Demographics of Spain

This article is about the demographic features of the population of Spain, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

Spain has 47,150,819 inhabitants according to 1/1/2010 municipal records (Padrón Municipal).[1] Its population density, at 91.4/km² (229/sq. mile), is lower than that of most Western European countries. With the exception of the capital, Madrid, the most densely populated areas lie around the coast.

The population of Spain doubled during the twentieth century, but the pattern of growth was extremely uneven due to large-scale internal migration from the rural interior to the industrial cities, a phenomenon which happened later than in other Western European countries. No fewer than eleven of Spain's fifty provinces saw an absolute decline in population over the century.

The last quarter of the century saw a dramatic fall in birth rates. Spain's fertility rate of 1.47 (the number of children the average woman will have during her lifetime) is lower than the EU average, but has climbed every year since the late 1990s. The birth rate has climbed in 10 years from 9.10 births per 1000 people per year in 1996 to 10.9 in 2006.

Spain has no official religion. The Spanish Constitution of 1978 abolished the Roman Catholic Church as the official state religion, while recognizing the role it plays in Spanish society. 76.7% of the population define themselves as Catholic, 20.0% as non-believers or atheists, and 1.6% other religions. Among believers, 55.3% assert they almost never go to any religious service, by contrast, 17.0% attend one or more masses almost every week.[2]

Contents

Immigration and Demographic Issues

The population of Spain doubled during the twentieth century as a result of the spectacular demographic boom in the 1960s and early 1970s. After that time, the birth rate plunged through the 1980s and Spain's population became stalled, its demographics showing one of the lowest sub replacement fertility rates in the world, only second to Greece, Portugal, Hungary, Ukraine and Japan.

Many demographers have linked Spain's very low fertility rate to the country's lack of any real family planning policy. Spain spends the least on family support out all western European countries—0.5% of GDP. A graphic illustration of the enormous social gulf between Spain and the rest of Europe in this field is the fact that a Spanish family would need to have 57 children to enjoy the same financial support as a family with 3 children in Luxembourg.

In emigration/immigration terms, after centuries of net emigration, Spain, has recently experienced large-scale immigration for the first time in modern history. According to the Spanish government there were 5,730,667 foreign residents in Spain as of January 2011. Of these, more than 860,000 were Romanian, and half 760,000 were Moroccan while the number of Ecuadorians was around 390,000. Colombian population amounted to around 300,000. There are also a significant number of British (359,076 as of 2011, but more than one million are estimated to live permanently in Spain) and German (195,842) citizens, mainly in Alicante, Málaga provinces, Balearic Islands and Canary Islands. Chinese number over 166,000. Immigrants from several sub-Saharan African countries have also settled in Spain as contract workers, although they represent only 4.08% of all the foreign residents in the country.

During the early 2000s, the mean year-on-year demographic growth set a new record with its 2003 peak variation of 2.1%, doubling the previous record reached back in the 1960s when a mean year-on-year growth of 1% was experienced.[3] This trend is far from being reversed at the present moment and, in 2005 alone, the immigrant population of Spain increased by 700,000 people.[4]

Allegedly, the growing population of immigrants is the main reason for the slight increase in Spain's fertility rate.[5] From 2002 through 2008 the Spanish population grew by 8%, of which 6% were foreign.[6]

Vital statistics[7]

Average population (x 1000) Live births Deaths Natural change Crude birth rate (per 1000) Crude death rate (per 1000) Natural change (per 1000)
1900 18 520 627 848 536 716 91 132 33.9 29.0 4.9
1901 18 610 650 649 517 575 133 074 35.0 27.8 7.1
1902 18 720 666 687 488 289 178 398 35.6 26.1 9.6
1903 18 810 685 265 470 387 214 878 36.4 25.0 11.4
1904 18 980 649 878 486 889 162 989 34.2 25.7 8.6
1905 19 110 670 651 491 369 179 282 35.1 25.7 9.4
1906 19 250 650 385 499 018 151 367 33.8 25.9 7.8
1907 19 380 646 371 472 007 174 364 33.3 24.4 9.0
1908 19 530 658 008 460 946 197 062 33.7 23.6 10.1
1909 19 670 650 498 466 648 183 850 33.1 23.7 9.3
1910 19 770 646 975 456 158 190 817 32.7 23.1 9.7
1911 19 950 628 443 466 525 161 918 31.5 23.4 8.1
1912 20 040 637 860 426 297 211 563 31.8 21.3 10.6
1913 20 170 617 850 449 349 168 501 30.6 22.3 8.4
1914 20 310 608 207 450 340 157 867 29.9 22.2 7.8
1915 20 430 631 462 452 479 178 983 30.9 22.1 8.8
1916 20 610 599 011 441 673 157 338 29.1 21.4 7.6
1917 20 740 602 139 465 722 136 417 29.0 22.5 6.6
1918 20 910 612 637 695 758 -83 121 29.3 33.3 -4.0
1919 21 000 585 963 482 752 103 211 27.9 23.0 4.9
1920 21 130 623 339 494 540 128 799 29.5 23.4 6.1
1921 21 270 648 892 455 469 193 423 30.5 21.4 9.1
1922 21 510 656 093 441 330 214 763 30.5 20.5 10.0
1923 21 740 662 576 449 683 212 893 30.5 20.7 9.8
1924 21 990 653 085 430 590 222 495 29.7 19.6 10.1
1925 22 160 644 741 432 400 212 341 29.1 19.5 9.6
1926 22 400 663 401 420 838 242 563 29.6 18.8 10.8
1927 22 610 636 028 419 816 216 212 28.1 18.6 9.6
1928 22 860 666 240 413 002 253 238 29.1 18.1 11.1
1929 23 120 653 668 407 486 246 182 28.3 17.6 10.7
1930 23 340 660 860 394 488 266 372 28.3 16.9 11.4
1931 23 510 649 276 408 977 240 299 27.6 17.4 10.2
1932 23 897 670 670 388 900 281 770 28.3 16.5 11.8
1933 24 122 667 866 394 750 273 116 27.9 16.5 11.4
1934 24 349 641 889 392 793 249 096 26.4 16.1 10.2
1935 24 578 636 725 388 757 247 968 25.9 15.8 10.1
1936 24 810 617 220 417 108 200 112 24.9 16.8 8.1
1937 25 043 568 977 475 310 93 667 22.7 19.0 3.7
1938 25 279 508 726 487 546 21 180 20.1 19.3 0.8
1939 25 517 422 345 472 611 -50 266 16.6 18.5 -2.0
1940 25 757 631 285 428 416 202 869 24.5 16.6 7.9
1941 25 999 511 157 487 748 23 409 19.7 18.8 0.9
1942 26 244 530 845 387 844 143 001 20.2 14.8 5.4
1943 26 491 606 971 352 587 254 384 22.9 13.3 9.6
1944 26 620 602 091 349 114 253 796 22.6 13.1 9.5
1945 26 770 621 558 330 581 290 977 23.2 12.3 10.9
1946 27 030 585 381 353 371 232 010 21.7 13.1 8.6
1947 27 150 588 732 330 341 258 391 21.7 12.2 9.5
1948 27 593 642 041 305 310 336 731 23.3 11.1 12.2
1949 27 811 601 759 321 541 280 218 21.6 11.6 10.1
1950 28 009 565 378 305 934 259 444 20.2 10.9 9.3
1951 28 236 567 474 327 236 240 238 20.1 11.6 8.5
1952 28 474 593 019 276 735 316 284 20.8 9.7 11.1
1953 28 713 589 188 278 522 310 666 20.5 9.7 10.8
1954 28 955 577 886 264 668 313 218 20.0 9.1 10.8
1955 29 199 598 970 274 188 324 782 20.5 9.4 11.1
1956 29 445 608 121 290 410 317 711 20.7 9.9 10.8
1957 29 693 646 784 293 502 353 282 21.8 9.9 11.9
1958 29 943 653 216 260 683 392 533 21.8 8.7 13.1
1959 30 195 654 474 269 591 384 883 21.7 8.9 12.7
1960 30 455 663 375 268 941 394 434 21.8 8.8 13.0
1961 30 744 654 616 263 441 391 175 21.3 8.6 12.7
1962 31 067 658 816 278 575 380 241 21.2 9.0 12.2
1963 31 393 671 520 282 460 389 060 21.4 9.0 12.4
1964 31 723 697 697 273 955 423 742 22.0 8.6 13.4
1965 32 056 676 361 274 271 402 090 21.1 8.6 12.5
1966 32 394 669 919 276 173 393 746 20.7 8.5 12.2
1967 32 734 680 125 280 494 399 631 20.8 8.6 12.2
1968 33 079 667 311 282 628 384 683 20.2 8.5 11.6
1969 33 427 666 568 303 402 363 166 19.9 9.1 10.9
1970 33 779 663 667 286 067 377 600 19.6 8.5 11.2
1971 34 216 672 092 308 516 363 576 19.7 9.0 10.6
1972 34 572 672 405 285 508 386 897 19.5 8.3 11.2
1973 34 921 672 963 301 803 371 160 19.3 8.7 10.7
1974 35 288 688 711 300 403 388 308 19.6 8.5 11.0
1975 35 688 669 378 298 192 371 186 18.8 8.4 10.5
1976 36 118 677 456 299 007 378 449 18.9 8.3 10.5
1977 36 564 656 357 294 324 362 033 18.1 8.1 10.0
1978 36 741 636 892 296 781 340 111 17.3 8.1 9.2
1979 37 289 601 992 291 213 310 779 16.2 7.8 8.4
1980 37 527 571 018 289 344 281 674 15.2 7.7 7.5
1981 37 741 533 008 293 386 239 622 14.1 7.8 6.3
1982 37 942 515 706 286 655 229 051 13.6 7.6 6.0
1983 38 122 485 352 302 569 182 783 12.7 7.9 4.8
1984 38 279 473 281 299 409 173 872 12.4 7.8 4.5
1985 38 419 456 298 312 532 143 766 11.9 8.1 3.7
1986 38 536 438 750 310 413 128 337 11.4 8.1 3.3
1987 38 631 426 782 310 073 116 709 11.0 8.0 3.0
1988 38 716 418 919 319 437 99 482 10.8 8.3 2.6
1989 38 792 408 434 324 796 83 638 10.5 8.4 2.2
1990 38 851 401 425 333 142 68 283 10.3 8.6 1.8
1991 38 940 395 989 337 691 58 298 10.2 8.7 1.5
1992 39 068 396 747 331 515 65 232 10.2 8.5 1.7
1993 39 190 385 786 339 661 46 125 9.8 8.7 1.2
1994 39 295 370 148 338 242 31 906 9.4 8.6 0.8
1995 39 387 363 469 346 227 17 242 9.2 8.8 0.4
1996 39 478 362 626 351 449 11 177 9.2 8.9 0.3
1997 39 582 369 035 349 521 19 514 9.3 8.8 0.5
1998 39 721 365 193 360 511 4 682 9.2 9.1 0.1
1999 39 927 380 130 371 102 9 028 9.5 9.3 0.2
2000 40 264 397 632 360 391 37 241 9.9 9.0 0.9
2001 40 721 406 380 360 131 46 249 10.0 8.8 1.1
2002 41 314 418 846 368 618 50 228 10.1 8.9 1.2
2003 42 005 441 881 384 828 57 053 10.5 9.2 1.4
2004 42 692 454 591 371 934 82 657 10.6 8.7 1.9
2005 43 398 466 371 387 355 79 016 10.7 8.9 1.8
2006 44 117 482 957 371 478 111 479 10.9 8.4 2.5
2007 44 879 492 527 385 361 107 166 11.0 8.6 2.4
2008 45 556 518 967 385 954 133 013 11.4 8.5 2.9
2009 46 909 492 931 383 486 109 445 10.7 8.4 2.4
2010 47 203

Metropolitan areas

The most important metropolitan areas in 2007 are:

Further information: List of metropolitan areas in Spain by population

[8]

  1. Madrid 5,603,285
  2. Barcelona 4,667,136
  3. Valencia 1,671,189
  4. Seville 1,499,673 (INE 2008)
  5. Bilbao 950,829
  6. Málaga 897,563
  7. Asturias (Gijón–Oviedo–Avilés) 857,079
  8. Alicante–Elche 748,565
  9. Zaragoza 731,803
  10. Vigo 662,412
  11. Las Palmas de Gran Canaria 616,903
  12. Bahía de Cádiz (Cádiz–Jerez de la Frontera) 615,494
  13. Santa Cruz de Tenerife 573,825
  14. Murcia 563,272
  15. Palma 474,035
  16. Granada 472,638
  17. San Sebastián 402,168
  18. Tarragona 406,042
  19. A Coruña 403,007
  20. Valladolid 400,400
  21. Santander–Torrelavega 391,480
  22. Córdoba 323,600
  23. Pamplona 309,631

Islands

Islander population:[9]

CIA World Factbook demographic statistics

The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.

Population

46,525,002 (July 2010 est.)

Age structure (2008 est.)

0-14 years: 14.4% (male 3,423,861/female 3,232,028)
15-64 years: 69.1% (male 16,185,5575/female 15,683,433)
65 years and over: 16.5% (male 3,238,301/female 4,394,624) (2008 est.)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female
total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate

4.37 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 79.65 years
male: 76.32 years
female: 83.2 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate

1.47 children born/woman (2010 est.)

Nationality

noun: Spaniard(s)
adjective: Spanish

Ethnic groups

Main articles: Spanish people and Nationalisms and regionalisms of Spain

Definition of ethnicity or nationality in Spain is fraught politically. The term "Spanish people" (pueblo español) is defined in the 1978 constitution as the political sovereign, i.e. the citizens of the Kingdom of Spain. The same constitution in its preamble speaks of "peoples and nationalities of Spain" (pueblos y nacionalides de España) and their respective cultures, traditions, languages and institutions.

The CIA Factbook (2011) gives a racial description of "composite of Mediterranean and Nordic types" under "ethnic groups" instead of the usual breakdown of ethnic composition. This reflects the formation of the modern Kingdom of Spain by the accretion of several independent Iberian realms, i.e. Asturias, León, Galicia, Castile, Navarre, Aragon, Catalonia, Majorca, Valencia, Granada. The individual nationalities or peoples of these lands are the Asturians, Leonese, Galicians, Basques, Cantabrians, Castilians, Aragonese, Catalans, and Andalusians.

The native Canarians are the descendants of the population of the Canary Islands prior to Spanish colonization in the 15th century. Also included are many Spaniard citizens who are descendents of people from Spain's former colonies, mostly from Equatorial Guinea, Argentina, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Peru, Colombia, Morocco and the Philippines. There is also a sizeable number of Spaniards of Middle Eastern, Eastern European, African and Chinese origins.

Native-born Spanish citizens of all races and ethnic groups make up 88% of the total population, and 12% are immigrants. Among the immigrants, around 57% of them come from Spain's former colonies in Latin America (including those from Cuba, Mexico, Chile and Uruguay), Africa and Asia. The rest are mostly Eastern European (especially Romanians, Russians, Serbians, Croatians, Bosnians, Ukrainians and Albanians), North and West Africans (notably Moroccans, Algerians, Senegalese, Nigerians and Cameroonians), Middle Eastern peoples including the Lebanese and Syrian communities, Indians, Pakistanis and Chinese, as well as a sizeable number of citizens from the European Union, as of 2007 mostly Romanians, British, Bulgarians, Portuguese, Polish, and Germans.

Religions

Main article: Religion in Spain

Roman Catholicism is the largest religion in the country by far. According to a July 2009 study by the Spanish Center of Sociological Research about 70% of Spaniards self-identify as Catholics, 10% other faith, and about 20% identify with no religion. Most Spaniards do not participate regularly in religious services. This same study shows that of the Spaniards who identify themselves as religious, 58% hardly ever or never go to church, 17% go to church some times a year, 9% some time per month and 15% every Sunday or multiple times per week.[10] But according to a December 2006 study, 48% of the population declared a belief in a supreme being, while 41% described themselves as atheist or agnostic.[11]

Languages

Others with no official status:

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97.9% (2003 est.)
male: 98.7% (2003 est.)
female: 97.2% (2003 est.)

Educational system

About 70% of Spain's student population attends public schools or universities. The remainder attend private schools or universities, some of which are operated by the Catholic Church.

Compulsory education begins with primary school or general basic education for ages 6–16. It is free in public schools and in many private schools, most of which receive government subsidies. Following graduation, students attend either a secondary school offering a general high school diploma or a school of professional study in all fields — law, sciences, humanities, and medicine — and the superior technical schools offer programs in engineering and architecture.

See also

References

  1. ^ Instituto Nacional de Estadística de España. "Preview of Municipal Registry at 1 January 2011". http://www.ine.es/en/prensa/np648_en.pdf. Retrieved 2011-01-01. 
  2. ^ CIS study, April 2008. Questions 33 and 34.
  3. ^ Official report on Spanish recent Macroeconomics, including data and comments on immigration
  4. ^ Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadística. Evolution of the foreign population in Spain since 1998 [1]
  5. ^ Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Evolution of the global fertility rate between 1975 and 2005 [2]
  6. ^ [3]
  7. ^ Instituto Nacional de Estadística
  8. ^ "AUDES project". Grupo Alarcos. http://alarcos.inf-cr.uclm.es/per/fruiz/pobesp/dat/arc/areas-pob.xls. Retrieved 2008-08-14. 
  9. ^ La superficie de las islas vendrá dada en hectáreas salvo la de las mayores islas de los archipiélagos canario y balear, así como las Plazas de Soberanía.
  10. ^ "Barómetro julio 2009, Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas, Jul 2009". http://www.cis.es/cis/opencms/-Archivos/Marginales/2800_2819/2811/es2811.pdf. Retrieved 2009-10-16. 
  11. ^ Religion Important for Americans, Italians, Angus Reid Global Monitor, December 30, 2006
  12. ^ a b c d http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_243_en.pdf
  13. ^ Ethnologue report for Spain

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