National Statistics Institute of Spain

Demographic Statistics

Avenida de Manoteras 50-52 - 28050 Madrid

Provisional results on the main demographic developments in the year of reference, in the moment of providing these data.

Not applicable.

Demography and population.

Persons.

Data are available at national level with some geographical detail.

Population series are available in the Population Continuous Statistics since 1971 and, before that, decennial Census since 1857 can be found in the documentary collection of Censuses. They all give the historical series of population figures for Spain. Final data coincide with Census and intercensal estimates.

Births, deaths, infant deaths, late foetal deaths and marriages are obtained from the Vital Statistics. Results are available from 1900.

Not applicable.

Counts of statistical units

The reference date for population data is the end of the reference period (midnight of 31st December).
The reference period for vital events (births and deaths) data is the calendar year in which the events occurred.  

The compilation and dissemination of the data are governed by the Statistical Law No. 12/1989 "Public Statistical Function" of May 9, 1989, and Law No. 4/1990 of June 29 on “National Budget of State for the year 1990" amended by Law No. 13/1996 "Fiscal, administrative and social measures" of December 30, 1996, makes compulsory all statistics included in the National Statistics Plan. The National Statistical Plan 2009-2012 was approved by the Royal Decree 1663/2008. It contains the statistics that must be developed in the four year period by the State General Administration's services or any other entity dependent on it. All statistics included in the National Statistics Plan are statistics for state purposes and are obligatory. The National Statistics Plan 2013-2016, approved by Royal Decree 1658/2012, of 7 December, is the Plan currently implemented. This statistical operation has governmental purposes, and it is included in the National Statistics Plan 2013-2016. "http://www.ine.es/ss/Satellite?L=en_GB&c=Page&cid=1254735904936&p=1254735904936&pagename=INE%2FINELayout”  (Statistics of the State Administration). 

The exchanges of information needed to elaborate statistics between the INE and the rest of the State statistical offices (Ministerial Departments, independent bodies and administrative bodies depending on the State General Administration), or between these offices and the Autonomic statistical offices, are regulated in the LFEP (Law of the Public Statistic Function). This law also regulates the mechanisms of statistical coordination, and concludes cooperation agreements between the different offices when necessary.

The Statistical Law No. 12/1989 specifies that the INE cannot publish, or make otherwise available, individual data or statistics that would enable the identification of data for any individual person or entity. Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 on European statistics stipulates the need to establish common principles and guidelines ensuring the confidentiality of data used for the production of European statistics and the access to those confidential data with due account for technical developments and the requirements of users in a democratic society

INE provides information on the protection of confidentiality at all stages of the statistical process: INE questionnaires for the operations in the national statistical plan include a legal clause protecting data under statistical confidentiality. Notices prior to data collection announcing a statistical operation notify respondents that data are subject to statistical confidentiality at all stages. For data processing, INE employees have available the INE data protection handbook, which specifies the steps that should be taken at each stage of processing to ensure reporting units' individual data are protected. The microdata files provided to users are anonymised.

The advance release calendar that shows the precise release dates for the coming year is disseminated in the last quarter of each year.

The calendar is disseminated on the INE's Internet website“http://www.ine.es/en/daco/daco41/calen_en.htm”  (Publications Calendar)

The data are released simultaneously according to the advance release calendar to all interested parties by issuing the press release. At the same time, the data are posted on the INE's Internet website "http://www.ine.es/en" almost immediately after the press release is issued. Also some predefined tailor-made requests are sent to registered users. Some users could receive partial information under embargo as it is publicly described in  the "http://www.ine.es/en/ine/codigobp/codigobupr_en.pdf”

Population: quarterly (provisional results) and yearly (final results)

Births and deaths: monthly (provisional results) and yearly (final results)

The results of the statistical operations are normally disseminated  by using press releases that can be accessed via both the corresponding menu and  ”https://www.ine.es/dyngs/Prensa/en/notasPrensa.htm”, the Press Releases Section in the web.

You can access all information regarding these operations at:

Population: Population Continuous Statistics

Births: Monthly estimates of births

Deaths: Weekly death estimates

INEbase is the system the INE uses to store statistical information on the Internet. It contains all the information the INE produces in electronic formats. The primary organisation of the information follows the theme-based classification of the ”http://www.ine.es/en/ine/ioe” Inventory of Statistical Operations of the State General Administration. The basic unit of INEbase is the statistical operation, defined as the set of activities that lead to obtaining statistical results on a determined sector or topic using data collected individually.

Not applicable.

In addition to the information contained in the online publications and databases, the INE is able to provide data ad hoc in accordance with users' requirements by means of the "User Services", where specialist staff will advise on the viability of the requirements.

Standardised Methodological Reports on INE website. Fields 10.6 to 17.2 of those documents are considered to be the user-oriented quality report for each operation.

Quality assurance framework for the INE statistics is based on the ESSCoP, the "http://www.ine.es/en/ine/codigobp/codigobupr_en.pdf" European Statistics Code of Practice, made by EUROSTAT. The ESSCoP is made up of 15 principles, gathered in three areas: Institutional Environment, Processes and Products. Each principle is associated with some indicators which make possible to measure it. In order to evaluate quality, EUROSTAT provides different tools: the indicators mentioned above, Self-assessment based on the DESAP model, peer review, user satisfaction surveys and other proceedings for evaluation.

The main sources for building population and vital events statistics are based on Population Register and the Civil Register. Both of them are administrative sources that comprehensive and of high quality.

The first user is the statistic national system, particularly population figures are used by INE as reference figures in all its statistics products (surveys, National Account, indicators…).

Besides, population figures, vital events and migrations are available for all those users who need to analyse the national demographic evolution or produce their own statistics. These figures are also used as official Spanish Population by the international organisations. 

The INE has carried out general user satisfaction surveys in 2007, 2010 and 2013, and it plans to continue doing so every three years. The purpose of these surveys is to find out what users think about the quality of the information of the INE statistics and the extent to which their needs of information are covered. In addition, additional surveys are carried out in order to acknowledge better other fields such as dissemination of the information, quality of some publications...

Demographic information is available for each Autonomous Community, each province and each island (in case of population), broken down according to basic demographic characteristics, such as sex, year of birth, age, nationality and country of birth, so the completeness is 100%.

- Population is published quarterly, first provisionally, at the latest 45 days after de reference date, until the data are final, which occurs when a new census is published, at the end of the year. The full set of provisional data will be updated every quarter, until they are final.

- Births and deaths: provisional data are published monthly, and final data once a year.

Demographic information is delivered according to the established Statistics Calendar by INE. 

Demographic data keep total inter-territorial and demographic consistency at all breakdown levels considered.

Population Continuous Statistics are used as reference figures for population in all the statistical products by INE (surveys, National Accounts and indicators) so all they are totally consistent.

The Vital Events Statistics are used for calculating demographic indicators so all they are totally consistent.

Before the Census 2021, population figures were obtained as an output from previous population figures, Vital Statistics and Migration Statistics, so population was coherent with all of them, by construction.

Since 2021, census are annual, and are obtained directly from the Population Register, as a stock. However, Vital Events Statistics are obtained from the Civil Register and they only include events occurred in Spain. So the vital events are covered in the population, but may have this small inconsistency between different statistics. In addition, the different reference dates might produce a slight difference. In conclusion, there is not a complete coherence, but a very small incoherence.

In any case, vital events are also recorded in the Population Register, in addition to the events occurred abroad, so they are all included in the population.

Territorial coherence is ensured in each of the operations.

Demographic data are produced on the base of registered information, so there is no burden on respondents.

The costs included by the Annual Program 2024 for population and  vital events with reference year 2023 are:

270.45 thousands Euros for Population Continuous Statistics

38.53 thousands Euros for Monthly estimates of births

38.53 thousands Euros for Weekly death estimates

The INE of Spain has a policy which regulates the basic aspects of statistical data revision, seeking to ensure process transparency and product quality. This policy is laid out in the document approved by the INE board of directors on 13 March of 2015, which is available on the INE website, in the section "Methods and projects/Quality and Code of Practice/INE’s Quality management/INE’s Revision policy" (link).

This general policy sets the criteria that the different type of revisions should follow:  routine revision- it is the case of statistics whose production process includes regular revisions-; more extensive revision- when methodological or basic reference source changes take place-; and exceptional revision- for instance, when an error appears in a published statistic-.

- Population: first provisional data are published at the latest 45 days after de reference date, until the data are final, which occurs when a new census is published, at the end of the year. The full set of provisional data will be updated every quarter, until they are final.

- Births and deaths: provisional data are published monthly, and final data once a year. 

Monthly

- Population data are obtained from the Population Register, the Population Censuses and Vital Events (births and deaths).

- Vital Events (births and deaths) are the ones recorded in the Civil Register.

First of all a phase of control and completeness of information is carried out for each source of information. Secondly, an analysis about the coherence and evolution of each source of information is carried out separately. Finally, multiple analysis for integrated information are carried out in order to guarantee the total coherence between the different demographic events at all breakdown levels considered.

- Population: provisional data are derived applying the evolution of the Population Register to the las annual Census. An adjustment with deaths and births from provisional Vital Statistics is done, for a better approach.

 - Births and deaths: they are obtained from the Civil Register. For provisional data, a coefficient for late arrivals is applied. 

No adjustment has been done.

Migration data are not available, because since 2023, these data come from a new statistic, the Migration and Changes of Residence Statistics, which is released at the end of each year with final data for the previous year, and provisional data are not yet available.