Marbella is close to 167,000 inhabitants and is the seventh most populated in Andalusia.

The City Council of Marbella closed last year with 166,999 residents registered in the municipal register - making it the seventh "most populated city in Andalusia" - compared to the 159,000 recorded by the National Institute of Statistics (INE), which represents a loss of 2.5 million euros in Participation in State Revenues (PIE), as highlighted this Tuesday by the municipal spokesperson, Félix Romero.

This was announced by the municipal official after the Government Board meeting, where the municipal register data at the end of the year were reported, highlighting the "sustained growth" that the city has experienced in recent years.

Romero noted that as of December 31, 2024, the number of people registered in the municipal register was 166,999 residents, compared to the 159,000 recorded by the National Institute of Statistics (INE).

As he explained, this difference in population figures between one record and another is due to the fact that the INE does not count certain cases where there may be an "administrative defect," which he described as an "unfair situation" since the City Council has to provide services to this population.

In this regard, he pointed out that the City Council will request the INE in March to recognize these 7,999 residents registered in the register that are not included by the national body, according to the period established by state law, with the aim of "being able to receive the Participations in State Revenues (PIE) that correspond to us," which are "the amounts that the State contributes to guarantee services."

The councilor noted that Marbella is entitled to 314.31 euros per year for each "resident of right," estimating that the municipality will miss out on 2.5 million euros based on the population recognized by the state institute, with a difference of almost 8,000 fewer people.

“We will again request that our register statistics be taken into account, since our received state revenues for ensuring public services depend on it,” Romero indicated, lamenting that the forecast is that “the body will again make a lower estimate like last year, which reduced our figure by almost 4,000 people.”

Population Growth

The municipal spokesperson highlighted that the register has seen a growth of "approximately 3,500 people" compared to the number registered as of December 31, 2023. “The city is constantly growing and is the seventh most populated in Andalusia,” he mentioned.

According to Romero, this is because “the tourism industry demands more users and more labor,” while he emphasized that the population data has been increasing continuously for 11 years.

On the other hand, Romero referred to the “floating population” that exists in the municipality, mainly during the summer months, indicating that there are studies that place it at "almost 250,000 inhabitants," based on water consumption and garbage collection data.