The reading of the municipal register corresponding to January 1 of this year, just published by the City Council, shows a Barcelona that collects records. The municipality started this year by breaking many maximum population records. Not at a global level, as there is an almost imperceptible decrease of 0.1%, leaving the number of registered residents at 1,729,963 (about 2,100 fewer residents than a year ago), but yes in various categories such as people born abroad and of non-Spanish nationality, Barcelonans who have surpassed a century of life, or the number of births, which in this case reaches a historic low: the 11,012 registered throughout 2025 represent the lowest value since 1900, with the only exception of 1939.
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Pending the effect that the ongoing regularization process of foreigners may have on the municipal register, the 1,729,963 people registered at the beginning of 2026 represent the second highest value of the last 40 years, only surpassed by that of 2025. In seven of the city’s ten districts, the number of residents slightly decreases, although the remaining three, Ciutat Vella, Nou Barris, and Sant Andreu, experience small increases.
The demographic evolution of Barcelona in 2025 follows the pattern that has been repeating for many years. The natural movement of the population (the difference between births and deaths) again shows a negative balance, in this case of 3,459 people. However, the migratory and administrative balance is again positive (+11,383), although it points to a slight moderation compared to the strong growths of previous years.
The unstoppable decline in birth rates has describable effects on other population indicators of the city. In this regard, the pronounced decrease in households with minors among their members is accentuated, barely 21.4% of the total. Likewise, it is noteworthy that almost a third of Barcelona households (31.5% of the total) are single-person households, and in 60% of them, the sole inhabitant of the dwelling is a woman.
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One of the most relevant data of the study, especially for the effects on social policies in the coming years, is the contrast between the weight of the child population (under 16 years), which has been declining for more than 40 years, and that of those over 65, which tends to stabilize due to the arrival of migratory flows of young people and adults that widen the central part of the age pyramid.
The percentage of people over 84 years has practically tripled since the early 1980s and reaches 18.6% in 2026, and the group of centenarian Barcelonans continues to grow. Year after year, a new historic record is reached, unthinkable a few decades ago. Thus, in 2026, the number of Barcelona residents who have reached 100 years of age is 1,196. In just 5 years, the increase is 332. The vast majority of centenarians (82%) are women, a figure attributable to a combination of biological and social factors.
One of the issues that the Barcelona City Council highlights positively from the latest reading of the register is the increase in the educational level of the population. 37.4% of the population over 16 years old claims to have higher education. That percentage rises to 39.6% among women and drops to 35% among men. It is striking that the foreign population declaring to have a higher educational level shoots up to 42.7%, and among new residents, it reaches 44%, which according to the City Council “evidences the growing weight of qualified human capital.”
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Another trend that seems unstoppable and is accentuated again with these latest data is the decline of the native population. Since 2019, the number of Barcelonans not born in the city is higher than that of native Barcelonans, who in 2026 represent 44.6% of the total.
A small increase of 0.7% has been enough for Barcelona’s foreign population to reach a new historic record: 460,409 people, 26.6% of the total. Much higher is the number of people who, regardless of their passport, were born outside Spain. They are 626,964, and more than half of them were born in the American continent, in states where it is easier to obtain Spanish nationality after a period of residence in the country. In fact, 30% of those born abroad have acquired Spanish nationality.
The group of people born in Argentina, with nationality from this South American country or European passports, mainly Italian and Spanish, has a very notable presence in Barcelona. They number nearly 50,000. Next on the list of countries of birth that contribute most to Barcelona’s population are Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, Pakistan, Ecuador, Morocco, Italy, Honduras, and China.
In Barcelona, people from 182 different nationalities coexist – Italian, Colombian, and Pakistani being the most numerous – distributed territorially in an uneven manner.
In relative terms, the highest concentration of foreigners in Barcelona is in Ciutat Vella, 58.4% of the population of this district. It is a relatively young population contingent compared to the Spanish.
Regarding the arrival of new population, the 149,862 new residents who entered either through immigration (124,036, about 5,000 fewer than in 2024) or through administrative means (25,826 more deregistrations than the previous year) represent, overall, a value 2.6% lower than that of 2024. Deregistrations due to emigration increased, reaching a new record of 68,979 people, an interannual increase of 2.5%. Overall, the trend of decreasing departures from the city in the 2022-2024 triennium was surpassed, and even the record figure registered in 2021 during the pandemic period was exceeded.
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