Proportion of Catholics in Spain 2011-2024
Although traditionally a Catholic country, Spain saw a decline in the number of believers over the past years. Compared to 2011, when the share of believers accounted for slightly over 70 percent of the Spanish population, the Catholic community lost approximately 13 percentage points of their faithful by September 2024 with a share of 57.1 percent of the surveyed population. Believers of a religion other than Catholicism accounted for approximately 3.3 percent of the Spanish population in 2024 according to the most recent data.
A Catholic majority, a practicing minority
Going to mass is no longer a thing in Spain, or so it would seem when looking at the latest statistics about the matter: over 50 percent of those who consider themselves Catholics almost never attend any religious service in September 2024. Since 2021, the figures only decreased in the past years, with 55.5 percent of the population never going to religious services in 2011 down to 50 percent in 2024.
The not so Catholic Spain
Around 38 percent of the surveyed population stated to be either non-believers or full atheists in 2024. Non-believers or people that do not have a religious faith fluctuated over the past years with the latest figures showing a 12.1 percent of people that categorize themselves as so. The share of Spanish atheists is on the rise according to the most recent surveys, taking up 15.5 percent of respondents in May 2024.
