The province of Girona has reached 840,086 inhabitants as of July 1, 2026, according to provisional data from the INE's Continuous Population Statistics. The annual increase was 4,363 people, representing a growth of 0.52%. This rate is lower than that of the other Catalan provinces: Tarragona leads the increase with 1.6%, followed by Lleida with 1.3% and Barcelona with 0.8%.
Across Catalonia as a whole, the population has increased by 72,150 inhabitants (0.9%) over the past year, exceeding 8.23 million people. The province of Barcelona has surpassed 6 million inhabitants for the first time. Since January, Catalonia has gained nearly 32,000 inhabitants (0.38%).
Catalonia's population growth is primarily due to the arrival of foreign population, which has increased by 90,000 people in one year. Currently, 2.16 million people born outside Spain reside in Catalonia, making up 26.2% of the total population. The proportion of the population with foreign nationality stands at 19.3%.
The working-age population segments, between 25 and 44 years old, show a higher proportion of foreigners, exceeding 40%. Specifically, among those aged 30 to 40, nearly half of Catalans are of foreign origin.
At the national level, the population in Spain grew by 104,178 people in the second quarter, reaching 49.8 million inhabitants. The Valencian Community (0.43%), the Balearic Islands (0.36%), and Asturias (0.29%) led the increase. Catalonia ranked seventh (0.27%). The main nationalities of immigrants were Colombia, Venezuela, and Morocco. Annually, the INE estimates a population growth of 444,205 people in Spain.
Over the last decade, Catalonia has gained more than 780,000 inhabitants, experiencing a 10.5% increase compared to 2016.
