Spain Population Tops 46 Million as Foreign Residents Surge

Spain's population has surpassed 46 million people, driven largely by foreign residents. The progress of the latest census, dated January 1, 2008, was published yesterday by the National Statistics Institute (INE) and shows the largest increase in population since 2004.

Key figures from the INE census

The total figure increased by 862,774 people in one year, more than double the growth that occurred in the previous year. The increase is due mainly to foreigners: eight out of ten new residents were born outside Spain. The number of foreigners reached 5.22 million, more than 11% of the total population. The national increase was only 0.4%, while the foreign population increased by more than 15%.

Origin and composition of foreign residents

More than half of the foreign residents come from the European Union, the result of the accession of Bulgaria and Romania. Those born in these countries are already more numerous than Moroccans, who were previously the largest foreign group.

The sex ratio is almost equal, with a slight increase in the percentage of men, who now account for 49.5% of the population, 0.1 points more than a year ago. Among immigrants, only 46.8% are women.

Age structure and population pyramid

The population pyramid remained virtually unchanged from a year ago, with a slight increase in the proportion of people aged 16 to 64. When comparing the ages of Spaniards and foreigners, the differences are striking: the bulk of the foreign population (63%) are aged 16 to 44. Those over 65 represent only 5% of foreigners, compared with 16.6% among Spanish nationals.

Regional changes and relative growth

By province and in relative terms, the greatest population increases occurred in:

• Balearic Islands (3.9%)
• Castilla-La Mancha (3.1%)
• Madrid (2.8%)

The number of inhabitants increased in all autonomous communities. Lower growth was recorded in Galicia (0.4%), Asturias (0.4%) and Extremadura.

Andalusia remains the most populated region (8.17 million), followed by Catalonia (7.35 million), Madrid (6.25 million), Valencia (5.01 million) and Galicia (2.78 million).

Distribution of foreigners across regions

The distribution of foreigners across regions has changed significantly. The Balearic Islands continue to be the region with the highest percentage of foreign residents; Valencia and Madrid are now second and third. Murcia has moved from second to fourth, and Catalonia is fifth in relative terms.

The regions with the greatest absolute increases in the number of foreigners during 2007 were Catalonia, Madrid and Valencia. The smallest increases were recorded in Ceuta and Melilla and in the autonomous community of Extremadura. No region with foreign residents is losing foreign population.

All figures and comparisons are based on the INE census data dated January 1, 2008.