Community of Madrid - Demographics

Demographics

The Community of Madrid is the third most populous in Spain, after Andalusia and Catalonia, and the most populous province, with 6,369,167 inhabitants. Population density is 779.36 hab/km²,much higher than the national average of 91.3 hab/km². Population density varies with the community itself; the municipality of Madrid has a density of 5,160.57 hab/km², whereas the Sierra Norte has a population density of less than 9.9 hab/km². The great majority of the population lives in the capital and its metropolitan area, which is the most populated in Spain.

Madrid, meanwhile, is also the province of Spain with the greatest population density. Its inhabitants are mainly concentrated in the capital (which is the Spanish city with the highest resident population) and in a series of municipalities (Móstoles, Alcalá de Henares, Fuenlabrada, Leganés, Alcorcón, Getafe, Torrejón de Ardoz, and Alcobendas), as opposed to in rural areas with low population density. Its citizens have diverse origins, and Madrid is the province with the highest number of residents born outside its territory and with the largest foreign population (13.32%). It is a focus of attraction for those migrating for reasons of employment. Population growth in Madrid is mainly due to the arrival of foreigners.

For the better part of its history, the Community of Madrid was overwhelmingly Catholic, with minor Jewish and Muslim populations. Due to the rapid growth in immigration, the Muslim population of Madrid increased dramatically, and new religions like Hinduism, Protestantism and Buddhism have grown. Despite that increasing diversity of religious beliefs, religiosity has plummeted throughout the Madrid area since the 1990s, and the region is now among the least religious in Europe. In 2008, over 40% of the Madrid area claimed no religious affiliation.