How many people live in Spain right now?
Right now, according to UN estimates
47,835,419
| Today | In 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Births | · | · |
| Deaths | · | · |
| Net migration | · | · |
| Growth | · | · |
2026 figures
- Rank by population
- 34 of 237
- Share of world population
- 0.57%
- Median age
- 46.3 years
- Children per woman
- 1.24
- Life expectancy
- 84.1 years
- People per km²
- 95
According to UN estimates, about 47.8 million people live in Spain right now. It ranks 34th out of 237 countries and territories by population, between Iraq and Argentina, and it is home to one in every 174 people on the planet.
Every day, about 900 people are born there and about 1,300 die. More people arrive than leave: net migration adds about 85,300 people a year. More people die than are born, and immigration is not enough to make up for it. Overall, the population shrinks by about 130 people a day (0.10% a year).
In 1950, about 28.1 million people lived there. Since then, the population has grown by 70%. It peaked in 2023, at about 47.9 million, and has been falling since. By 2050 it is projected to have about 44.9 million people (6% fewer than today), and by 2100 about 33.1 million.
Half of its people are younger than 46 (worldwide, 31). Women have an average of 1.24 children each, below the 2.1 needed for each generation to replace the one before, and life expectancy at birth is 84 years (worldwide, 74). There are 95 people per square kilometer.
UN estimates up to today and projections (medium variant) from today onward.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the population of Spain in 2026?
- Spain has about 47.8 million people right now, according to the UN's World Population Prospects 2024. On July 1, 2026, there were 47,850,793.
- How many people are born each day in Spain?
- About 900 a day (327,000 a year). About 1,300 people die each day (460,000 a year).
- Is the population of Spain growing?
- No: it shrinks by 0.10% a year, or about 47,800 people.
- What will the population of Spain be in 2050?
- According to the UN projection (medium variant), about 44.9 million.
- Why doesn't this figure match the country's official statistics?
- The UN estimates the population of every country with the same method, based on censuses, surveys and registers, and projects it year by year. Each national statistics office uses its own censuses and registers, which may be more up to date or count foreign residents differently. That is why the figures can differ slightly.
Countries with a similar population
- South Korea 51,574,547
- Algeria 48,206,596
- Iraq 48,315,689
- Argentina 46,051,067
- Afghanistan 45,427,420
- Yemen 43,333,177
More countries in Europe
- Russia 143,283,403
- Germany 83,580,367
- United Kingdom 70,045,999
- France 66,775,482
- Italy 58,850,874
- Ukraine 39,443,561
- Poland 37,796,196
- Romania 18,765,997
- Netherlands 18,476,994
- Belgium 11,779,074
- Sweden 10,713,764
- Czechia 10,520,785
All countries and territories →
Where these figures come from
The figures are estimates from the United Nations Population Division, published in World Population Prospects 2024 (medium variant): the reference used by international organizations and by most population counters. The UN estimates how many people there are on July 1 of each year and how many are born, die and migrate; between one date and the next, this counter spreads the change continuously, second by second.
It is not a real-time headcount: nobody can count every person in a country at once. It is the best available estimate, and it may differ slightly from the figures of each country's statistics office, which use their own censuses and population registers.