Population and built-up density - Cities and FUAs — Urbanised area in Madrid
Madrid: Population and built-up density - Cities and FUAs — Urbanised area was 149 Square kilometres in 2030. ▲ Rising
Population and built-up density - Cities and FUAs — Urbanised area in Madrid, 1975–2030
Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Square kilometres.
Analysis
The most recent figure for population and built-up density - cities and fuas — urbanised area in Madrid is 149 Square kilometres, measured in 2030. That is the highest value across all 12 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, population and built-up density - cities and fuas — urbanised area in Madrid peaked at 149 Square kilometres in 2030 and was at its lowest, 84 Square kilometres, in 1975.
Madrid ranks 71st of 1372 regions on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 12 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 84 Square kilometres | 84 Square kilometres | 84 Square kilometres | 1 |
| 1980s | 90 Square kilometres | 88 Square kilometres | 92 Square kilometres | 2 |
| 1990s | 102.5 Square kilometres | 96 Square kilometres | 109 Square kilometres | 2 |
| 2000s | 125 Square kilometres | 122 Square kilometres | 128 Square kilometres | 2 |
| 2010s | 138.5 Square kilometres | 135 Square kilometres | 142 Square kilometres | 2 |
| 2020s | 146 Square kilometres | 145 Square kilometres | 147 Square kilometres | 2 |
| 2030s | 149 Square kilometres | 149 Square kilometres | 149 Square kilometres | 1 |
More population data for Madrid
- Heat stress - Cities and FUAs — Mean population exposure to heat 91.02 Days per year (2025)
- Demographic balances and indicators by type of projection and NUTS 3 96,205 (2100)
- Assumptions for fertility rates by age, type of projection and NUTS 3 1.59 (2100)
- Population by age and sex - Cities and FUAs 4.33 million Persons (2022)
- Population by citizenship - Cities and FUAs 14.6 Percentage of population (2022)
- Foreign-born population - Cities and FUAs 22.7 Percentage of population (2022)
- Live births (total) by NUTS 3 region 50,770 (2024)
- Population density by NUTS 3 region 885.8 (2024)
- Population on 1 January by broad age group, sex and NUTS 3 region 7.11 million (2025)
- Population change - Demographic balance and crude rates at regional 103,256 (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is population and built-up density - cities and fuas — urbanised area in Madrid?
- Population and built-up density - cities and fuas — urbanised area in Madrid was 149 Square kilometres in 2030, according to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
- What is the highest population and built-up density - cities and fuas — urbanised area recorded in Madrid?
- The highest recorded value was 149 Square kilometres in 2030.
- What is the lowest population and built-up density - cities and fuas — urbanised area recorded in Madrid?
- The lowest recorded value was 84 Square kilometres in 1975.
- How does Madrid rank for population and built-up density - cities and fuas — urbanised area?
- Madrid ranks 71st out of 1372 regions with data for 2030.
- Is population and built-up density - cities and fuas — urbanised area rising or falling in Madrid?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Madrid data come from?
- The figures come from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as part of Population and built-up density - Cities and FUAs — Urbanised area. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 12 observations, free to reuse under OECD Terms and Conditions (attribution required).
About this data
<p align="justify">This dataset provides indicators of population density and built-up area in FUAs and cities.</p> <h3>Data sources and methodology</h3> <p align="justify"> FUA and city surfaces are calculated from FUA and city shapefiles, using GIS tools. Built-up data uses GHSL built-up surface grids <a href=https://doi.org/10.2760/098587>(European Commission, GHSL Data Package 2023)</a>. Population counts are extracted from the <a href=https://data-explorer.oecd.org/vis?df[ds]=Design&df[id]=DSD_FUA_DEMO%40DF_AGE_SEX&df[ag]=OECD.CFE.EDS>Population by age and sex - FUAs and cities</a> dataset. GHSL is used as it provides harmonised, globally consistent coverage at fine spatial resolution (100 m), enabling the production of comparable subnational indicators on built-up areas. </p> <p align="justify"> These estimates may differ from official subnational built-up statistics due to differences in methodologies, such as top down remote-sensing based estimations versus bottom up cadastral or administrative data, along with differences in satellite imagery sources, spatial resolution, and model accuracy used to detect and classify built up areas. </p> <h3>Defining FUAs and cities</h3> <p align="justify">The OECD, in cooperation with the EU, has developed a harmonised <a href="https://www.oecd.org/en/data/datasets/oecd-definition-of-cities-and-functional-urban-areas.html">definition of functional urban areas</a> (FUAs) to capture the economic and functional reach of cities based on daily commuting patterns <a href=https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264174108-en>(OECD, 2012)</a>. FUAs consist of: <ol> <li><b>A city</b> – defined by urban centres in the degree of urbanisation, adapted to the closest local administrative units to define a city.</li> <li><b>A commuting zone</b> – including all local areas where at least 15% of employed residents work in the city.</li> </ol> The delineation process includes: <ul> <li>Assigning municipalities surrounded by a single FUA to that FUA.</li> <li>Excluding non-contiguous municipalities.</li> </ul> The definition identifies 1 285 FUAs and 1 402 cities in all OECD member countries except Costa Rica and three accession countries.</p> <h3>Cite this dataset</h3> <p>OECD Regions, cities and local areas database (<a href="http://data-explorer.oecd.org/s/1e6">Population and built-up density - Cities and FUAs</a>), <a href=http://oe.cd/geostats>http://oe.cd/geostats</a></p> <h3>Further information</h3> <ul> <li> <a href=https://localdataportal.oecd.org/>OECD Local Data Portal </a> </li> <li> <a href=https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/oecd-regions-and-cities-at-a-glance-2024_f42db3bf-en.html/>OECD Regions and Cities at a Glance </a> </li> </ul> <p align="justify">For questions and/or comments, please email <a href="mailto:CitiesStat@oecd.org">CitiesStat@oecd.org</a>