The Spanish population during the twentieth century and beyond

Mapping of population change enables study of the demographic dynamics of a country, as the rate of change is one of the major variables affecting the society and development. In this study we mapped population change in Spain over the period 1900-2011. The resulting map provides a very useful tool for spatial planning because it shows the main patterns of the population. The map is highly detailed, representing municipalities at a scale of 1:3,200,000, and includes a series of seven provincial maps at a scale of 1:15,000,000. All are proportional symbol maps representing two real variables: population change (which is represented by color hue and lightness), and total population by size. The use of a comparable diverging color scheme to represent population change and volume, and a double-constriction system to represent population size, has resulted in development of an easily accessible map from a quite complicated process of design.