb/#statistics |access-date=2023-05-10 |website=unstats.un.org}}

|titlestyle = background:#EEBC35;

}}

{{Hidden end}}

;Youth unemployment, ages 15–24:

As of January 2025:{{cite web|title=Economically Active Population Survey. Fourth Quarter 2024.|url=https://www.ine.es/dyngs/INEbase/en/operacion.htm?c=Estadistica_C&cid=1254736176918&menu=ultiDatos&idp=1254735976595|website=INE Instituto Nacional de Estadística |access-date=29 January 2025}}

:total: 24.9%

File:Population_per_km2_by_municipality_in_Spain_(2018).svg

{{Further|List of metropolitan areas in Spain by population}}

{{Largest cities of Spain}}

Islander population (The surface of the islands will be given in hectares except for the largest islands of the Canary and Balearic archipelagos, as well as the Plazas de Soberanía.):

{{colbegin|colwidth=25em}}

1. Tenerife 886,033
2. Majorca 846,210
3. Gran Canaria 829,597
4. Lanzarote 132,366
5. Ibiza 113,908
6. Fuerteventura 94,386
7. Menorca 86,697
8. La Palma 85,933
9. La Gomera 22,259
10. El Hierro 10,558
11. Formentera 7,957
12. Arousa 4,889
13. La Graciosa 658
14. Tabarca 105
15. Ons 61

{{colend}}

{{main|Spanish people|National and regional identity in Spain}}

File:191026 60278 dc (48979567256).jpg in Barcelona in 2019]]

The Spanish Constitution of 1978, in its second article, generically recognises contemporary entities—nationalities and regions—{{efn|name=Nationalities|The term 'nationality' ({{Langx|es|nacionalidad|link=no}}) was chosen carefully in order to avoid the more politically charged term 'nation'.}} within the context of the Spanish nation.

Spain has been described as a de facto plurinational state.{{cite web|url=http://cadmus.eui.eu/handle/1814/10056|title=Rival nationalisms in a plurinational state: Spain, Catalonia and the Basque Country|publisher=Oxford University Press|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525185738/http://cadmus.eui.eu/handle/1814/10056|archive-date=25 May 2017}}{{cite web|url=https://dialnet.unirioja.es/descarga/articulo/555054.pdf|title=España, una nación de naciones|publisher=University of Navarre|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525185727/https://dialnet.unirioja.es/descarga/articulo/555054.pdf|archive-date=25 May 2017}} The identity of Spain rather accrues of an overlap of different territorial and ethnolinguistic identities than of a sole Spanish identity. In some cases some of the territorial identities may conflict with the dominant Spanish culture. Distinct traditional identities within Spain include the Basques, Catalans, Galicians, Andalusians and Valencians,{{failed verification|date=June 2021}}{{cite news|url=http://elpais.com/diario/1996/08/24/opinion/840837607_850215.html|title=Nacionalidades históricas|access-date=9 May 2016|work=El País|date=23 August 1996|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160428110601/http://elpais.com/diario/1996/08/24/opinion/840837607_850215.html|archive-date=28 April 2016|last1=Azaola|first1=José Miguel de}} although to some extent all of the 17 autonomous communities may claim a distinct local identity.

Definition of ethnicity or nationality in Spain is fraught politically. The term "Spanish people" (pueblo español) is defined in the 1978 constitution as the political sovereign, i.e. the citizens of the Kingdom of Spain. The same constitution in its preamble speaks of "peoples and nationalities of Spain" (pueblos y nacionalidades de España) and their respective cultures, traditions, languages and institutions.

The formerly nomadic Gitanos and Mercheros are distinctly marked by endogamy and discrimination but they are dispersed through the country.{{cn|date=April 2022}}

The native Canarians are partly the descendants of the North African population of the Canary Islands prior to Spanish colonization in the 15th century although many Spaniards have varying levels of North African admixture as a result of the Islamic period. Also included are many Spanish citizens who are descendants of people from Spain's former colonies, mostly from Venezuela, Argentina, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Peru, Colombia, Morocco and Cuba. There is also a sizable number of Spaniards of Eastern European, Maghrebian, Sub Saharan-African, Indian subcontinent and Middle Eastern descent.{{Cite news|url=https://study.com/academy/lesson/ethnic-groups-in-spain.html|title=Ethnic Groups in Spain {{!}} Study.com|work=Study.com|access-date=9 May 2018|language=en}}

The arrival of the gitanos (Spanish for "gypsies"), a Romani people, began in the 16th century; estimates of the Spanish Roma population range from 750,000 to over one million.{{cite web|url=http://www.msc.es/ssi/familiasInfancia/inclusionSocial/poblacionGitana/docs/diagnosticosocial_autores.pdf|title=Diagnóstico social de la comunidad gitana en España|website=Msc.es|access-date=21 May 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161227231426/http://www.msc.es/ssi/familiasInfancia/inclusionSocial/poblacionGitana/docs/diagnosticosocial_autores.pdf|archive-date=27 December 2016 }}{{cite web|url=http://www.gfbv.it/3dossier/sinti-rom/img/n7a.jpg|format=JPG|title=Estimations|website=Gfbv.it|access-date=21 May 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160405044724/http://www.gfbv.it/3dossier/sinti-rom/img/n7a.jpg|archive-date=5 April 2016 }}{{cite web|url=http://www.eumap.org/reports/2002/eu/international/sections/spain/2002_m_spain.pdf|title=The Situation of Roma in Spain|publisher=Open Society Institute|year=2002|quote=The Spanish government estimates the number of Gitanos at a maximum of 650,000.|access-date=15 September 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071201172552/http://www.eumap.org/reports/2002/eu/international/sections/spain/2002_m_spain.pdf|archive-date=1 December 2007}}[http://www.osce.org/hcnm/78034?download=true Recent Migration of Roma in Europe, A study by Mr. Claude Cahn and Professor Elspeth Guild] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525185405/http://www.osce.org/hcnm/78034?download=true|date=25 May 2017 }}, pp. 87–88 (09.2010 figures){{cite web|url=http://www.eumap.org/reports/2002/eu/international/sections/spain/2002_m_spain.pdf|title=The Situation of Roma in Spain|access-date=14 August 2008|publisher=Open Society Institute|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080626103751/http://www.eumap.org/reports/2002/eu/international/sections/spain/2002_m_spain.pdf|archive-date=26 June 2008|url-status=dead }} There are also the mercheros (also called quinquis), a formerly nomadic minority group. Their origin is unclear.

Historically, Sephardic Jews and Moriscos are the main minority groups originating in Spain and with a contribution to Spanish culture.[https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/Sephardim.html Sephardim – Jewish Virtual Library] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120907212349/http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/Sephardim.html|date=7 September 2012 }} by Rebecca Weiner The Spanish government formerly offered Spanish citizenship to Sephardic Jews.{{cite web|url=http://es.euronews.com/2014/08/29/el-regreso-de-los-judios-sefardies-a-espana/|title=El regreso de los judíos sefardíes a España|work=euronewses|date=29 August 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140908192753/http://es.euronews.com/2014/08/29/el-regreso-de-los-judios-sefardies-a-espana/|archive-date=8 September 2014}}

{{main|Immigration to Spain}}

In terms of emigration vs. immigration, after decades of net emigration after the Spanish Civil War, Spain has experienced massive large-scale immigration for the first time in modern history over the past 30 years. As of 2024, there were 8,915,831 foreign-born people in Spain, making up to 18.31% of the Spanish population{{Cite web |trans-title=Population (Spaniards/foreigners) by Country of Birth, sex and year|title=Población (españoles/extranjeros) por País de Nacimiento, sexo y año |url=https://www.ine.es/dyngs/Prensa/ECP1T24.htm |lang=es|trans-work=National Institute of Statistics|work=Instituto Nacional de Estadística}} Of these, 6,581,028 (13.51%) didn't have Spanish citizenship.{{Cite web |title=Instituto Nacional de Estadística. Estadística del Padrón Continuo |url=https://www.ine.es/dyngs/Prensa/ECP1T24.htm |website=ine.es |publisher=Instituto Nacional de Estadística |access-date=20 June 2024 }}{{cite news |year=2017 |title=Sube el número de inmigrantes que viven en España |language=es |work=Datosmacro |url=https://datosmacro.expansion.com/demografia/migracion/inmigracion/espana |access-date=7 June 2019}} This makes Spain one of the world's preferred destinations to immigrate to, being the 4th country in Europe by immigration numbers and the 10th worldwide. Of these, more than 860,000 were Romanian, and 760,000 were Moroccan while the number of Ecuadorians was around 390,000. Colombian population amounted to around 300,000. There are also a significant number of British (359,076 as of 2011, but more than one million are estimated to live permanently in Spain) and German (195,842) citizens, mainly in Alicante, Málaga provinces, Balearic Islands and Canary Islands. The largest Asian immigrant group, the Chinese, number slightly over 166,000.

{{Table alignment}}

File:Percentage of people of foreign origin over two generations under the age of 15 in Spain.svg

As of 2024, Spain had a foreign population of 6,581,028.{{Cite web|url=https://www.ine.es/dyngs/Prensa/ECP1T24.htm|publisher=Instituto Nacional de Estadística|access-date=20 June 2024|title=Población extranjera por Nacionalidad, comunidades, Sexo y Año.}}{{Cite web |title=Población extranjera por Nacionalidad, comunidades, Sexo y Año. |url=https://www.ine.es/jaxi/Datos.htm?path=/t20/e245/p08/l0/&file=02005.px |access-date=2023-07-13 |website=INE |language=es-ES}} The largest groups of foreigners were those of Moroccan, Romanian, British, Chinese and Italian citizenship.

Meanwhile in 2024, Spain had a foreign-born population of 8,915,831, being those born in the Americas the largest group, and Europe being the second most common continent of origin after South America.{{Cite web|url=http://ine.es/jaxi/Tabla.htm?path=/t20/e245/p04/provi/l0/&file=00000006.px&L=0|publisher=Instituto Nacional de Estadística|access-date=5 April 2019|title=Población (españoles/extranjeros) por país de nacimiento y sexo.}}

{{Table alignment}}

File:Proportion of Spanish people in Spain in 2021 (by country of birth).png

{{bar chart

| title = Evolution of immigrated population every two years

| bar_width = 35

| label_type = Year

| label1 = 2002

| label2 = 2004

| label3 = 2006

| label4 = 2008

| label5 = 2010

| label6 = 2012

| label7 = 2014

| label8 = 2016

| label9 = 2018

| label10 = 2020

| label11 = 2022

| data_type = Total

| data1 = 1,737,972

| data2 = 3,547,669

| data3 = 4,637,972

| data4 = 5,878,919

| data5 = 6,280,064

| data6 = 6,294,953

| data7 = 5,958,308

| data8 = 5,918,341

| data9 = 6,198,833

| data10 = 6,996,825

| data11 = 7,365,311

| data_max = 8,000,000

| col2_data_type = Percentage

| col2_data_max = 20

| col2_data1 = 4.24

| col2_data2 = 8.34

| col2_data3 = 10.54

| col2_data4 = 12.88

| col2_data5 = 13.51

| col2_data6 = 13.45

| col2_data7 = 12.82

| col2_data8 = 12.75

| col2_data9 = 13.26

| col2_data10 = 14.78

| col2_data11 = 15.53

}}

{{main|Religion in Spain}}

{{Pie chart

|thumb = right

|caption= Religion in Spain (CIS poll, December 2020) {{Cite report |url=http://datos.cis.es/pdf/Es3303marMT_A.pdf |title=BARÓMETRO DE DICIEMBRE 2020 |publisher=Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas |year=2020 |pages=30 |language=es |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201221103849/http://datos.cis.es/pdf/Es3303marMT_A.pdf |archive-date=2020-12-21 |url-status=live}}

|label1 = Non-practicing Catholic

|value1 = 41.6

|color1 = DarkBlue

|label2 = Practicing Catholic

|value2 = 20.1

|color2 = Blue

|label3 = Agnostic/Non-believer

|value3 = 20.8

|color3 = LightGray

|label4 = Atheist

|value4 = 13.6

|color4 = Grey

|label5 = Other denominations and religions

|value5 = 2.7

|color5 = Orange

|label6 = Did not answer

|value6 = 1.2

|color6 = Black

}}

The Reconquista was the long process by which the Catholics reconquered Spain from Islamic rule by 1492. The Spanish Inquisition was established in 1478 to complete the religious orthodoxy of the Iberian Peninsula. In the centuries that followed, Spain saw itself as the bulwark of Catholicism and doctrinal purity; since then, Catholicism has been the main religion in Spain.{{cite book|title=Encyclopedia of Global Religion|last1=Juergensmeyer|first1=Mark|last2=Roof|first2=Wade Clark|publisher=SAGE Publications|year=2011|page=1214|isbn=9781452266565|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WwJzAwAAQBAJ&q=catholicism+hegemony+religion+spain&pg=PA1214}}{{Cite book |last=Payne |first=Stanley G. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JGoqcg22N4gC |title=Spanish Catholicism: An Historical Overview |publisher=University of Wisconsin Press |year=1984 |isbn=9780299098049 |language=en}}

Spanish missionaries carried Catholicism to the Americas and the Philippines, establishing various missions in the newly colonized lands. The missions served as a base for both administering colonies as well as spreading Christianity.{{cite book|page=10|title=Laicidad and Religious Diversity in Latin America|isbn=9783319447452|publisher=Springer|year=2016}}{{cite book|title=Being Catholic in the Contemporary Philippines: Young People Reinterpreting Religion|last=Cornelio|first=Jayeel Serrano|year=2016|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781317621966}}{{cite book|page=198|title=The Spanish Empire: A Historical Encyclopedia [2 volumes]: A Historical Encyclopedia|publisher=ABC-CLIO|year=2016|isbn=9781610694223|first1=H. Micheal|last1=Tarver Ph.D.|last2=Slape|first2=Emily}}

The Spanish Constitution of 1978 abolished Catholicism as the official state religion, but recognizing the role it plays in Spanish society.{{cite act |italics=y |title=Constitución española |trans-title=Constitution of Spain |type=Constitution |date=29 December 1978 |pinpoint=art, 14, 16 & 27.3 |reporter=BOE |volume=311 |id=[https://www.boe.es/buscar/doc.php?id=BOE-A-1978-31229 BOE-A-1978-31229] |language=English |url=https://www.boe.es/legislacion/documentos/ConstitucionINGLES.pdf |access-date=2024-04-26 |quote=No religion shall have a state character. The public authorities shall take into account the religious beliefs of Spanish society and shall consequently maintain appropriate cooperation relations with the Catholic Church and other confessions. }}

From the end of the Francoist dictatorship to the present day, a secularization process has taken place that has meant a progressive decrease in religious practice, in the attendance at the different religious rites (baptisms, communions and Catholic marriages) and in the percentage of Spaniards who identify as Catholic, Consequently, a majority of Spaniards today ignore Catholic doctrines on matters such as pre-marital sex, homosexuality and contraception.{{cite news |last = Tarvainen |first = Sinikka |title = Reforms anger Spanish church |publisher = Dawn International |date = 26 September 2004 |url = http://www.dawn.com/2004/09/26/int5.htm |access-date = 21 March 2008}}{{cite news|title =Zapatero accused of rejecting religion|publisher =Worldwide Religious News|date =15 October 2004|url =http://www.wwrn.org/article.php?idd=15453&sec=59&con=53|access-date =21 March 2008|url-status =dead|archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20081023070458/http://www.wwrn.org/article.php?idd=15453&sec=59&con=53|archive-date =23 October 2008}} Despite the drop, Catholic identity nevertheless remains an important part of Spain's culture.{{cite book|author=A. Santos|isbn=9781137296405|publisher=Springer|title=Social Movements and Sexual Citizenship in Southern Europe|year=2012|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vMA7_9icqQwC&q=Catholic+identity+nevertheless+remains+an+important+part+of+Spain%27s+culture&pg=PT68}}

{{As of|2018}}, 68.5% of the population define themselves as Catholic, 26.4% as non-believers or atheists, and 2.6% other religions according to the official Spanish Center for Sociological Research.{{Cite web|url=http://datos.cis.es/pdf/Es3187sd_A.pdf|author=Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas (Centre for Sociological Research)|title=Barómetro de enero de 2018|date=January 2018|page=19|access-date=3 March 2018|language=es|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130712095356/http://dat/|archive-date=12 July 2013|url-status=dead}} Among believers, 59% assert they almost never go to any religious service, by contrast, 16.3% attend one or more religious service almost every week.{{cite web|url=http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/eb/eb69/eb69_values_en.pdf|title=Eurobarometer 69 - Values of Europeans. p.16|access-date=24 March 2009}}

There have been three Popes from what is now Spain, all of them from the Crown of Aragon: Calixtus III, Alexander VI and Benedict XIII. Spanish mysticism provided an important intellectual resource against Protestantism with Carmelites like Teresa of Ávila, a reformist nun and John of the Cross, a priest, taking the lead in their reform movement. Later, they became Doctors of the Church. The Society of Jesus was co-founded by Ignatius of Loyola, whose Spiritual Exercises and movement led to the establishment of hundreds of colleges and universities in the world, including 28 in the United States alone. The Society's co-founder, Francis Xavier, was a missionary who reached India and later Japan. In the 1960s, Jesuits Pedro Arrupe and Ignacio Ellacuría supported the movement of Liberation Theology.{{Citation needed|date=October 2020}}

A study made by the Union of Islamic Communities of Spain demonstrated that there were about 1,700,000 inhabitants of Muslim background living in Spain {{As of|2012|lc=y}}, accounting for 3–4% of the total population of Spain. The vast majority was composed of immigrants and descendants originating from Morocco and other African countries. More than 514,000 (30%) of them had Spanish nationality.{{cite journal|title=Explotación estadística del censo de ciudadanos musulmanes en España referido a fecha 31/12/2012|journal=Unión de Comunidades Islámicas de España|year=2012|pages=6–9|url=http://oban.multiplexor.es/estademograf.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130328084242/http://oban.multiplexor.es/estademograf.pdf|archive-date=28 March 2013}} The recent waves of immigration have also led to an increasing number of Muslims, Buddhists, Sikhs and Hindus. After the Reconquista in 1492, Muslims did not live in Spain for centuries. Their ranks have since been bolstered by recent immigration, especially from Morocco and Algeria.{{Citation needed|date=October 2020}}

Judaism was practically non-existent in Spain from the 1492 expulsion until the 19th century, when Jews were again permitted to enter the country. Currently there are around 62,000 Jews in Spain, or 0.14% of the total population. Most are arrivals in the past century, while some are descendants of earlier Spanish Jews. Approximately 80,000 Jews are thought to have lived in Spain prior to its expulsion.{{cite book|title=The Spanish Inquisition: A Historical Revision|url=https://archive.org/details/spanishinquisiti00henr|url-access=registration|year=1999|publisher=Yale University Press|author-link=Henry Kamen|last=Kamen|first=Henry|pages=[https://archive.org/details/spanishinquisiti00henr/page/29 29]–31}} However the Jewish Encyclopedia states the number over 800,000 to be too large and 235,000 as too small: 165,000 is given as expelled as possibly too small in favour of 200,000, and the numbers of converts after the 1391 pogroms as less. Other sources suggest 200,000 converts mostly after the pogroms of 1391 and upwards of 100,000 expelled. Up until recently, descendants of these Sephardic Jews expelled in 1492 were eligible for Spanish citizenship if they requested it.{{cite news|last=Sanz|first=Juan Carlos|title=Spain at last welcomes back the Sephardim|url=https://elpais.com/elpais/2016/01/22/inenglish/1453467510_159674.html|date=22 January 2016|access-date=26 May 2018|location=Tel Aviv|newspaper=El País}}

• Spanish 99% (88% mother tongue{{cite web |url=http://ec.europa.eu/commfrontoffice/publicopinion/archives/ebs/ebs_243_en.pdf |title=Europeans and their languages|date=February 2006 |website= ec.europa.eu|publisher=European Commission}}) (official nationwide)
• Catalan 16%{{Cite web|url=http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=ES|title=Spain}} (9% mother tongue) (co-official in Catalonia, Balearic Islands, and Valencia — see Valencian)
• Galician 7% (5% mother tongue) (co-official in Galicia)
• Basque 1.6% (1% mother tongue) (co-official in Basque Country and designated areas in Navarre).
• Aranese (a variant of Gascon Occitan) is co-official in Val d'Aran, a small valley in the Pyrenees.

Others with no official status:

• Asturian-Leonese (in the former Kingdom of León and Asturias)
• Aragonese (in the province of Huesca, Aragon)
• Arabic (in the autonomous city of Ceuta)
• Tarifit (in the autonomous city of Melilla)

{{Table alignment}}

About 70% of Spain's students in non-university education attend public schools;{{Cite web |date=2021 |title=Facts and Figures 2021/2022 school year |url=https://www.educacionyfp.gob.es/dam/jcr:4d443eb4-40e5-4be4-b739-dd396aa5852f/datos-y-cifras-2021-2022-english.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211227201902/https://www.educacionyfp.gob.es/dam/jcr:4d443eb4-40e5-4be4-b739-dd396aa5852f/datos-y-cifras-2021-2022-english.pdf |archive-date=27 December 2021 |access-date=20 July 2022 |website=Ministerio de Educación y Formación Profesional}} 79.1% of students in higher education are enrolled in public universities.{{Cite web |date=25 April 2022 |title=Datos y Cifras del Sistema Universitario Español (Publicación 2021-2022) |url=https://www.universidades.gob.es/portal/site/universidades/menuitem.a9621cf716a24d251662c810026041a0/?vgnextoid=044e91d248552710VgnVCM1000001d04140aRCRD |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220130051151/https://www.universidades.gob.es/portal/site/universidades/menuitem.a9621cf716a24d251662c810026041a0/?vgnextoid=044e91d248552710VgnVCM1000001d04140aRCRD |archive-date=30 January 2022 |access-date=20 July 2022 |website=Ministerio de Universidades}} The remainder attend private schools or universities, many of which are operated by the Catholic Church.{{Cite web |last=Parcerisa |first=Elizabeth |date=2020-08-15 |title=Qué es un colegio concertado: características, ventajas y polémicas |url=https://www.niusdiario.es/sociedad/educacion/que-es-colegio-concertado-caracteristicas-ventajas-evn3m_18_2994870044.html |access-date=2022-06-29 |website=Nius Diario |language=es}}

Compulsory education begins with primary school or general basic education for ages 6–16. It is free in public schools and in many private schools, most of which receive government subsidies{{Citation needed|date=July 2022}}. Following graduation, students attend either a secondary school offering a general high school diploma or a school of professional study in all fields – law, sciences, humanities, and medicine – and the technical schools offer programs in engineering and architecture.

{{commons category|Demographics of Spain}}

• Health in Spain
• List of Spaniards
• Romani people in Spain
• Ranked list of Spanish autonomous communities
• Singular population entity
• Contemporary history of Spain
• Empty Spain

{{notelist}}

{{Reflist}}

• [http://www.ine.es/en/inebmenu/indice_en.htm Spanish Instituto Nacional de Estadística Statistical data about demography and population]
• [https://archive.today/20150404121423/http://itbulk.org/population/population-by-country/ Build Spanish population graph 1960 - 2013 (World Bank data)]
• [https://archive.today/20150220095949/http://itbulk.org/population/population-projection-by-country/ Build Spanish population projection graph till 2100 (United Nation data)]
• [https://archive.today/20150404121433/http://itbulk.org/population/life-expectancy-by-country/ Build Spanish life expectancy at birth graph 1950 - 2013 (United Nation data)]

{{Demographics of Europe}}

{{Ethnic groups of Spain}}

{{Spain topics|state=collapsed}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Demographics of Spain}}