The state of emergency due to drought in the internal basins of Catalonia has brought to the fore some facilities that at this time of year are mostly out of service and far from general attention: swimming pools.
The prohibition on filling or refilling swimming pools in all municipalities in emergency has raised concern among users, owners and companies in sectors such as tourism, to the point of proposing the dubious solution of filling these recreational-sports facilities with seawater or acquiring portable desalination plants. Knowing how many swimming pools exist, where they are and how much water they need are data that can help understand the scope of the problem.
The only reliable statistics that exists on the number of swimming pools built in Spain is the one offered since 2022 by the General Directorate of Cadastre, of the Ministry of Finance and Public Function. The cadastre managed by the Treasury does not include data from the Basque Country and Navarra, communities that have this responsibility completely transferred. In any case, and although this is official data that most likely does not include all existing swimming pools (especially those built in recent years, not yet incorporated into the cadastre), it is the only source that allows drawing a map of this type of facilities.
The 2023 update of this database indicates that in Spain (except the Basque Country and Navarra) a total of 1,291,206 swimming pools are registered (1,277,052 uncovered and 14,154 covered), that is, 2.85 swimming pools per 100 inhabitants (based on the total population census in Spain, less the Basque Country and Navarra) or one swimming pool for every 35 inhabitants.
By communities, the absolute figures and percentages are very diverse. With Andalusia standing out in first position with a total of 306,151 pools (3.60 pools per 100 inhabitants) and Cantabria among the least equipped, with 4,350 pools (0.73 pools per 100 inhabitants).
Cadastre statistics indicate that in Catalonia a total of 195,895 swimming pools are registered (194,093 uncovered and 1,802 covered), a figure that is equivalent to 2.45 swimming pools per 100 census inhabitants.
In addition to the maximum and minimum figures already mentioned for Andalusia and Cantabria, the cadastral data show that, for example, the Community of Madrid has a total of 140,551 swimming pools (2.04 swimming pools per 100 inhabitants). The Valencian Community has 247,870 swimming pools registered (4.86 per 100 ha.) and the Balearic Islands has 75,264 swimming pools (6.39 per 100 ha.). In all cases, the relationship between pools and inhabitants is based on census data dated January 1, 2023 on total population. It goes without saying that in some localities and communities mentioned, the pool/inhabitants ratio would be very different if the actual seasonal population (visitors and tourists included) were taken into account.
In relation to its population, the town with the fewest swimming pools in Catalonia is Badia del Vallès, with only three of these facilities (1 covered and 2 uncovered) and a census of 13,074 inhabitants (0.02 swimming pools per 100 inhabitants).
The cadastre data indicate that there are almost twenty municipalities in Catalonia in which the existence of any swimming pool is not declared, as are the cases of La Quar (Berguedà), Els Hostalets d'en Bas (Garrotxa) or Tuixent (Alt Urgell).
The list of total number of swimming pools (covered and uncovered) by municipalities in Spain as a whole is headed by the 14,521 facilities of the city of Madrid (0.43 swimming pools per 100 inhabitants) while the city of Córdoba occupies second position with 11,704 swimming pools (3.61 per 100 inhabitants) and Marbella is the third with a total of 10,950 (6.97 per 100 inhabitants). The list continues with the following towns: Murcia, Chiclana de la Frontera (Cádiz), Jávea/Xàbia (Alicante), Elche/Elx (Alicante), Mijas (Málaga), Orihuela (Alicante), Pozuelo de Alarcón (Madrid), Palma (Balearics), Málaga, Torrent (Valencia), Rivas-Vaciamadrid (Madrid), Lliria (Valencia) and Calvià (Balearics). In position number 19 on this state list appears the first town in Catalonia, Sant Cugat del Vallès, with 4,896 swimming pools (5.01 swimming pools per 100 inhabitants).
In the city of Barcelona there are a total of 1,517 swimming pools registered in the cadastre (1,364 uncovered and 153 covered; 0.09 swimming pools per 100 inhabitants), while in the city of Madrid there are a total of 14,521 swimming pools (0.44 per 100 inhabitants)
