Spain’s population continues its steady rise, with the Costa Blanca leading the way.
Spain’s population is growing in every region except Extremadura, with the strongest increases concentrated along the Mediterranean coast.
Torrevieja, Gandía and Benidorm recorded the highest year-on-year growth, confirming the appeal of coastal living.
According to the latest Annual Population Census published by the National Institute of Statistics (INE), Spain reached 49,128,297 residents on 1 January 2025 — 508,602 more than a year earlier, a 1% increase. But, more recent INE estimates already raise that figure to 49,442,844 as of 1 October 2025.
Of the 49.1 million residents included in the census, 85.9% held Spanish nationality and 14.1% were foreign nationals, the latter growing by 6.3% over the previous year.
Shifts in foreign nationalities
The strongest increases among foreign residents came from Colombia (+98,057), Venezuela (+52,555) and Morocco (+48,306). Drops were recorded among nationals of Romania (-11,193), Ukraine (-7,907) and the United Kingdom (-5,940).
The largest foreign communities remain Moroccans (968,999), Colombians (676,534) and Romanians (609,270). In relative terms, Peruvians grew the fastest (+18.6%), followed by Colombians (+17%) and Venezuelans (+16.2%). The biggest decreases were among Ukrainians (-3.8%), Bulgarians (-2.9%) and Britons (-2.2%).
Coastal cities at the forefront
Torrevieja led Spain’s population growth with a 4.9% rise, followed by Gandía (3.6%) and Benidorm (3.5%). The largest declines were recorded in Cádiz (-1%), Fuengirola (-0.9%) and Talavera de la Reina (-0.9%).
Of Spain’s 8,132 municipalities, 53.9% saw their population increase or remain stable in 2024.
Across the regions, population grew everywhere except Extremadura. The largest increases were in Catalonia (+111,895), the Valencian Community (+105,897) and the Community of Madrid (+104,618). In relative terms, the Valencian Community led with 2% growth, followed by Madrid and the Balearic Islands at 1.5%.
Provincial level
At provincial level, the biggest increases were in Castellón, Alicante and Guadalajara (all at 2%), while the sharpest drops occurred in Zamora (-0.4%), Córdoba (-0.1%) and Jaén (-0.1%).
As of 1 January 2025, 42.8% of Spain’s population lived in their municipality of birth, and 21.6% lived elsewhere within the same province.
Meanwhile, the share of residents born abroad reached 19.3%, up from 18.2% a year earlier. Of those born abroad, 12.3% were born in Morocco, 10.3% in Colombia and 7.3% in Venezuela.
Population of Spain: Age and demographics
Only the population under 16 fell last year. The number of residents over 64 rose by 2.52%, and those aged 16 – 64 increased by 1.13%. The under-16 population declined by 1.43%.
The over-64 age group now represents 20.7% of the total population, with a dependency ratio of 0.32, meaning 32 people aged 64+ for every 100 people of working age.
Marital status data for 1 January 2024 shows that 34.9% of the population was single, 45.8% married, 7.8% divorced or separated, and 7% widowed. Among widowed residents, 83% were women, a pattern consistent across all age groups.
For those aged 16 – 34, 80.4% were single, while from age 35 onward the majority were married. In the 55 – 74 age group, 65.6% were married.
