Most of Teruel Province has undergone massive depopulation since the middle of the 20th century. This situation is shared with other areas in Spain, particularly with those near the Iberian System (much of the provinces of
Soria,
Guadalajara and
Cuenca), and with other areas in
Aragon. The exodus from the rural mountain areas in Teruel rose after
Francisco Franco's in 1959. The population declined steeply as people migrated towards the industrial areas and large cities in Spain, leaving behind their small villages where living conditions were often harsh, with cold winters and very basic facilities. As a consequence there are many
ghost towns in different parts of the province. A great number of surviving towns in Teruel have only a residual population, reviving somewhat during the summer when a few city-dwellers spend their holidays there. Other causes of the strong emigration are the low productivity of traditional agricultural practices, like sheep and goat farming, the closing of mines, like the large Sierra Menera mine near
Ojos Negros, as well as the lifestyle changes that swept over rural Spain during the second half of the 20th century. The
Teruel Exists () movement began at the turn of the 21st century. It is a platform of provincial authorities, institutions and sympathizers seeking to reverse the long-standing neglect of the province.
Population development The historical population is given in the following chart: Colors= id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9) id:darkgrey value:gray(0.7) id:sfondo value:rgb(1,1,1) ImageSize = width:650 height:auto barincrement:30 PlotArea = left:40 bottom:40 top:20 right:20 DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:270 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal AlignBars = late ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:50 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:10 start:0 BackgroundColors = canvas:sfondo PlotData= color:skyblue width:20 shift:(-50,-5) fontsize:M anchor:till bar:1877 from:0 till:249 text:248,765 bar:1887 from:0 till:247 text:246,817 bar:1900 from:0 till:252 text:251,994 bar:1910 from:0 till:266 text:265,908 bar:1920 from:0 till:264 text:264,062 bar:1930 from:0 till:264 text:263,700 bar:1940 from:0 till:246 text:245,960 bar:1950 from:0 till:243 text:243,269 bar:1960 from:0 till:224 text:223,758 bar:1970 from:0 till:174 text:173,861 bar:1980 from:0 till:153 text:153,457 bar:1990 from:0 till:144 text:143,680 bar:2000 from:0 till:136 text:135,858 bar:2010 from:0 till:143 text:143,162 bar:2020 from:0 till:134 text:134,176 TextData= pos:(35,20) fontsize:M text:"Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadística, INE" == Comarcas ==