Catalonia has exceeded eight million inhabitants, according to estimates made public this morning by the Institute of Statistics of Catalonia (Idescat). Specifically, as of November 1, it is estimated that the figure of 8,005,784 people was reached, of which 4,065,088 are women and 3,940,696 men. The increase compared to the latest published data (7,792,611) responds to the weight of immigration since natural growth showed a negative balance of 13,026 people on January 1 (69,342 deaths for 56,316 births).
Between 1987 and 2023, Catalonia has gone from six to eight million, showing notable changes in the demographic structure, an older population due to the increase in life expectancy, which stands at 83.6 years compared to 77, 2; the great diversity of nationalities, with 16.3% of foreign citizens compared to 1.1%, and later motherhood. The average age to have the first child is 31.6 years, five more than in 1987. During this period the employment rate of women has gone from 26.5% to 50.9%.
"When we reached six million it was due to positive natural growth, we had more births than deaths; now it is due to immigration, as the population ages, deaths increase and births fall for two reasons, there are fewer women of childbearing age and they have fewer children," says Albert Esteve, director of the Center d'Estudis Demogràfics (CED). Esteve considers that starting in 2030 there could be a small rebound in births as women born in 2000 reach the age at which women born in 2000 usually have their first child.
73% of the population resides in the province of Barcelona; 11%, in Tarragona; 10%, in Girona, and 6% in Lleida.
The report made public by Idescat highlights that since 1900, Catalonia has doubled its population twice in periods of six decades, going from two to four million inhabitants and from four to eight. Currently, the Catalan population represents 16% of the whole of Spain and 1.8% of the European population.
Since 2018, each year there have been more deaths than births in Catalonia and this trend is expected to continue. That is why growth will be more moderate than in the past and will be determined by migratory movements.
