How Spain's population has changed (2002-2024)
Demographics change slowly, but they do change. And when they change, they shape everything that follows.
This piece looks at two basic structural variables: total population and share of foreign-born residents. Not to pass judgement, but to understand what happened between 2002 and 2024.
Between 2002 and 2024, Spain gained 7.6 million inhabitants.
Over that period, the increase in the foreign-born population accounts for 62.8% of total growth.
Joint evolution
The total population rises steadily over the long term. At the same time, the share of foreign-born residents grows from 4.24% to 13.37%.
Total population and share of foreign-born residents (2002-2024)
What the data tells us
1 Spain goes from 41.04 to 48.62 million inhabitants over the analysed period.
2 The foreign-born population increases by 4.76 million, compared to 2.82 million increase in the Spanish-nationality population.
3 Demographic growth does not depend on a single variable, but the contribution of the foreign-born population is structural in this period.
Four snapshots of the series
| Year | Total population | Foreign-born population | % foreign-born |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 41.035.270 | 1.737.972 | 4.24% |
| 2008 | 45.668.938 | 5.086.295 | 11.14% |
| 2015 | 46.449.564 | 4.454.353 | 9.59% |
| 2024 | 48.619.695 | 6.502.282 | 13.37% |