Torrevieja recorded the highest relative population growth among major Spanish municipalities in 2025, rising by 4.6%, while Elche ranked fourth with an increase of 2.18%.
Alicante province continues to grow rapidly and is now close to 2.1 million residents. According to provisional figures published by Spain’s National Statistics Institute, the INE, the province had 2,089,554 residents as of April 1, 2026.
The figure consolidates Alicante’s position as the fourth most populated province in Spain, behind only Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia.
Population growth has continued at pace. In January 2026, Alicante province had 2,080,243 residents, meaning it gained around 9,000 people in just three months. Only a year earlier, in January 2025, the province officially passed the two-million population mark for the first time.
One of the most striking figures is the size of the foreign population. Of Alicante’s current residents, 646,778 have a nationality other than Spanish, compared with 1,442,776 Spanish nationals.
That means almost one in three people living in Alicante province is foreign, underlining the province’s increasingly international and cosmopolitan profile, as well as its appeal to workers, retirees and residents from other countries, many of whom own property in the area.
In 2022, the number of foreign nationals in the province stood at 388,748, meaning the figure has risen sharply in just four years.
In percentage terms, Alicante has a higher share of foreign residents than Madrid, where foreign nationals account for 16.9% of the population, Barcelona, with 18.95%, and Valencia, with 17%.
Alicante has also overtaken historically larger provinces such as Seville, strengthening its position as one of Spain’s main demographic growth areas.
International migration driving growth
International migration remains one of the main factors behind population growth, both in Alicante and across Spain.
During the first quarter of 2026, the largest groups of immigrants arriving in Spain were Colombian nationals, with 38,600 arrivals, followed by Moroccans, with 25,700, and Venezuelans, with 21,200. Significant numbers also arrived from Peru, Italy, Honduras, Algeria and Brazil.
At the same time, Spain also recorded outward migration. The nationalities with the highest number of departures were Moroccan and Colombian, each with more than 11,000 people leaving the country, followed by Venezuelan and Romanian nationals.
The figures reflect Spain’s continuing role as both a destination country and a country of onward or return migration.
Population growth was recorded across almost all of Spain during the first quarter of 2026. All autonomous communities and cities gained residents except the Canary Islands and Melilla, which registered slight decreases.
The Valencian Community led the country in relative population growth, with an increase of 0.39%. It was followed by Castilla-La Mancha, up 0.36%, and the Region of Murcia, up 0.33%.
Torrevieja leads Spanish city growth
The trend is especially visible in several Mediterranean municipalities.
Among Spain’s major towns and cities, Torrevieja recorded the highest relative population increase in 2025, growing by 4.6%. The Alicante municipality continues to establish itself as one of the main residential growth hotspots on the Spanish Mediterranean coast, driven by both foreign arrivals and people relocating from elsewhere in Spain.
Torrevieja was followed by L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, which grew by 2.9%, and Roquetas de Mar, up 2.6%.
Elche also recorded strong growth, with its population rising by 2.18%, making it the fourth fastest-growing major municipality in Spain. Castellón de la Plana followed closely, with an increase of 2.13%.
The figures confirm the continuing demographic strength of several Mediterranean urban areas, particularly those combining employment opportunities, housing demand and international appeal.
Spain approaches 50 million residents
Spain as a whole also continues to grow and has reached a new record population.
According to provisional data from the INE’s Continuous Population Statistics, Spain gained 97,021 residents during the first quarter of 2026, bringing the national total to 49,687,120 people as of April 1.
Compared with the same period a year earlier, Spain has added 459,462 residents, confirming a sustained demographic expansion closely linked to immigration and the arrival of foreign-born residents.
The INE figures show clearly that current population growth is being driven mainly by people born outside Spain. While the number of residents born in Spain fell by 31,822 during the quarter, the foreign-born population increased by more than 123,000.
Spain now has more than 10.15 million residents born outside the country, reflecting the significant demographic and social changes of recent years.
The number of residents with foreign nationality also continues to rise. Between January and March 2026, Spain gained 94,182 foreign residents, bringing the total to 7,346,414. By contrast, the number of residents with Spanish nationality increased by just 2,839 over the same period.
Spain also continues to record an increase in the number of households. As of April 1, 2026, there were 19,812,292 households across the country, after an increase of 52,943 during the first quarter of the year.
The rise reflects both population growth and long-term social changes, including smaller household sizes and a wider range of living arrangements.
For Alicante province, the latest figures confirm its growing importance within Spain’s demographic landscape. With a population approaching 2.1 million, a foreign population of almost one third, and fast-growing municipalities such as Torrevieja and Elche, the province remains one of the strongest centres of population growth on the Mediterranean coast.
