Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Spain
Spain: Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents was 10.73 million people in 2020. ▲ Rising
Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Spain, 1950–2020
Source: European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in people.
Analysis
The most recent figure for number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Spain is 10.73 million people, measured in 2020. That is the highest value across all 15 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 16.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Spain peaked at 10.73 million people in 2020 and was at its lowest, 2.94 million people, in 1950.
Spain ranks 29th of 182 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 15 years of available data.
Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Spain, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 2.94 million people | — |
| 1955 | 3.30 million people | +12.3% |
| 1960 | 3.70 million people | +12.3% |
| 1965 | 4.23 million people | +14.2% |
| 1970 | 4.83 million people | +14.3% |
| 1975 | 5.19 million people | +7.3% |
| 1980 | 6.58 million people | +26.9% |
| 1985 | 6.81 million people | +3.5% |
| 1990 | 6.97 million people | +2.3% |
| 1995 | 7.50 million people | +7.7% |
| 2000 | 7.95 million people | +6.0% |
| 2005 | 8.57 million people | +7.8% |
| 2010 | 9.18 million people | +7.2% |
| 2015 | 9.89 million people | +7.7% |
| 2020 | 10.73 million people | +8.5% |
Spain compared with similar countries
- Spain's 10.73 million people is above the median for high income countries, which is 1.35 million people, 7.9× the median. (60 countries reporting)
- Spain's 10.73 million people is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 1.14 million people, 9.4× the median. (49 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 3.12 million people | 2.94 million people | 3.30 million people | 2 |
| 1960s | 3.97 million people | 3.70 million people | 4.23 million people | 2 |
| 1970s | 5.01 million people | 4.83 million people | 5.19 million people | 2 |
| 1980s | 6.70 million people | 6.58 million people | 6.81 million people | 2 |
| 1990s | 7.24 million people | 6.97 million people | 7.50 million people | 2 |
| 2000s | 8.26 million people | 7.95 million people | 8.57 million people | 2 |
| 2010s | 9.54 million people | 9.18 million people | 9.89 million people | 2 |
| 2020s | 10.73 million people | 10.73 million people | 10.73 million people | 1 |
Countries ranked near Spain
More reference data data for Spain
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 3.18 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 2.85 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 11.76 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.898 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 11.76 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 10.67 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 6.03 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 11.06 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 52.4 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 4.89 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Spain?
- Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Spain was 10.73 million people in 2020, according to European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents recorded in Spain?
- The highest recorded value was 10.73 million people in 2020.
- What is the lowest number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents recorded in Spain?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.94 million people in 1950.
- How does Spain rank for number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents?
- Spain ranks 29th out of 182 countries with data for 2020.
- Is number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents rising or falling in Spain?
- Over the last ten years it is up 16.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Spain data come from?
- The figures come from European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 15 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Total population living in cities with 1 million or more people. City boundaries are defined using a consistent global approach based on satellite imagery and population data.