In Spain there are a total of 8,131 municipalities, many of which are being depopulated by leaps and bounds. The so-called rural exodus began in the 1970s and continues today. According to official data, in our country there are 1,109 municipalities in which not a single child between 0 and 4 years old lives, as well as 393 in which all the inhabitants are over 65. It should be noted that Spain is the fourth country in Europe with more municipalities at risk of depopulation, only behind Estonia, Finland and Latvia. In this context, it is of special interest to know which are the smallest towns in Spain .
Illán de Vacas – Toledo
With just three inhabitants , according to the 2020 census of the National Institute of Statistics, it is the town with the lowest number of inhabitants in Spain.
It is located 88 kilometers away from Madrid and at the end of the 19th century it had 248 inhabitants . In 1991 Illán de Vacas had zero inhabitants, although in 2001 it recovered its population with seven neighbors.
Villarroya – La Rioja
Villarroya is located in La Rioja, a small municipality with only five inhabitants . The population density is 0.42 inhabitants per square kilometer.
Although it has never been a large town, at the beginning of the 20th century it suffered, in the same way as other municipalities in the area, a strong emigration to America in search of opportunities. In addition, the closure of coal mining in the 1960s produced a large rural exodus, from 241 inhabitants in 1960 to 52 in 1970 .
Steppe of San Juan – Soria
Estepa de San Juan is one of the smallest towns in Spain. It has a population of seven inhabitants, four men and three women . At the beginning of the 20th century it had 123 inhabitants, and the largest population drop occurred in the 60s: in 1960 Estepa de San Juan had 90 inhabitants and in 1970 51.
Villanueva de Gormaz – Soria
Also in the province of Soria is Villanueva de Gormaz, a town of eight inhabitants, most of them men. It has always been a small town since in its heyday, at the beginning of the 20th century, it had 307 inhabitants .
Valdemadera – La Rioja
And, finally, Valdemadera, in La Rioja. With just nine registered inhabitants and a population density of 0.57 inhabitants per square kilometer. Like many other municipalities, it suffered a great rural exodus in the 1960s, going from 188 inhabitants in 1960 to 69 in 1970.
