According to the latest data released this week by the Institute of National Statistics, Torrevieja has seen the largest population growth in the country, increasing by 6.8% as of 1 January 2023, primarily thanks to the increase in Ukrainians, and despite the decline in Brits. In percentage terms, Estepona in Malaga, with a 4.6% increase, and Benidorm, with 4.3%, are next.
The number of Ukrainians registered in Spain increased by 75.9% in 2022, incorporating 83,401 people. In Torrevieja alone, there are 6,939 Ukrainians registered, almost 1,200 more than in January of the previous year, for a census of 89,729 people. It should also be noted that for the most part, the Ukrainians are considered temporary residents as they are given refuge from the war in their country.
In the country as a whole, Moroccans (893,953) continue to be the most numerous foreigners, followed by Romanians (629,755) and Colombians (453,911), who register the greatest increase in absolute numbers (142,391 more), ahead of Ukraine (83,401) and Venezuela (64,498), and the second in proportion, 45.7%, after Ukraine (75.9%).
The resident population in Spain stood at 48,085,361 inhabitants as of January 1, 2023, 598,634 people more than on the same date in 2022, which represents a population increase of 1.26%.
Of the 48,085,361 inhabitants, 41,995,741 had Spanish nationality (87.3%) and 6,089,620 had foreign nationality (12.7%), confirming an increase of 10.5% of the foreign population in Spain.
However, that foreign population increase is not the Brits, who, despite some still choosing Spain as a post-Brexit home. As of 1 January 2023, there were a total of 284,037 Brits in Spain, overall, a 2.5% decline, with 7,328 fewer Brits living in Spain than the year before, the equivalent of one and a half times the entire British population who lived in Torrevieja on 1 January 2022 (4,722) leaving the country.
In contrast, the British population in Torrevieja on 1 January 2012, ten years earlier, was 13,121.
