The resident population in Spain increased by 85,870 in the fourth quarter, and stood at 48,592,909 inhabitants as of 1 January 2024. This is the highest-ever figure since records began.
In annual terms, estimated population growth was 507,548 people.
Provisional data since 1 April 2023
Population growth in Spain was, almost entirely, due to the rise in people born abroad. This population—8,775,213—was more than that of Spanish nationality, due to the processes of acquiring Spanish citizenship.
Thus, the number of foreigners rose by 72,504 during the quarter, reaching 6,491,502. The population of Spanish nationality grew by 13,366.
Fourth quarter 2023
The number of households stood at 19,346,386 on 1 January 2024, with an increase of 45,560 during the fourth quarter 2023.
Provisional data since 1 April 2023
The main nationalities of immigrants during the fourth quarter of 2023 were Colombian (with 42,600 arrivals in Spain), Venezuelan (27,300) and Moroccan (25,800).
On the other hand, the most numerous nationalities of emigrants were Spanish (with 10,400 departures), Moroccans (9,500) and Romanians (8,100).
Fourth quarter 2023
Fourth quarter 2023
During the fourth quarter 2023, the population rose in all autonomous communities and cities, except in Andalucía and Extremadura. The greatest increases were registered in the Autonomous City of Melilla (0.64%), Comunidad de Madrid (0.44%) and Comunitat Valenciana (0.41%).
Variation between the fourth and third quarters of 2023. Percentage
The data of the CPS are provisional until a new census is published. The resident population is updated with each population census, which is taken annually since 2021, while the population in family homes and households is updated when there is a new household census, which is scheduled to be performed multi-yearly.
Thus, this publication makes definitive the data on the resident populations as of 1 January 2023, after the publication of the 2022 and 2023 population censuses in December 2023.
All results of this operation are available on INEBase.
The purpose of the Continuous Population Statistics (CPS) is to provide a quantitative measurement of the population habitually resident in Spain, of the population resident in family dwellings and of the number of households. The population series are disaggregated by sex, year of birth, age, country of nationality and country of birth. The series of households are disaggregated by household and number of numbers.
The CPS always contains two types of data: definitive (until the latest published census), and provisional (since the last published census).
In addition, the CPS offers a first estimate of the external migrations detected during the quarter, for the main nationalities and countries of birth. These series will not be revised.
Type of operation: statistics based on official data (mainly the continuous municipal register) and on other operations that have already been performed, such as censuses.
Population scope: population residing in Spain, population residing in family dwellings and households.
Geographical scope: national, autonomous communities and cities, provinces and islands.
Reference period for the results: 1 January, 1 April, 1 July and 1 October each year.
Frequency of dissemination: quarterly.
For more information, you can access the methodology and the standardised methodological report.
INE statistics are produced in accordance with the Code of Good Practice for European Statistics. More information on Quality at INE and Code of Best Practices
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