Increasing urbanization...
Experts estimate that Spain in the seventeenth century had a population of about 7 million. Its population growth was slow at first, with 10.5 million inhabitants in 1800, then accelerated in the 20th century, reaching 23.5 million in 1930 and more than 30.5 million in 1960. In January 2020, Spain had more than 47.65 million inhabitants, according to a study by the INE (Instituto Nacional de Estadística), which estimated that the country would gain one million more inhabitants in the next 15 years and more than three million by the 2070s. With a density of 93.14 inhabitants per square kilometer, it is one of the countries with the lowest population density compared to most other Western European countries. But more than this low density, what characterizes it above all is a very unbalanced distribution of this population throughout its territory. A few large areas concentrate most of the population: the coasts, the Guadalquivir valley and, to a lesser extent, the Ebro valley and the Madrid metropolitan area. In the autonomous regions of Spain, Andalusia is the most populous, with 8.48 million inhabitants, followed by Catalonia (7.65) and the Community of Madrid (6.75) - 2020 figures. These three regions alone account for almost 47% of the population. On the other hand, Navarre, Cantabria and Rioja are among the least populated regions.
... and "España vacía
This distribution accompanies a growing urbanization. The rural exodus that began in the middle of the 20th century has continued into the 21st century, making Spain an urban country where cities concentrate 70% of the population, while many inland areas are facing increasing desertification and the loss of public services and facilities (railways, roads, banks, etc.) that go with it. Unlike France, it was not geographers or statisticians who first noted these imbalances between territories but a writer, Sergio de Molino, who in a book published in 2016, España vacía, analyzed this phenomenon. An observation that has since been relayed by numerous analyses highlighting that not only is there an empty Spain, but that this Spain continues to be emptied. In these most depopulated regions, specialists estimate that they lose five inhabitants every hour. This loss is due to the aging of the population and the exile of young people to the big cities. Some large regions are particularly affected by this phenomenon: the provinces of Soria and Teruel (the most affected) or the north of Castilla y Leon or the east of Extremadura. In 2019, many marches have helped to give visibility to this problem and a citizen coordination " Teruel exists " wanted to carry the voice of the claims of these forgotten regions and ran in the general elections of November 2019 and won a seat in parliament.
An aging population
In 2020, the Spanish fertility rate of 1.1 children per woman has reached its lowest value since 2000 and is one of the lowest in Europe, just before Malta. When in 1975, this figure was on average 3 per woman. In addition to this decline in fertility, the increase in life expectancy (85 years for women in 2020 compared to 71 in 1960 and 79 and 66 respectively for men) has contributed to making Spain an ageing country. In 2000, there were still more people under 16 than over 64 in Spain, but the trend has been reversed and there are now an average of 129 people over 64 for every 100 under 16 (an index of 129%, or +3.4% compared to the previous year). In terms of communities, Asturias leads the way in terms of ageing, followed by Galicia and Castilla y León. These three regions alone have more than twice as many people aged over 64 as under 16. This trend is expected to continue in the future. It is estimated that by 2050, the over-65s will represent more than 30% of the Spanish population (currently 17%) and that the number of over-80s will exceed 4 million. This situation is not without its difficulties for the payment of pensions. It has already led to regular demonstrations by pensioners demanding regularization of their pensions. But the problem is expected to grow in 2050, when the Spanish boomers will reach retirement age. Out of step with its European neighbors, who experienced a baby boom after World War II, Spain had its baby boom in the 1970s and '79. The bulk of the Spanish workforce is currently between 40 and 49 years of age and will therefore only reach retirement in 15 to 20 years.
Emigration and immigration
During the 19th and 20th centuries, Spain was a country of emigrants, most of whom left for America, especially South America. It is estimated that between 1881 and 1959, approximately 5 million people left for the New World in the hope of making their fortune, a colossal percentage considering that at the time Spain had only about 20 million inhabitants. From the middle of the 20th century onwards, migration flows were directed to different neighboring countries until the end of the 1970s. Migration phenomena began to reverse in the 1990s, due to Spain's economic take-off, and reached its peak in the 2000s. At that time, foreigners represented 12.2% of the population, compared to less than 1% in 1990. This phenomenon dried up somewhat during the 2008 crisis and the country even recorded a negative net migration from 2011 to 2014. Although the various figures on the subject do not always coincide, it is estimated that the foreign population now represents 11.35% of the territory's population. An INE study conducted in 2021 analyzed the origins of these populations. With 775,936 people, the largest group came from Morocco, followed by Romania (658,773), the United Kingdom (313,948), Colombia (297,934) and Italy (280,152). In smaller numbers than the previous groups, immigration also came from Venezuela, China and Germany. In terms of continent, populations from Spanish-American countries are the most numerous (36.21% of foreigners domiciled). Logically, it is the most economically dynamic regions that attract the most migrants: Madrid, the Mediterranean arc and the islands. European residents, often retired, are concentrated on the coasts of the Levant, Andalusia, Catalonia and the Balearic and Canary Islands.
Official and co-official languages
In all of Spain, the official language is Spanish, sometimes called Castilian, and spoken by practically all the Spanish population. Native to the region of Cantabria, the Spanish language has been influenced by ancient Basque, both morphologically and lexically. It was spread throughout the kingdom of Castile for trade and governance, and expanded to the four corners of the world during the expansion of the Spanish empire between the 15th and 19th centuries. It is the second language in the world (in terms of number of native speakers) and is structurally close to French, due to its Latin origin. Spanish, which is closer to classical Latin and modern Italian, belongs to the Iberian-Romance sub-branch, like Portuguese, which is a close cousin in written form, but much less so in oral form. Article 3 of the Spanish constitution of 1978 set out the general status of the languages of Spain, but a large part of the questions relating to language issues (norms, teaching, etc.) has been defined by the statutes of autonomy that each of the 17 Spanish communities has. Various languages have co-official status: Catalan or Valencian, which is spoken in Catalonia, the Balearic Islands, the Valencian Community (where it is called Valencian) and the eastern part of Aragon; Galician; Basque, spoken in the Basque Country and parts of Navarre; and Aranese, a variety of the Occitan language spoken in the Aran Valley (northwestern Catalonia)
