---
title: "Spain vs United Kingdom — area, population, currency"
description: "Spain is 505,370 km² with 49,355,143 people; United Kingdom is 243,610 km² with 69,487,000. Area, density, currency, languages and time zones side by side."
url: https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/spain-vs-united-kingdom/
site: "At One Place"
---

# Spain vs United Kingdom

**Spain vs United Kingdom: Spain is larger; United Kingdom has more people**

505,370 km² vs 243,610 km² · 49,355,143 vs 69,487,000

Spain is 2.1 times larger than United Kingdom — 505,370 against 243,610 km². United Kingdom is 1.4 times more populous than Spain — 69,487,000 against 49,355,143 people.

## Side by side

|  | Spain | United Kingdom |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Capital | Madrid | London |
| Area | 505,370 km² | 243,610 km² |
| Population | 49,355,143 (2025) | 69,487,000 (2025) |
| Density | 97.7 /km² | 285.2 /km² |
| Currency | Euro (EUR) | British pound (GBP) |
| Official languages | Spanish | English |
| Time zones | UTC+00:00, UTC+01:00 | UTC+00:00 |
| Calling code | +34 | +44 |
| Drives on the | right | left |
| Continent | Europe | Europe |
| ISO codes | ES / ESP | GB / GBR |

## Population density

United Kingdom is 2.9 times more densely populated than Spain — 285 against 98 people per km². Density is where area and population interact, and it often reverses the impression the headline figures give — a large country with a small population can feel emptier than a small crowded one by an enormous margin.

## Practical differences

- They drive on opposite sides — Spain on the right, United Kingdom on the left.
- Different currencies: the Euro and the British pound.
- Spain spans 2 time zones, so "local time" there is not a single answer.

## Spain

After Switzerland, Spain is the most mountainous country in Europe, with an average elevation around 650 m. The Canary Islands sit off Africa, which is why part of Spain is on a different time zone and why Teide, at 3,715 m, is the country's highest point. Spain has more olive trees than any other country, around 340 million.

## United Kingdom

Made up of Great Britain, the north-east of Ireland and around 6,000 smaller islands. No point in the UK is more than about 113 km from the sea. Ben Nevis, the highest point, is 1,345 m, which is modest — but the country has around 31,000 km of coastline once every inlet is counted.

> Neutral facts only. Nothing here addresses politics, government, economics or which country is preferable in any respect — population is the one figure that dates, and it carries its year.

## Common questions

### Is Spain bigger than United Kingdom?

Spain is larger — 505,370 km² against 243,610 km².

### Which has more people, Spain or United Kingdom?

United Kingdom, with 69,487,000 against 49,355,143.

### What is the time difference between Spain and United Kingdom?

Spain is UTC+00:00, UTC+01:00 and United Kingdom is UTC+00:00. Daylight saving shifts the gap during the year in places that observe it.

## Related pages

- [Spain](https://atoneplace.net/country/spain/)
- [United Kingdom](https://atoneplace.net/country/united-kingdom/)
- [India vs United Kingdom](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/india-vs-united-kingdom/)
- [India vs Spain](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/india-vs-spain/)
- [China vs United Kingdom](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/china-vs-united-kingdom/)
- [China vs Spain](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/china-vs-spain/)
- [United Kingdom vs United States](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/united-kingdom-vs-united-states/)
- [United Kingdom vs Vietnam](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/united-kingdom-vs-vietnam/)
- [United Kingdom vs Vatican City](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/united-kingdom-vs-vatican-city/)
- [United Kingdom vs Venezuela](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/united-kingdom-vs-venezuela/)
- [Japan vs United Kingdom](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/japan-vs-united-kingdom/)
- [Japan vs Spain](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/japan-vs-spain/)
- [Canada vs United Kingdom](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/canada-vs-united-kingdom/)
- [Canada vs Spain](https://atoneplace.net/country-vs/canada-vs-spain/)

## Sources

- The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency (https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/) [Public domain (US Government)]
- World Bank Open Data — The World Bank (https://data.worldbank.org/) [CC BY 4.0]