Ukrainians overtake Moroccans, Colombians nearly double and the British community shrinks: how Estepona’s population has changed since 2023

New figures from the town’s municipal register show Estepona has added almost 5,000 registered residents in three and a half years, and that foreign nationals now make up almost a third of the total. Estepona News has compared the latest breakdown with the last one we obtained, in March 2023.

Estepona’s population has grown from 79,985 to 84,935 since March 2023, an increase of 4,950 people, or 6.2 per cent, according to the town’s municipal register, the padrón. In March 2023 the town was just 15 people short of 80,000. It is now closing in on 85,000.

But the headline total hides a much more interesting story about who is arriving, who is staying and whose numbers are falling. Estepona News has compared the nationality breakdown of the register as it stood on 8 October 2026 with the equivalent figures from 13 March 2023. The comparison covers a period of three years and seven months.

A town that is getting more international

Of the 4,950 extra people on the register, 3,848 (78 per cent) hold a foreign nationality. The number of foreign nationals has risen from 23,844 to 27,692, a jump of 16.1 per cent. They now account for 32.6 per cent of everyone registered in Estepona, up from 29.8 per cent in March 2023.

Spanish nationals also increased, but far more modestly: from 56,141 to 57,243, a rise of 1,102 or 2.0 per cent. Their share of the total fell from 70.2 per cent to 67.4 per cent.

The register also lists more nationalities than before: 141 now, compared with 133 in 2023.

The British community: still the largest, but shrinking

The United Kingdom remains by far the biggest foreign community in Estepona, with 4,535 people registered. But that is 272 fewer than the 4,807 recorded in March 2023, a fall of 5.7 per cent.

Because the rest of the foreign population has grown, the British slice has shrunk noticeably. In 2023, one in five foreign nationals on the register (20.2 per cent) was British. Today it is closer to one in six (16.4 per cent).

The register does not record why people leave it, and the figures should be read with care. A fall in British numbers can reflect people moving away, but it can also reflect British residents taking Spanish nationality, which would move them into the Spanish column, or changes to the register itself, since some non-EU nationals have to renew their registration periodically or risk being removed. The decline also comes in the years following Brexit, which changed the rules on residency and on how long visitors can stay.

Ukraine moves into second place

The biggest shift among the larger communities is at the top of the table. Ukrainians have overtaken Moroccans to become the second-largest foreign group in Estepona.

The Ukrainian community has grown from 1,530 to 2,091 (up 561, or 36.7 per cent). The Moroccan community, long the second-largest, has grown only slightly, from 1,985 to 2,065 (up 80, or 4.0 per cent). Ukraine now leads by 26 people.

The growth follows Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The register does not record reasons for moving, but Ukrainians who fled the war have been able to settle in Spain under the EU’s temporary protection scheme, and the timing of the rise is consistent with that.

Russia: a community that has barely changed

One figure runs against the general impression locally of a growing Russian presence. The number of Russian nationals registered in Estepona has hardly moved: 1,404 in March 2023 and 1,426 now, an increase of just 22 people (1.6 per cent).

It means Russia has slipped from fourth to sixth place among foreign communities, overtaken by both Colombia and Italy. The gap between the Ukrainian and Russian communities has widened from 126 people in 2023 to 665 today.

Colombia: the biggest increase of any foreign nationality

The most dramatic climb belongs to Colombia. Its community has almost doubled, from 880 to 1,653 people (up 773, or 87.8 per cent). In March 2023 Colombians ranked ninth among the foreign communities, behind France and Germany. Today they are fourth, behind only the British, Ukrainians and Moroccans.

Colombia alone accounts for roughly one in five of the net increase in foreign nationals over the period.

It is part of a wider Latin American trend. Paraguay has grown from 436 to 701 (up 61 per cent), Venezuela from 337 to 444 (up 32 per cent) and Argentina from 599 to 680 (up 13.5 per cent). Together, those four nationalities added 1,226 people to the register.

Americans nearly double

The number of United States nationals has risen from 306 to 596, an increase of 290 or 94.8 per cent, the largest percentage rise of any community with more than 300 people in 2023. Americans are still a relatively small group, at 0.7 per cent of the register, but their numbers have almost doubled in three and a half years.

Northern and eastern Europe on the rise

Sweden has risen from 753 to 1,053 people (up 300, or 39.8 per cent), taking it from tenth to eighth place and ahead of both France and Germany. Other northern European communities have grown too: the Netherlands is up from 642 to 832 (up 29.6 per cent), Ireland from 374 to 498 (up 33.2 per cent) and Belgium from 565 to 652 (up 15.4 per cent).

Poland has grown by half, from 389 to 583. Lithuania (116 to 180) and Hungary (170 to 233) have also seen sizeable percentage rises, although from small bases.

Italians, the fifth-largest community, have grown from 1,321 to 1,466 (up 11 per cent). France is up slightly, from 907 to 954, while Germany is unchanged at 892.

Romania is the only other large community to have fallen alongside the UK. It has gone from 1,248 to 1,177, a drop of 71 or 5.7 per cent. Romania is now seventh on the list, having been sixth.

The top 10 foreign communities in Estepona

In October 2026 the ten largest foreign communities on the register are: United Kingdom (4,535), Ukraine (2,091), Morocco (2,065), Colombia (1,653), Italy (1,466), Russia (1,426), Romania (1,177), Sweden (1,053), France (954) and Germany (892).

In March 2023 the order was: United Kingdom (4,807), Morocco (1,985), Ukraine (1,530), Russia (1,404), Italy (1,321), Romania (1,248), France (907), Germany (892), Colombia (880) and Sweden (753).

What the figures do and do not show

The padrón records everyone who has registered their address with the town hall, whatever their immigration status. That makes it the most complete count of who lives in a municipality, but it is not a census. People who live in Estepona without registering are not counted, and some people remain registered after they have moved. Nationality is not the same as country of birth, so the figures do not capture naturalised Spaniards or children born in Spain to foreign parents.

Even so, the direction of travel is clear. Estepona is growing, it is becoming more international, and the mix of nationalities is shifting: fewer British, more Ukrainians, Colombians, Americans and Swedes, and a Russian community that has stayed almost exactly the same size.

The figures

People registered on the Estepona padrón by nationality, 13 March 2023 against 8 October 2026, for every nationality with more than 300 people in either year.

The 2023 total is the figure in the town hall’s own total row. The 2026 file had no total row, so 84,935 is the sum of its nationality rows.

Sources

• Estepona municipal register (padrón), population by nationality, spreadsheet supplied by the town hall dated 13 March 2023.
• Estepona municipal register (padrón), population by nationality, spreadsheet supplied by the town hall dated 8 October 2026.