More than 3,000 centenarians, mostly women: three charts to understand the Catalan population

BarcelonaCatalonia reached 8,154,627 inhabitants last July, a provisional figure representing an increase of 41,137 people during the first half of the year, according to the latest population estimates from the Statistical Institute of Catalonia (Idescat), published this Tuesday. In year-on-year terms—that is, compared to the data from July 1, 2024—this represents a population growth of 1.1%.

Furthermore, 2025 saw a new record for centenarians, surpassing the 3,000 mark for the first time. The number of centenarians living in Catalonia has grown steadily since the 1980s and currently stands at 3,051. This is yet another indication of the progressive aging of the population, as The number of people over 100 years old practically doubles every decadeWhile the population under 15 is declining. In fact, this trend has remained stable since 2018: the young population is shrinking and the other age groups are increasing, especially those over 65.

If in 1985 there were 185 people in Catalonia aged 100 or older, by 1995 there were 370, and in the following decades the number increased even more rapidly: in 2005 there were 815 and in 2015 there were 2,067. In the last decade, the rate of increase has not been the same, but in any case, the number has increased by about a thousand, and the vast majority are women: 2,549 women and 502 men. To understand the aging of the population, it is necessary to look at the evolution of the different age groups. The 16-64 age group has decreased by 97,786 people, while the 16-64 and 65+ age groups have increased by 497,958 and 200,774 people, respectively.

However, if we look at the data from the last year, the group corresponding to those under 15 years of age decreased by 1.9%, the 16-64 age group increased by 1.4%, and those over 65 grew by 2.3%. In fact, this last group now represents 26% of the total population, which is a new historical record and an increase of ten percentage points compared to four decades ago.

Generalized growth

The 60-79 age group has reached its peak, now representing 20.1% of the population. In contrast, the over-80 age group, which has also grown slightly compared to the first half of 2025, now comprising 5.95% of the population, has not surpassed the record 6.1% reached in 2017 and 2018.

The population increased in all areas during the first half of 2025: by 26,292 people in Barcelona, 7,310 in Tarragona, 5,072 in Girona, and 2,463 in Lleida. Compared to the previous year, the largest increases were in Tarragona and Lleida, with year-on-year growth of 2.2% and 1.4%, respectively. Girona saw a year-on-year increase of 1.1%, and Barcelona 0.9%.