Over Half Population Lives Away from Home in Key Spanish Interior Provinces

More than half of the populations in several interior Spanish provinces now reside outside their home regions, highlighting ongoing depopulation challenges. According to data reported by El Confidencial, 52% of Soria’s native population lives outside the province, with major destinations including Madrid and Barcelona, and 1.5% even living abroad. Similar trends affect Ávila and Cuenca, where over 50% of the native population also lives elsewhere. Other provinces nearing this threshold include Zamora (50.3%), Teruel (51.1%), Segovia (53.4%), and Palencia (53.8%). This long-standing emigration, which dates back to the 18th century, has left interior provinces with dramatically older demographics; in Soria, only 31% of those over 65 remain, and many provinces report losses exceeding 10% among their under-16 populations.

While interior provinces face these demographic declines, regions like Las Palmas retain close to 92% of their native residents, and the Valencian Community shows high retention rates. The migration patterns contribute not just to depopulation but to economic disparities, evidenced by stagnant housing markets in affected areas, which the Bank of Spain uses to argue the absence of a housing bubble. Notably, Guadalajara presents a complex case with over half its residents born outside the province, yet it also experiences emigration pressures. Despite some provinces like Valladolid attracting internal migrants, foreign immigration remains low in the interior regions.

This persistent migratory flow reshapes Spain’s demographic and economic landscape, underscoring the pressing nature of depopulation and youth exodus from the ‘empty Spain’ interior provinces, a trend that continues to shape the nation’s social fabric in 2025.