The resident population in Spain increased by 104,178 persons in the second quarter of the year, and stood at 49,801,559 inhabitants as of 1 July 2026. This is the highest-ever figure since records began.
In annual terms, estimated population growth was 444,205 people.
Provisional data from the last population census, as of January 1, 2025.
This growth in Spain's population was due to an increase in the number of people born abroad, since the number of births in Spain decreased. The population born abroad (10,291,807 people) was greater than that of Spanish nationality, due to the processes of acquiring Spanish citizenship.
Thus, the number of foreigners rose by 87,197 during the quarter, reaching 7,437,543. The population of Spanish nationals increased by 16,981.
Second quarter of 2026
The number of households stood at 19,874,860 on 1 July 2026, with an increase of 58,794 during the second quarter of 2026.
Provisional data from the last housing census, as of January 1, 2021.
The main nationalities of immigrants during the second quarter of 2026 were Colombian (with 34,000 arrivals in Spain), Venezuelan (23,300) and Moroccan (21,100).
On the other hand, the most numerous nationalities of emigrants were Colombians (with 11,500 departures), Moroccan (10,900) and Venezuelan (5,900).
Second quarter of 2026
Second quarter of 2026
During the second quarter of 2026, the population grew in almost all autonomous communities and in the autonomous cities. The largest increases were recorded in Comunitat Valenciana (0.43%), Illes Balears (0.36%) and Principado de Asturias (0.29%).
Variation between the second quarter of 2026 and the first quarter of 2026. Percentage
The CPS data is provisional from the latest census published. For population data, the provisional category will be revised quarterly until a new population census is published at the end of the year, and will be included as definitive resident population as soon as possible, before the next publication of the ECP (February of the following year). The population data for residents in the main municipalities and provincial capitals published in May will not be revised until the publication of a new annual population census.
Population data on family dwellings and households are also provisional and are revised every quarter until the publication of a new housing census (it has no established periodicity), which will become definitive.
Meanwhile, the migration data constitute only a first estimation. The definitive statistics are published in the Statistics on Migrations and Changes of Residence, which is published annually.
All the results of this operation are available at INEbase.
The purpose of the Continuous Population Statistics (CPS) is to provide a quantitative measurement of the population habitually resident in Spain, of the population resident in family dwellings and of the number of households. The population series are disaggregated by sex, year of birth, age, country of nationality and country of birth. The series of households are disaggregated by household and number of numbers.
The CPS always contains two types of data: definitive (until the latest published census), and provisional (since the last published census).
In addition, the CPS offers a first estimate of the external migrations detected during the quarter, for the main nationalities and countries of birth. These series will not be revised.
For more information, you can access the methodology and the standardised methodological report.
INE statistics are produced in accordance with the Code of Good Practice for European Statistics. More information on Quality at INE and the Code of Best Practices.
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