Rural Spain at a Turning Point

The Spanish National Statistics Institute (INE) recently published new data confirming the steady concentration of Spain’s population in urban areas. Of the country’s 8,131 municipalities, the 5,002 with fewer than 1,000 inhabitants represent only 3.1% of the total population, while the 63 cities with more than 100,000 residents account for 39.9%. More towns in Spain are losing inhabitants than gaining them—a process accompanied by growing ageing and gender imbalance. In the smallest towns (under 100 residents), the average age is 57.6 years, compared with 43.1 years in large cities—a difference of nearly fourteen years.

The diagnosis is well known. Dozens of studies highlight the demographic reality of Spain’s rural regions, many of which have population densities below 12.5 inhabitants per square kilometre—the EU threshold for areas at risk of depopulation.

A Shift Begins

Some change, however, is underway. Nationally, the government created in 2017 the Commissioner for the Demographic Challenge, elevated in 2020 to a General Secretariat, which recently presented an action plan of more than 130 measures, many focused on rural development. In Parliament, the emergence of Teruel Existe has helped bring the issue to the national agenda, while the Senate has a dedicated committee on depopulation—though it has met only eight times in the current term.

Meanwhile, several regional governments (such as Galicia, Castile and León, Castile-La Mancha, and Aragón) are drafting or implementing laws to promote demographic revitalisation and population retention. Some, like Castile and León, plan to introduce free on-demand public transport by 2022.

At the same time, society is increasingly mobilised—albeit modestly—around depopulation. Social movements and local initiatives are multiplying; companies are investing in rural areas (especially in renewable energy projects); and municipalities themselves are developing social innovation initiatives.

The pandemic has further accelerated these trends. The arrival of new residents during lockdowns led to the reopening of more than a dozen rural schools in 2020—such as those in Aguilar de Alfambra (Aragón) and Ollauri (La Rioja)—after being closed for thirty years due to a lack of children.

One major factor driving this movement is the rise of remote work, whose prevalence has multiplied eightfold, according to some studies. The ability to work from anywhere has allowed many professionals to relocate permanently to towns where they once only spent weekends or holidays.

In addition, the government has announced that €10 billion from the EU post-COVID recovery funds will be allocated to combat depopulation and create opportunities in rural areas.

Shared Responsibility

Revitalising rural areas means building a stronger, fairer, and more sustainable country. But success requires everyone’s involvement. On an individual level, residents must take small but crucial steps—such as registering officially (empadronarse) in their local municipalities.

Last November, the mayor of a small town in Valladolid lamented that, despite having 2,000 actual residents, only 1,700 were registered, as some preferred to remain listed in the city for access to urban sports facilities or schools. This 15% discrepancy directly reduces the municipal resources available for essential public services.

At the collective level, public institutions must coordinate policies to ensure not just territorial cohesion but also equality of opportunity, regardless of where people live. This means prioritising essential services and infrastructure: as long as some rural residents must travel six hours by ambulance for radiotherapy, live without reliable internet access, or endure poor public transport, population recovery will remain elusive.

Finally, businesses must play a more active role. Industrial investment, new logistics hubs, and corporate projects have proven powerful drivers of opportunity. Companies must therefore integrate rural development into their strategies and orient CSR initiatives toward territorial cohesion, sustainability, and the fight against depopulation.

Supporting rural areas means investing in Spain’s environmental and social health—its green lungs and cultural roots. If each of us contributes and moves in the same direction, we can seize this historic opportunity to build a more prosperous, equitable, and sustainable country, one that finally gives back to rural Spain everything it has long given to us.

By Pablo Maderuelo, Director of Health and Social Engagement at Harmon.