The number of British residents in Malaga province has fallen by more than 1,500 over the past year, new figures show.
The drop was revealed in a report on the country’s immigrant population, published by Spain’s National Statistics Institute (INE).
It showed that as of January 1, 2025, the province was home to 1,791,183 people, an annual increase of 0.9%, meaning 16,482 more residents year-on-year.
Of that total, 1,449,954 people (80.9%) held Spanish nationality, while 341,229 (19%) were foreign nationals.
According to the figures, a staggering 77.1% of the year-on-year population growth corresponded to foreign nationals – meaning at least seven out of 10 new Malaga residents are immigrants.
While the foreign population grew by 3.7%, the Spanish population increased by just 0.2%. In absolute numbers, that translates to 12,716 additional immigrants versus 3,766 new Spanish nationals.
British nationals remain the largest foreign community in the province, with 49,298 residents, but their numbers fell year-on-year by 1,531.
It suggests at least 127 British expats moved away from the province each month last year.
By comparison, the next largest groups, Moroccans (36,438 residents) and Italians (21,549), both saw increases (+1,473 and +1,281 respectively).
Other sizeable communities include Germans (11,369), Romanians (11,287), Ukrainians (18,923), Colombians (18,973), Argentinians (14,346), Paraguayans (11,582) and Venezuelans (10,119).
Other nationalities to shrink were the Senegalese, by 2,505 people (a fall of 297), while Nigerians totalled 1,446 (down 74).
The biggest increases were seen among Colombians (+2,645), Moroccans (+1,473), Paraguayans (+1,395), Italians (+1,281), Venezuelans (+1,204) and Argentinians (+927).
The most significant decreases came from the British (-1,531), Ukrainians (-389) and Russians (-107).
Over the past five years, the province has gained 94,228 residents, an increase of 5.2%.
The provincial capital, now home to 597,173 people, has grown by 3.2% since 2020, a rise of 19,110 residents, although the most recent year saw a slight slowdown, with 4,823 new inhabitants, compared with 5,278 the year before and 8,595 in 2023.
Marbella remains the province’s second-largest city with 166,478 residents, having grown by 4.4% in the last year.
The municipality now represents 9.2% of Malaga’s total population. It is followed by Mijas (94,320), Velez-Malaga (87,798), Fuengirola (84,857), Estepona (79,593) and Torremolinos (71,270).
With the exception of Velez-Malaga, all are located in the booming western Costa del Sol. Of these major municipalities.
Overall, 33% of Málaga’s population now lives in the capital city. A further 30.6% reside in medium-sized municipalities of between 20,000 and 50,000 inhabitants, home to 548,980 people, representing a 0.7% annual increase.
These include Alhaurín de la Torre (45.324), Alhaurín el Grande (27.610), Antequera (41.823), Cártama (29.264), Coín (26.474), Nerja (22.062), Ronda (33.708) and Torrox (21.795). Of these towns, only Nerja saw a slight decline, losing 16 residents.
At the other end of the scale, just 0.3% of Málaga’s population lives in villages with fewer than 500 inhabitants, with a combined total of 5,082 people.
Many are located in the Serranía de Ronda, such as Serrato (465), Pujerra (283), Parauta (270), Júzcar (210), Atajate (176) and Alpandeire (363). Others sit in the interior of the Axarquía, including Árchez (444) and Salares, which with 165 residents holds the title of the smallest municipality in the province.
Read more Andalucia news at the Spanish Eye.
