Population in Spain: Distribution, Trends, and Migration

Posted on Nov 3, 2024 in Geography

Population in Spain

Definitions

Population

Population in fact means the persons present in each municipality at the time of a census or a municipal register. Population of law means the persons registered as resident or lawfully resident in a municipality at the time of a census or a census.

Data Sources

  • Census: Individualized count of the population at a given time.
  • Register office: Registration of inhabitants of a municipality. Also collects demographic, economic, and social implications of population.
  • Civil registration: Notes births, marriages, and deaths. INE conducts studies with this data.

Distribution of Population

Characteristics

The population of Spain amounts to 46 million people. Its spatial distribution is analyzed by population density, which relates the population to a land surface area of square km.

  • High-density areas: Madrid, Balearic Islands, Canary Islands, Ceuta, and Melilla.
  • Low-density areas: Interior of the peninsula (mountain areas).

Factors Explaining Distribution

  • Pre-industrial times: Natural factors were predominant. The highest densities were located in coastal plains with mild winters.
  • Industrial age: Natural factors lost significance, and contrasts in population distribution were consolidated and sharpened.
  • Post-industrial era: Contrasts tend to be mitigated. The economic crisis reduced the attractiveness of industrial areas.

Natural Movement of Population

Definitions

  • Natural movement: The increase or decrease in the population due to natural causes (births and deaths).
  • Natural growth: The difference between births and deaths.
  • Birth rate: Relates the number of births in one year to the total population and is expressed per thousand.
  • Fertility rate: Relates the number of births in a year to the number of women of childbearing age.
  • Total fertility rate: Indicates the average number of children per woman. For a generation to replace itself requires an average of 2.1 children per female.
  • Death rate: Relates the number of deaths in a year to the total population.
  • Infant mortality rate: Number of children dying before their first birthday.
  • Life expectancy: Relates the number of years lived by all members of a population to the number of individuals making up that population.

Old Demographic Regime

Characterized by high birth rates, high mortality, and low natural growth.

  • High birth rates: Predominance of a rural economy and society (children began to work early) and the absence of effective birth control systems.
  • High and fluctuating mortality: Low level of life and poor medical and health conditions. Poor diet, diseases (tuberculosis, pneumonia, influenza) had a high incidence. The 1918 influenza pandemic (“Spanish flu”) had a significant impact.
  • Low life expectancy: Due to high infant and maternal mortality.
  • Low natural increase: Showed variations due to excess mortality crises.

Demographic Transition (1900-1975)

The transition between the old demographic regime and the current one took place between 1900 and 1975. Characterized by a slow reduction in birth rates, a sharp decline in mortality, and (consequently) high natural growth.

  • Declining birth rate: Smooth and discontinuous, alternating periods of decline with periods of recovery. Causes include the economic crises and political instability of the Second Republic, the Civil War, and the post-war situation.
  • Sharply declining mortality: Due to increased living standards, improved health, and medical progress. Medical advances included the marketing of vaccines and antibiotics, which reduced mortality from epidemics like influenza.
  • High natural growth: Result of declining mortality and relatively high birth rates.

Current Demographic Regime (1975-Present)

Characterized by low birth rates, low death rates, and low natural growth.

  • Low birth rates: Declined from 1975 to stand at low levels. The economic situation has delayed the age at marriage, and Spanish society has experienced changes in attitudes and values since the transition to democracy. Since 1988, the birth rate has experienced a slight recovery due to immigration, as the Spanish population maintains its restrictive birth behavior.
  • Low mortality rates: Remains at low levels, although the rate has risen slightly since 1982 due to an aging population. The causes are the “three Cs”: cardiovascular disease, cancer, and car accidents. Infant mortality is now very low and mainly neonatal.
  • Increased life expectancy: Due to advances in medicine. Life expectancy is greater for women than men. The greatest gains in life expectancy since 1975 are recorded in the elderly and children, with smaller gains in the youth group.

Migration

Definitions

  • Migration: Population movements in space.
  • Immigration: Movement of people into a new location.
  • Emigration: Movement of people out of their place of origin.

Traditional Internal Migration

  • Motivation: Primarily labor-related.
  • Flows: Unidirectional.
  • Migrant profile: Young people with lower qualifications.
  • Types: Seasonal and temporary migration, and rural exodus (1900-1975).
  • Rural exodus: Long-term or permanent migration from rural to urban areas. Motivated by the search for work and higher incomes. Moderate levels in the first third of the 20th century, now very low.

Consequences of Traditional Internal Migration

  • Demographic: Imbalances in population distribution.
  • Economic: Increased resources for the population in rural areas, but congestion and diseconomies in cities.
  • Social: Problems of assimilation in urban areas.
  • Environmental: Abandonment and deterioration of traditional ecosystems in areas of emigration.

Current Internal Migration

  • Motivations: More diverse (industrial, residential, return to place of origin).
  • Flows: Multidirectional, with greater diversity in origin and destination areas.
  • Migrant profile: Diverse (young, elderly, unskilled, and skilled).
  • Types: Labor migration, residential migration, and habitual movements.

Consequences of Current Internal Migration

  • Labor migration: Demographic and economic imbalances.
  • Residential migration: Aging of central urban areas.
  • Return migration: Aging of areas receiving retirees.
  • Pendulum movements: Traffic problems near major cities.

Transoceanic and Foreign Migration

  • Emigration: Population movement beyond national borders.
  • Destinations: Primarily Latin America, secondarily the U.S., Canada, and Australia.
  • Characteristics: Permanent and often assisted.

Consequences of External Migration

  • Demographic: Reduction of Spanish population.
  • Economic: Positive by relieving population pressure and unemployment, but also negative due to the loss of savings and skilled labor.
  • Social: Uprooting in the countries of destination and potential for lower wages for migrants compared to native workers.

Sex Structure

  • Definition: The relationship between the number of males and females within a population.
  • Measurement: Masculinity or femininity rates.
  • Influencing factors: Sex ratio at birth, life expectancy, and migration.