For the first time in Spain, life expectancy at birth exceeds 84 years. Specifically, in 2024 it was equal to 84.01, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics (INE). A bullish trend that has been going on for years, interrupted only by the pandemic. On the other hand, the birth rate continues to decline. The 318,005 births in 2024 were 0.8% less than in 2023 and mark a new historic low, the lowest figure since the National Institute of Statistics (INE) records began in 1941.
This is what emerges in detail from the survey on natural population movement, which includes marriages, births and deaths corresponding to 2024, published on Wednesday.
The downward trend in births is consolidating, despite provisional data for last year signaling a slowdown in the decline. And fewer and fewer children are being had: the average number of children per woman has fallen to 1.1.
According to the INE report, men’s hope last year increased by 0.27 years compared to 2023, reaching 81.38 years. While that of women did it in 0.19 years, up to 86.53. Last year 436,118 people died in our country, just six fewer deaths than the previous year.
The vegetative balance, i.e. the difference between births and deaths, is once again negative. This was 116,056 fewer people. It is the eighth consecutive year in which the balance is negative.
The INE also highlights that the number of births to mothers aged 40 or over continues to increase, which has grown by 7.3% in the last 10 years, up to 10.4% in 2024. As for marriages celebrated in Spain, 175,364 were registered in 2024, or 1.7% more than in 2023 and 3.6 marriages per 1,000 inhabitants. 4.2% of the total marriages registered in 2024 were for same-sex couples, of which 7,336 were celebrated, of which 51.7% were women and 48.3% men. On the other hand, the average age at marriage increased by three-tenths in 2024, for both men and women. It stood at 39.9 years for men and 37.2 years for women.
The report, which details the births, deaths and marriages of people that occurred in Spanish territory, is prepared with data collected from the Statistical Bulletin of Births, the Statistical Bulletin of Death/Medical Certificate of Death and the Statistical Bulletin of Marriage. Information is also collected from data recorded by the Institutes of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences, as well as from registration files sent by the Ministry of the Presidency, Justice and Relations with the Judiciary relating to deaths, births and marriages.
