Costa News Spain Breaking News | English News in Spain.
For the first time since a decade, the rate of people having babies in Spain increased.
The National Statistics Institute (INE) released preliminary data showing that 322,034 births were registered in the entire country in 2024. That’s a small increase of 0.4% (1,378 additional babies) compared with 2023.
It is a slight increase, but it represents a turning-point after ten years of decreasing birth rates.
Even though this is a positive development, experts in demographics remain cautious because the numbers are preliminary and could be revised to eliminate the good news.
READ MORE Desperate search for ‘British owners’ of dogs found wandering a train station in Spain
Albert Esteve explains that if fertility declines, but birth rates rise, this means the fertile populations is increasing.
Immigration is the only way to increase fertile populations.
Spain offset its low fertility rate of just 1.4 babies per woman in 2023 by welcoming net migration of 642,296 people – among the highest immigration rates in Europe.
READ MORE Earthquake which shook southern Spain this week was ‘most significant tremor of 2025′ – but should locals be alarmed?
The demographic picture shows that despite a slight improvement in birth rates, Spain still faces significant population challenges.
The country’s death rate in 2024 was 439.146 (a 0.7% jump from 2023), indicating that, despite the immigration boom, there is still a decline overall of 114.937.
This is the eighth year in a row that deaths outnumber births.
Significant regional differences were observed. Cantabria (13.3%), the Balearic Islands (5.7%), and the Basque Country (3.7%) recorded the largest increases in births.
READ MORE Warning for drivers in Spain’s Andalucia after flashy new speed cameras arrive – here’s how to spot them
Madrid, Murcia and the Balearics were the only five regions to have positive growth in population: Melilla and Ceuta.
These data show that Spain is continuing to move towards later childbearing.
In the past 10 years, births by mothers older than 40 have increased 8.5%. They now represent 10.4% of total births, compared with just 7.2% back in 2014.
According to a recent study by the Center for Sociological Research (CIS), economic restrictions, challenges with work-life balance, and housing costs are the main barriers to family formation.
Over 77% of respondents cited ‘lack of economic means’ as the main reason for having fewer children.
Despite this slight improvement, Spain’s birth rate remains 24.7% lower compared to a decade ago. This shows the challenges that Spain still faces in terms of its demographics.
