A few weeks ago, Agenda Pública analyzed the Spanish demographic exception, characterized by an intense growth of the population in recent years, an anomaly among the major European states—some of which are already losing inhabitants. In the following lines we advance the analysis and clarify how this growth is distributed across the territory: Is the concentration in large cities and development corridors being reinforced, or, on the contrary, is the depopulation of rural Spain or “empty Spain” being reversed?
The aggregated data do not point to a substantial change in the dynamics of the last twenty-five years. On the contrary, they confirm the continuity and even the strengthening of demographic concentration in the large urban areas and in spaces that are especially dynamic, with a prominent role played by the Mediterranean coast.
The Demographic Trend in Spain: Concentration
In 2017 a new demographic cycle began after four years in which Spain lost a little over 700,000 inhabitants, one more consequence of the financial crisis. Since then, the population has grown by 2.8 million people, of which 1.8 million—64%—are concentrated in the Community of Madrid, the Comunitat Valenciana and Catalunya, territories that already represented in 2017 41% of the total population. The two archipelagos also continue to attract a strong pull for settling new residents.
“In 2017 a new demographic cycle began after four years in which Spain lost something more than 700,000 inhabitants, one more consequence of the financial crisis.”
The population grows mainly in the conurbation of Madrid D. F., which spills beyond the provincial borders and incorporates large areas of Guadalajara and Toledo, as well as in Barcelona and its metropolitan area. It also grows vigorously in the Mediterranean corridor and in the Cádiz province, especially in its large cities, Valencia, Málaga and their metropolitan areas, but also in intermediate cities such as Girona, Tarragona, Alicante, or Murcia, all of them with a great dynamism both demographically and economically. In provinces with big cities such as Bilbao, Zaragoza or Seville, growth is more modest, but sustained.
As a result, Spain is increasingly urban. In 2024, more than 80.5% of the population resided in urban areas, four percentage points higher than at the start of the century. And 69% live in large cities. At the same time, the non-urban population (residing in municipalities of fewer than 10,000 inhabitants) has fallen from 18.5% to 16% since 2000. It is also a country more oriented toward the coast, whose provinces concentrate 62% of the population, 42% on the Mediterranean coast.
But the dynamics of urbanization and coastal orientation tend to obscure other processes in rural Spain that receive little attention in the day-to-day economic and political debate. The brilliant essay by Sergio del Molino has consolidated the headline of a Spain that is depopulated and aging, gradually emptying. Is the new demographic cycle reversing that trend in inland Spain?
“Pese al fuerte crecimiento demográfico de los últimos siete años, trece provincias han perdido 141.715 habitantes, equivalente a un 2,5% de su población.”
Despite the strong demographic growth of the last seven years, thirteen provinces have lost 141,715 inhabitants, equivalent to 2.5% of their population. The most severe processes concentrate in the northwest (Zamora, León, Palencia, Lugo, Ourense and Asturias), the two Extremaduran provinces and Jaén, Córdoba and Ciudad Real. Llama la atención la ausencia en este listado de territorios tradicionalmente asociados a la despoblación such as Soria, Teruel or Cuenca, which in this period have gained inhabitants. If we focus on the last two years, only Zamora, Córdoba and León register population losses, while all other interior provinces grow.
Is the Growth of the “Empty Spain” Real?
Is inland Spain filling up? Answering in the affirmative would be premature for a process that is still in its early stages. Nonetheless, it can be stated that there has been a clear shift in the demographic dynamics: since 2017 rural municipalities have posted positive net migratory balances, meaning they receive more people than they lose. This new migratory cycle is enabling a demographic recovery for rural spaces. The data are clear: since 2020 non-urban municipalities have gained 141,000 inhabitants, after losing more than 450,000 in the eight years prior.
What are the reasons for this change? The COVID-19 pandemic introduced, between 2020 and 2021, significant alterations in rural demographic dynamics as a result of two simultaneous processes: the reduction of the outflow of young people from rural municipalities to cities and the increase of urban households that moved temporarily or permanently to rural environments in search of better housing conditions to face the confinements. However, during this period foreign immigration fell sharply, so the balance of these movements barely translated into an increase in rural population due to the persistent natural balance (more deaths than births).
“Las ciudades vuelven a atraer población joven de su entorno, mientras que los espacios rurales mejor conectados mantienen saldos positivos”
The cities are again drawing young people from their surroundings, while better-connected rural spaces maintain positive balances. The most recent data show that, as of 2022, internal migrations have largely resumed pre-pandemic patterns: cities once again attract young people from their surroundings, while well-connected rural areas sustain positive balances. There has therefore been no massive or structural urban exodus, but moderate and selective flows toward nearby rural areas that are well linked to the major urban centers.
The Reasons for Returning to Certain Rural Areas
The factor that explains the shift is the strong push of international migration toward rural areas in the post-pandemic period. The intense recent demographic growth has also reached inland Spain, which has recorded record levels of immigration, from both the European Union and, especially, from Latin America and, to a lesser extent, from Morocco. Some of these flows are settling directly in small municipalities. This pace of inflows, unprecedented in the rural interior, has become the main driver of population growth even in the most remote areas.
“Teruel, Soria y Cuenca han incrementado su población en torno al 2%, mientras los municipios de menos de 5.000 habitantes la incrementaron en 22.020 habitantes”
The trends are taking hold, such that between January 1, 2024 and January 1, 2025 non-urban areas gained more than 65,000 inhabitants. Teruel, Soria and Cuenca have increased their population by around 2%, while municipalities with fewer than 5,000 inhabitants added 22,020 inhabitants. In the early months of 2025, only the province of Córdoba shows a meaningful population loss.
Spain is becoming increasingly urban, with a growing share of the population concentrated in large metropolitan conurbations, but at the same time it is managing to reverse the depopulation trend in its rural areas. The data are still insufficient to expect structural changes in the interior territories, but it is a good sign that deserves to be noted.
