Proportion of Catholics in Spain 2011-2023

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 17.8 percentage points of their faithful by July 2023 with a share of 52.9 percent of the surveyed population. Believers of a religion other than Catholicism accounted for approximately 2.4 percent of the Spanish population in 2023 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 45 percent of those who consider themselves Catholics almost never attend any religious service in July 2023. Since 2021, the figures only decreased in the past years, with 55.5 percent of the population never going to religious services in 2011 up to 45 percent in 2023. The share of population that stated to be practicing believers and go to mass every Sunday and on the most important holidays accounted for only 15.5 percent in 2023.

The not so Catholic Spain

Around 28.3 percent of the surveyed population stated to be either non-believers or full atheists in 2023. 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 16.3 percent of respondents in June 2023.