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Spain's population density, lower than that of most European countries and in recent years, following a longstanding pattern in the rest of Europe, rural populations are moving to cities.
Spain has no official religion. The constitution of 1978 abolished the Roman Catholic Church as the official state religion, while recognizing the role it plays in Spanish society. More than 90% of the population are at least nominally Catholic.
Educational system
About 70% of Spain's student population attends public schools or universities. The remainder attend private schools or universities, the great majority of which are operated by the Catholic Church.
Compulsory education begins with primary school or general basic education for ages 6-16. It is free in public schools and in many private schools, most of which receive government subsidies. Following graduation, students attend either a secondary school offering a general high school diploma or a school of professional study in all fields — law, sciences, humanities, and medicine — and the superior technical schools offer programs in engineering and architecture.
Immigration
According to the Spanish government there are 3.7 million legal foreign residents in Spain. Of these around 500 000 are Moroccan and another half a million are Ecuadorian. More than 300 000 are Romanian and 270 000 are Colombian. There are also important numbers of British and German citizens. Immigrants from several African countries settled Spain as contract workers, mostly speaking official European languages of their homelands (whether Portuguese, English, French, or even Afrikaans). In 2005 alone, the immigrant population of Spain increased by 700 000 people. Spain has the highest immigration rate of the European Union.
Metropolitan areas
The most important metropolitan areas in 2005 are:
- Madrid 5.843.041
- Barcelona 4.686.701
- Valencia 1.623.724
- Sevilla 1.317.098
- Málaga 1.074.074
- Bilbao 947.581
- Asturias (Gijón-Oviedo) 855.199
- Alicante 711.215
- Zaragoza 683.763
- Las Palmas de Gran Canaria 616.903
- Bahía de Cádiz (Cádiz-Jerez de la Frontera) 615.494
- Murcia 563.272
- Palma de Mallorca 474.035
- Granada 472.638
- Vigo 423.821
- Santa Cruz de Tenerife 420.198
- San Sebastián 399.125
- A Coruña 396.015
- Valladolid 383.894
- Tarragona 375.749
- Cordoba 321.164
- Pamplona 309.631
Statistical indicators
''
Population: 40,397,842 (July 2006 est.)
Age structure (2000 est.):
0-14 years:
14.4% (male 3,000,686/female 2,821,325)
15-64 years:
67.8% (male 13,751,963/female 13,653,426)
65 years and over:
17.7% (male 2,993,496/female 4,176,946) (2006 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.13% (2006 est.)
Birth rate: 10.06 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Death rate: 9.72 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Net migration rate: 0.99 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth:
1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years:
1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years:
1.01 male(s)/female
65 years and over:
0.72 male(s)/female
total population:
0.96 male(s)/female (2006 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 4.37 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
79.65 years
male:
76.32 years
female:
83.2 years (2006 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.28 children born/woman (2006 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
Spaniard(s)
adjective:
Spanish
Ethnic groups: Castilian speakers with Catalan, Basque and Galician speaking minorities. Large immigrant communities from Latin America, Eastern Europe and North Africa.
Religions: Roman Catholic 66%, other or agnostic 33%
Languages:
- Spanish (official) 82%
- Catalan 10% (co-official in Catalonia, Balearic Islands, and Valencia — see Valencian)
- Galician 6% (co-official in Galicia)
- Basque 2% (co-official in Basque Country).
- Aranese (a variant of Gascon Occitan) is co-official in Val d'Aran, a small valley in the Pyreenes.
Others with no official status:
Literacy:
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write
total population:
97.9% (2003 est.)
male:
98.7% (2003 est.)
female:
97.2% (2003 est.)
See also
Demographics by country | Demographics of Spain
Население на Испания | Demografia d'Espanya | Demografía de España | Démographie de l'Espagne | Demografia da Espanha | Население Испании | 西班牙人口
"Demographics of Spain"