The resident population in Spain increased by 104,178 people during the second quarter of the year and stood at 49,801,559 inhabitants as of July 1, 2026, the highest value in the historical series, according to the Continuous Population Statistics of the National Institute of Statistics (INE) published this Thursday.
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Spain’s population growth was due to the increase in people born abroad, as the number of those born in Spain decreased. The population born abroad – 10,291,807 people – is greater than that of foreign nationality, due to the processes of acquiring Spanish nationality.
The resident population in Spain stands at 49,801,559 inhabitants, the highest value in the historical series
Meanwhile, the number of foreigners increased by 87,197 people during the quarter, reaching 7,437,543. The population of Spanish nationality grew by 16,981. The largest number of new migrants during the second quarter of 2026 were of Colombian nationality (with 34,000 arrivals in Spain), Venezuelan (23,300), and Moroccan (21,100).
On the other hand, the most numerous nationalities of emigrants leaving Spain were Colombian (with 11,500 departures), Moroccan (10,900), and Venezuelan (5,900). In annual terms, the estimated population growth was 444,205 people.
The number of households stood at 19,874,860 as of July 1, 2026, with an increase of 58,794 during the second quarter of 2026.
The Valencian Community leads population growth in Spain
The Valencian Community (0.43%), Balearic Islands (0.36%), Principality of Asturias (0.29%), and Murcia (0.29%) experienced the largest population increases, which occurred in all autonomous communities and cities.
Also above the average population increase, which is 0.21% – Aragon (0.28%), Castilla-La Mancha (0.28%), and Catalonia (0.27%).
Below, grew Cantabria (0.20%), Community of Madrid (0.18%), Galicia (0.17%), Castilla y León (0.14%), Melilla (0.13%), Chartered Community of Navarre (0.12%), Basque Country (0.12%), Andalusia (0.10%), Ceuta (0.09%), La Rioja (0.09%), Extremadura (0.05%), and Canary Islands (0.03%).
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