The Spanish people are a mixture of the indigenous peoples of the Iberian Peninsula with the successive peoples who conquered the peninsula and occupied it for extended periods. See History of Spain.
Ethnic Groups
Several ethnic groups in Spain have kept a separate identity, culturally and linguistically. These include the Catalans (16 percent of the population), who live principally in the northeast and on the eastern islands; the Galicians (7 percent), who live in northwestern Spain; the Basques, or Euskal-dun (2 percent), who live chiefly around the Bay of Biscay; and the nomadic Spanish Roma (Gypsies), also called Gitanos.
Population Characteristics
The population of Spain is approximately 47 million with an overall density of 88 persons per sq km. Spain is experiencing significant rural-urban migration with 78 percent of the population now living in towns and cities.
Political Divisions
Spain comprises 50 provinces in 17 autonomous regions: Andalusia, Aragón, Asturias, Balearic Islands, Basque Country (País Vasco), Canary Islands, Cantabria, Castile-La Mancha, Castile-León, Catalonia, Extremadura, Galicia, La Rioja, Madrid, Murcia, Navarra, and Valencia.
Spain’s Largest Cities
1 Madrid City Area 3,093,000
2 Barcelona City Area 1,583,256
Other Stats: Madrid Metropolitan = 5.6m / Madrid Urban = 4.8m / Barcelona Metropolitan = 4.7m / Barcelona Urban = 4.1m
3 Valencia 736,000
4 Sevilla 695,000
5 Zaragoza 601,000
6 Málaga 542,000
7 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria 354,000
8 Bilbao 351,000
9 Murcia 350,000
10 Valladolid 317,000
11 Córdoba 307,000
12 Palma de Mallorca 302,000
13 Vigo 287,000
14 Alicante 272,000
15 Gijón 264,000
16 Hospital et de Llobregat 255,000
17 Granada 242,000
18 La Coruña 241,000
19 Vitoria-Gasteiz 215,000
20 Badalona 210,000
21 Santa Cruzde (Tenerife) 203,000
22 Oviedo 199,000
23 Móstoles 196,000
24 Elche 191,000
25 Sabadell 186,000
26 Santander 183,000
27 Jérez de la Frontera 182,000
28 San Sebastián 177,000
29 Leganés 175,000
30 Almería 170,000
31 Cartagena 170,000
32 Tarrasa 164,000
33 Alcaláde Henares 163,000
34 Fuenlabrada 163,000
35 Pamplona 163,000
36 Burgos 162,000
37 Salamanca 158,000
38 Albacete 146,000
39 León 144,000
40 Getafe 143,000
41 Alcorcón 141,000
42 Cádiz 141,000
43 Huelva 140,000
44 Castellón de la Plana 136,000
45 Badajoz 124,000
46 Logroño 124,000
47 Santa Coloma de Gramanet 123,000
48 La Laguna 122,000
49 Lleida 111,000
50 Tarragon a111,000
Religion
Over 97% of the population is Roman Catholic the remainder consisting of small communities of Protestants, Jews, and Muslims.
Language
Most of the people of Spain speak Castilian Spanish though with a great variety of accents. Catalan is spoken in Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and the Valencia region, Gallego is spoken in Galicia and Basque is spoken in the Basque country.
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