As of 1 January 2025, Spain had 10,178,625 residents aged 65 and over, representing 20.7% of the country’s population. That was 250,257 more than a year earlier. The average age of residents reached 44.55. The figures come from the 2026 report A Profile of Older People in Spain, prepared by the Institute of Economics, Geography and Demography of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC).
The report brings together demographic, health, economic and social indicators, as well as data on living conditions and housing. The statistics cover different years and come from various sources, so they describe the situation of older people but do not establish the causes of the changes observed.
The number of people living to 100 and beyond is rising
The number of people in Spain aged 100 and over continues to grow. There were 3,021 in 1981, compared with 17,038 in 2025. The number of centenarians rose by 7.1% in just one year; roughly eight in ten people in Spain aged over 100 are women.
According to projections cited in the CSIC report, the number of residents aged 65 and over could exceed 16 million by 2046, accounting for almost 30% of Spain’s population. The projection is based on the demographic assumptions set out by the report’s authors.
Older people are using the internet more often
Digital habits are changing too. In 2025, 75% of people in Spain aged 65 to 74 used the internet every day, up from 70.5% a year earlier. Among people aged 75 and over, the share of daily internet users rose from 34.6% to 35.4%. However, the gap between the age groups remains significant.
Living alone and differences in living conditions
One social issue highlighted by the data is living alone. Since 2006, around 30% of women aged 65 and over have lived alone. This figure is almost twice as high as the share among men in the same age group.
Living conditions for older people also vary depending on where they live. According to the report, in 2025 people aged 65 and over made up 29.1% of the population in rural municipalities, compared with 20% in urban areas. Asturias, Castile and León, and Galicia had the highest proportions of older residents among Spain’s autonomous communities.
