Castile and Leon
Castile and León shows 'emptied Spain': 18% population decline projected by 2050, but automotive plants produce 20% of Spanish cars from urban islands.
Castile and León embodies "emptied Spain"—the demographic collapse of interior regions as population concentrates on coasts and in Madrid. Spain's largest autonomous community (94,225 km², 18.6% of national territory) will lose 450,000 inhabitants by 2050 (18% of 2019 population). Already 26.9% are over 65 (vs 20.4% nationally), and 57% live in just 3.4% of the territory. Youth aged 15-29 account for 55% of outmigration—the highest share of any Spanish region.
Yet the automotive industry provides economic foundation where residents remain. Renault's two plants, plus Fiat-Iveco and Nissan facilities, produce 20% of Spain's cars and 15% of car exports; vehicles represent 34.1% of total regional exports. Valladolid's metropolitan area (430,000 inhabitants) concentrates automotive manufacturing alongside chemical production. Northern Valladolid, the "granary of Spain," produces barley, oats, and beets, while regional dairy output (1.5+ million liters annually) trails only Galicia.
GDP growth of 2.1% for 2025 (below Spain's 2.3%) masks structural divergence: Burgos, Salamanca, and Valladolid show dynamism while rural provinces empty. By 2026, GDP per capita could exceed 2019 levels by 9.3 percentage points (Spain: 4.5pp)—a statistic reflecting fewer people dividing regional output rather than prosperity's spread. Castile and León demonstrates how territorial scale without population density creates economies that serve urban islands within demographic deserts.