Population of Spain
According to the latest data there are 45 million people living in Spain. The density of the population in Spain is lower compared to other western European countries and the coastal regions are more densely populated than other parts of Spain. Most people live in Madrid (over five million), Barcelona (around five million), and Valencia (over one and a half million), as well as megacities with around a million people: Seville, Bilbao, and Malaga.
The growth of the population in Spain is mostly due to the large wave of immigration, which happened in the '70 of the last century. During that time the country was overwhelmed by a strong inflow of Latin Americans and people from Eastern Europe. Among the immigrants in Spain there were people from North America, as well as people from the deserted regions of Africa. As of this day, there are significant numbers of Asian immigrants in Spain, including Chinese, Filipino, Pakistani, and Hindu.
The average life expectancy in Spain is 79.65 years. The literacy level is 97.9%. The largest group among the religious population of Spain is comprised of Catholics, which tally 80.4%.
The stereotype that all the Spaniards are burning brunets is not entirely true. There is certainly a lot of Arab blood mixed in with the population of Spain, as well as that of European ancestors, however, due to the large wave of immigration to Spain from the Western European countries in the beginning of the twentieth century whole villages can be seen where people of Nordic type live – light skin and blue green eyes.
The population of Spain in 2006 exceeded 44 million people and continues to grow due to the large number of immigrants living in the country. This allowed Spain to solve the problem of acute deficit in work forces, which could not be surpassed using the existing native population, because the birth rate among the native has significantly decreased. Spain is ranked fifth in Europe by population size.
Earlier Spain, according to conducted research, was considered one of the European countries, where relatively few foreigners lived. But today the population of Spain only yields in this category to Germany and Austria, where the percentage of foreigners amounts to 9% and 8.7% respectively. Spain has already overtaken the lead from the multinational France (8%) and all the other countries of Europe.
The predominant national groups among the immigrants in Spain are people from the European Union (about 50%), followed by natives of Northern Africa (30%, predominantly Moroccans) and Latin America (20%). Almost all the immigrant in Spain arrived in search for employment opportunities, since there is employment deficit in the country. Experts note, that the inflow of immigrants to Spain allows maintaining a high level of economic growth in the country, as well as insuring the adequate functioning of the social security system.
If you call the population of Spain Spanish, you should keep in mind that there are parts of the country inhabited by other ethnic groups, such as: Catalonian (around 6 million people), Galician (around 3 million people), and Bask (around 800 thousand people).
The urban population of Spain significantly exceeds its rural counterpart and amounts to 76.7%. The average density of population in Spain is around 78 people per square kilometer. Over 57 million people visit Spain each year.
