depression, mass emigration to European and American countries due to economic and political motives (Republican exile). 1941. Approval of benefits for large families, with at least four children. 1945. Establishment of tax deductions for parents. 1952. End of rationing policies. 1975. End of the dictatorship, mass return of emigrated people. 1977. Legalization of contraception. Decline of birth rates. 1985. Legalization of abortion. 1988. After centuries of outwards emigration, the first events of illegal immigration from Africa occur. 1991. Spain becomes a net receiver of immigrants, after decades of mass emigration. 1994. Lowering of threshold of requirements to become a large family, only three children needed. 2007. Approval of €2,500 benefit for births. 2010. Legalization of elective abortion. 2011. Withdrawal of the €2,500 benefit for births. 2015. First negative natural change since the Civil War due to the aging of Spanish population. The population of Spain doubled during the twentieth century as a result of the demographic boom in the 1960s and early 1970s. After that time, the birth rate fell during the 1980s and Spain's population became stalled. Many demographers have linked Spain's very low fertility rate to the country's lack of a family support policy. Spain spends the least on family support out of all western European countries—0.5% of GDP. A graphic illustration of the enormous social gulf in this field is the fact that a Spanish family would need to have 57 children to enjoy the same financial support as a family with 3 children in Luxembourg. During the early 2000s, the mean year-on-year demographic growth set a new record with its 2003 peak variation of 2.1%, doubling the previous record reached back in the 1960s when a mean year-on-year growth of 1% was experienced. In 2005 alone, the immigrant population of Spain increased by 700,000 people. The arrival of migrating young adults was the main reason for the slight increase in Spain's fertility rate. From 2002 through 2008 the Spanish population grew by 8%, of which 7% were foreign. Population The following demographic statistics are from the World Population Review in 2019. One birth every minute One death every minute Net gain of one person every 131 minutes One net migrant every 13 minutes Note: Crude migration change (per 1000) is a trend analysis, an extrapolation based average population change (current year minus previous) minus natural change of the current year (see table vital statistics). As average