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Barcelona is ageing: there are now 160 older people for every 100 children in the metropolitan area
The Barcelona metropolitan area is ageing. For every 100 people under 15, there are now 160 people aged 65 or over, compared with 134 a decade ago. Ageing affects virtually the entire territory and is beginning to shape everything from the size of homes to neighbourhood services.
Today, approximately one in five metropolitan residents is over 65. At the same time, the share of those under 15 has fallen from 14.5% in 2015 to 12.5% in 2025, and the drop is even sharper among children aged zero to four, whose number has decreased by 22% in ten years.
The trend has spread rapidly across the municipalities. In 2025, the ageing index increased in 35 of the AMB's 36 municipalities. L’Hospitalet de Llobregat was the only exception, and Sant Cugat del Vallès is now the only metropolitan municipality where under-15s still outnumber over-65s.
The city of Barcelona presents one of the most aged pictures: it records 188 older people for every 100 younger people, and children and teenagers under 15 account for only 11.1% of its residents. Esplugues de Llobregat also stands out for the share of its older population, which approaches a quarter of its residents.
The change has very concrete consequences. More older people mean greater demand for accessible housing, home care, health centres, benches, shade and comfortable walking routes. At the same time, fewer children can alter the needs for schools, play areas and family facilities in certain neighbourhoods.
Behind this transformation is also the fall in the birth rate. Since 2017, more people have died than have been born across the metropolitan area. In 2024, 22,964 births and 28,362 deaths were recorded, with a negative natural balance in 26 of the 36 municipalities.
Despite this, the metropolis continues to grow. Between 2024 and 2025 it gained 51,542 residents and reached around 3.45 million. The arrival of people from other countries is more than offsetting the natural loss: in 2024 alone, the external migration balance was positive by 75,540 people.
The result is a more populous but also older and more diverse metropolitan Barcelona. The challenge is no longer merely to build for a growing city, but to adapt neighbourhoods, transport, housing and services to smaller households, fewer children and an ever greater proportion of residents reaching older ages.