The Spain, according to an estimate by UNDESA (United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs) in 2014 it was home to 47,066,402 residents. At the 2011 census the population amounted to 46,815,916 residents, Registering a significant increase compared to the 2001 census: according to the Instituto nacional de estadística (INE), the previous census surveys had never decade, such a significant increase (see table), both in absolute terms (+5.968.545 residents) and relative (+ 14.6%). The main cause of this increase was the increase in the foreign population (a phenomenon already evident in 2001, but less relevant): the INE reports that in the decade 2001-11 3,680,460 foreigners arrived in Spain, with a clear prevalence from Romania, Morocco, Bolivia and Paraguay. In 2011, in four autonomous communities (Balearic Islands, Region of Murcia, Valencian Community, Catalonia) the incidence of the foreign population exceeded 15%. In line with the demographic dynamics of other European countries, the Spanish population experienced a less significant increase over the decade (see table) of the foreign one (+2.288.085, + 5.8%), mainly due to the increase in life expectancy and the acquisition of Spanish nationality by many foreigners.
Economic and social indicators
However, according to trackaah.com, the arrival of a population that is mostly younger than the Spanish one has not halted the increase in the average age. The increase in population, which occurred in all the autonomous communities, was characterized by an unequal distribution, with greater increases in the islands (Balearic and Canary Islands), in the enclave Spanish from Melilla in Morocco (crucial junction of illegal immigration coming mainly from sub-Saharan Africa) and in the eastern part of the country (in particular, in Murcia and in the Valencian Community), compared to a smaller increase in the north-western part. In the urban area, the most significant increases were those of Madrid (+259.922 residents), Barcelona (+107.129 residents) and Palma de Mallorca (+68.243 residents). However, the INE reports that in the decade 2001-11 as many as 4145 municipalities (over 50% of the country) lost population, even if only 54 of them exceeded 10,000 residents. In any case, Madrid and Barcelona dominate their respective metropolitan areas, which are also the most populated urban spaces of the Spain: by 2013 Madrid had reached 6,047,108 residents and Barcelona 5,042,757, however, recording a slight decrease compared to 2012. The data after 2011, in fact, indicate a slight decrease both in the total population, and in most of the Spanish large urban areas (46 out of 86), as well as in the foreign population, but the latter data – according to the INE – is due to a combined effect of emigration and the acquisition of Spanish nationality. In 2013, the population aged 65 or over exceeded 15% of the total (17.7%). Confirmation of some trends already underway can be seen: the birth rate (9.1 ‰ in 2013) continues to decrease, approaching that of mortality (8.3 ‰), while life expectancy at birth, according to provisional data of the INE for 2013, continues its upward trend having reached 82.1 years in 2013 (and even reaching 85, 6 years for Spanish women, who establish themselves as the longest-lived in Europe, and 80 for men). In large urban areas with more than 50,000 residents more than half of the Spanish population lives (68%) and about 75% of employment is concentrated.
Economic conditions. – INE estimates revealed, for 2013, a GDP of 1,022,988 million euros (0.6% lower than that of 2012) and a GDP per capita at purchasing power parity (PPA) of 22,279 euros (also decreased by 0.1% compared to 2012). According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), those indicators for 2013 were $ 1,400.5 billion and $ 32,975, respectively. Returning to the INE estimates, the Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands recorded a smaller decline in GDP (−0.4%), to be attributed to the evolution in the services sector, while, in relation to GDP per capita, the Basque Country recorded the highest value (29,959 euros), 34.5% higher than the Spanish average. The composition of GDP by economic activity reflects the typical trends of advanced development countries and consolidates, also in this case, dynamics already evident at the beginning of the millennium: services represent 65.8% of GDP, industry 15, 9% and agriculture accounts for 2.4%, while the remaining share is represented by the other sectors. With respect to the internal dynamics of the individual sectors of activity, the growing role of organic agriculture is noted and, as regards industry, in 2012 there was a decrease in turnover (−0.7% compared to the previous year), which stood at the figure of 570.984 million euros. Among the tertiary activities, a relevant place continues to be occupied by tourism and transport. The incidence of the tourism sector on GDP, measured on the basis of final tourist demand, in 2012 was 10.9%, while in the same year the percentage of people employed represented 11.9% of total employment. Still referring to 2012, Spain was the second country in the world (after the United States) and the first in Europe for tourism revenues, as well as the fourth (after France, the United States and China) in ranking of the World Tourism Organization on international arrivals.
In relation to the dynamics that characterize the transport sector and, in particular, air transport, we note the continuous decline in passengers (-14% compared to the previous year) of national air transport. According to Eurostat, in 2012 the airport of Barajas (Madrid) was the fifth for passenger traffic in Europe, registering a decrease of 8.9% (not recorded in the case of the first four hubs, London, Paris, Frankfurt and Amsterdam) compared to the previous year. Finally, Spain has to deal with a series of social issues that the economic crisis has certainly made more dramatic. Among these we recall unemployment which, according to Eurostat data, has continued to grow since 2008 (direct effect of the aforementioned crisis) until it reached 26.6% in 2013, a figure second only to that of Greece, and then decreased slightly in 2013. 2014 (24.6%).
