Spain's resident population grew by 130,233 people during the third quarter of 2026, reaching a record high of 49,935,642 inhabitants by 1 October. Provisional data from the Continuous Population Statistics, released by the INE, confirms this historic peak.
The figures represent an annual relative increase of 0.88 per cent, with growth almost entirely driven by migration. People born abroad accounted for 98.8 per cent of the rise, bringing the total number of foreign-born residents in Spain to 10,433,091.
This demographic shift highlights the impact of nationality acquisition. The foreign-born population now exceeds the number of foreign nationals living in Spain, reflecting a significant trend in how the country's record-breaking population is composed.
