Spain’s population hits 49m due to immigration

Spain’s population has passed the 49 million mark for the first time, driven entirely by immigration, according to data published by the country’s National Institute of Statistics (INE) on Thursday.

In the final quarter of 2024, Spain added more than 115,000 new residents, pushing the total to just over 49 million. The entire increase was due to immigrants, who now account for roughly one-fifth of Spain’s population.

Indeed, the number of residents born abroad grew by over 136,000, while the Spain-born population declined by more than 20,500.

In the last quarter of 2024, around 75 per cent of the immigrants came from three countries: Colombia, Venezuela and Morocco. Thousands more from Peru, Italy, Honduras, Argentina, Ecuador and Ukraine also became Spanish residents.

The regions with the most significant population growth were Melilla, Valencia, Madrid and Catalonia.

The latest INE data shows that Spain’s birth rate shrunk to a record low of 1.12 children per woman in 2023. Despite the low birth rate in recent years, Spain’s population has increased by around 15 million since 1971.

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