Study shows almost half of Spanish towns will soon disappear

ALMOST half of the towns in Spain are on the brink of disappearance, according to a demographic study.

The study, which combines data on population, its evolution and the medium in which it develops, shows that the life expectancy of 40 per cent of Spanish towns is limited to its current and probably last inhabitants.

According to a report in Spanish newspaper Publico.es, based on a demographic study, 3,589 towns are on the brink of disappearing when their current inhabitants leave or pass away, unless something is done to prevent it.

The SSPA (Southern Sparsely Populated Areas) an EU network which includes the Spanish provinces of Soria, Terual and Cuenca, has created Map 174, which shows towns with severe and permanent demographic disadvantages.

The name refers to Article 174 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, which promotes “harmonious development of the Union as a whole”.

The authors of the map have combined the following indicators: number of inhabitants, census between 1991 and 2018, aging and birth rates, height and average gradient, which are considered geographic disadvantages.

It is unlikely, the study shows, that a town will survive if there are very few or no children under the age of five.

The situation is particularly bad in the provinces of Soria, Cuenca and Teruel.

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