This statistic shows the total population of Spain from 2010 to 2016, with projections up until 2022. In 2016, the total population of Spain was around 46.4 million people.
Population of Spain
While Spain’s fertility rate has been relatively steady over the past decade, its year-over-year population growth has been declining continuously at the same time. A very noticeable plunge was observed from 2008 to 2009, when population growth was almost halved. Reasons for this decline are manifold, it is speculated that is was caused by the economic crisis taking place simultaneously. The collapse of the job and real estate markets may have led the Spanish to postpone having (more) kids or to migrate to other countries in search of a more stable economy. This theory is supported by data on the average age of Spain’s inhabitants; a look at the median age of Spain’s population from 1950 up until today shows that the Spanish get older on average – perhaps due to the aforementioned factors.
Speaking of Spain’s economy, economic key factors suggest that the country is still recovering from the crisis. Its gross domestic product (GDP) was in admirable shape prior to the collapse, but it still has not returned to its former glory. Only recently has Spain reported actual GDP growth since 2008, it remains to be seen if this is going to translate into a positive trend over the next few years. This in turn could mean that the country’s unemployment rate is slowly but surely decreasing again after peaking at an alarming 25 percent in 2013.
