THE number of registered UK expats living in Spain fell by 2.2% in 2024 according to the National Institute of Statistics(NIE).
Their annual population census covered the 12 months up to January 1, 2025.
UK resident numbers came in 266,462, down from 272,402 a year earlier.
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In 2014, the NIE reported 300,286 British residents.
British expats now account for 3.9% of all foreign residents, compared to 4.2% in 2023.
The figures are calculated on the basis of registrations on local municipal padrons.
British nationals are the sixth highest non-Spanish group, which is led by Moroccans with 968,999 residents and Romanians on 609,270.
The resident population in Spain on 1 January 2025 stood at 49,128,297 inhabitants, 508,602 more people than on the same date in 2024 (1.0% more).
Of this total, 42,216,326 were Spanish nationals (85.9%) and 6,911,971 were foreign nationals (14.1%).
Compared to the previous year, the number of people of Spanish nationality increased by 0.2% and that of foreign nationality by 6.3%.
During 2024 the population increased in all regions, except Extremadura.
The largest increases occurred in Catalunya (111,895 more people), the Valencian Community (105,897 more) and the Community of Madrid (104,618 more).
In percentage terms, the largest increases were in the Valencian Community (2.0%), the Community of Madrid and the Balearic Islands (1.5% in both).
By province, the number of inhabitants increased in all but six.
The ones that grew the most were Castellon, Alicante and Guadalajara- all by 2.0%.
Three Valencia region cities recorded the highest percentage population growth in Spain during 2024.
Torrevieja (with 4.9%), Gandía (3.6%) and Benidorm (3.5%) led the field of municipalities with at least 10,000 residents
It means that Torrevieja has officially surpassed 100,000 residents for the first time- standing on 100,470.
The previous year produced a total of 95,760 people on the padron.
Gandia’s population as of January 1 was 83,000 inhabitants, with Benidorm on 77,211 registered residents- the first occasion it has broken the 75,000 mark.
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