Spain’s population has reached a record 49,935,642, putting the country closer than ever to the 50 million mark.

Provisional figures published on Thursday by the National Statistics Institute (INE) show the population grew by 130,233 during the third quarter of 2026.

The total on October 1 was 435,551 higher than a year earlier, an annual increase of 0.88%.

People born abroad accounted for 98.8% of that annual growth, with the foreign-born population reaching 10,433,091 – more than one in five residents.

That figure is considerably higher than the number of foreign nationals living in Spain, partly because many people born overseas have acquired Spanish citizenship.

The foreign-national population rose by 86,883 during the quarter to 7,518,237. The number of residents holding Spanish nationality increased by 43,340.

Colombians were the largest nationality group among arrivals between July and September, with 33,200 moving to Spain.

They were followed by Spanish nationals, with 23,600 arrivals, and Venezuelans, with 19,000.

The INE told Efe that the Spanish figure covered returning citizens, including people born abroad and those who had acquired Spanish nationality.

Colombians also accounted for the largest number of departures, at 9,100, followed by Moroccans at 8,900 and Spanish nationals at 7,500.

Every region recorded population growth during the quarter, although the pace varied considerably.

Valencia led with an increase of 0.48%, followed by Madrid at 0.46%. Both comfortably exceeded the national quarterly average of 0.26%.

Andalucia recorded one of the smallest increases, at 0.07%, ahead of only the Canary Islands and Ceuta, which grew by 0.05% and 0.01% respectively.

The number of households also reached a record, rising by 69,162 during the quarter to 19,953,529.