Badajoz · Extremadura
Olivenza
A whitewashed town that feels Portuguese despite being Spanish since 1801 — locals say its women are 'daughters of Spain and granddaughters of Portugal.'
Living in Olivenza
Olivenza is a whitewashed border town of 12,000 southwest of Badajoz that still feels distinctly Portuguese, though it has been Spanish since 1801 — locals say its women are 'daughters of Spain and granddaughters of Portugal.' Its Manueline church and walled castle, with a museum holding a piece of a meteorite, mark the mixed heritage. Naturally it has a Portuguese community, though it's overwhelmingly Spanish overall. Summers are hot with highs around 35°C, winters mild near 10°C. It has a hospital about forty minutes away at Badajoz, which is also the nearest city and airport.
Olivenza's Spainability Scores — by who's moving
Not our opinion: we ran the same scoring engine behind the quiz for six settler profiles across all 8,132 municipalities. Each score is Olivenza's percentile for that group — 87 means it beats 87% of the towns we could score. How scoring works.
Higher than 57% of the 8,088 Spanish municipalities we could score for retiring couples.
A whitewashed town that feels Portuguese despite being Spanish since 1801 — locals say its women are 'daughters of Spain and granddaughters of Portugal.'. A strong pick for a retiring couple — 39 min to a hospital and a health centre close by.
- Winter average temp 10.4°C
- Drive to a hospital 39 min
- Surgical wait (region) 135 days
- Registered long-let rent €3.61/m²·mo
Higher than 51% of the 8,088 Spanish municipalities we could score for American retirees.
A whitewashed town that feels Portuguese despite being Spanish since 1801 — locals say its women are 'daughters of Spain and granddaughters of Portugal.'. A strong pick for American retirees — 39 min to a hospital and a health centre close by.
- Winter average temp 10.4°C
- Drive to a hospital 39 min
- U.S.-born residents 0.17 per 1,000
- Registered long-let rent €3.61/m²·mo
Higher than 25% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for remote workers.
A whitewashed town that feels Portuguese despite being Spanish since 1801 — locals say its women are 'daughters of Spain and granddaughters of Portugal.'. A strong pick for a remote-working couple — low cost of living (registered rent ~€3.61/m²·mo) and 11,775 people.
- 100 Mbps+ coverage 90%
- Drive to nearest airport 46 min
- Registered long-let rent €3.61/m²·mo
- Summer high (Jul–Aug) 35.6°C
Higher than 22% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for budget-first coastal settlers.
A whitewashed town that feels Portuguese despite being Spanish since 1801 — locals say its women are 'daughters of Spain and granddaughters of Portugal.'. A strong pick for coastal living on a budget — low cost of living (registered rent ~€3.61/m²·mo) and 11,775 people.
- Registered long-let rent €3.61/m²·mo
- Net income per person €10,854
- Summer high (Jul–Aug) 35.6°C
Higher than 19% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for families.
A whitewashed town that feels Portuguese despite being Spanish since 1801 — locals say its women are 'daughters of Spain and granddaughters of Portugal.'. A strong pick for a family with school-age kids — low cost of living (registered rent ~€3.61/m²·mo) and 11,775 people.
- Schools in town 4
- PISA maths (region) 469
- Registered long-let rent €3.61/m²·mo
- Drive to a hospital 39 min
Higher than 9% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for heat-averse settlers.
A whitewashed town that feels Portuguese despite being Spanish since 1801 — locals say its women are 'daughters of Spain and granddaughters of Portugal.'. A strong pick if you can't stand hot summers — low cost of living (registered rent ~€3.61/m²·mo) and 39 min to a hospital.
- Summer high (Jul–Aug) 35.6°C
- Rainy days a year 59 days
- Summer water stress (WEI+) 73
- Winter average temp 10.4°C
What is the climate like in Olivenza?
Olivenza's reported winter average is 10.4°C, while July–August highs reach 35.6°C.
Climate
- Winter average temp
- 10.4°C top 21% of 8,131 towns 2.6°C above the Spanish average (7.8°C)
- Summer high (Jul–Aug)
- 35.6°C bottom 2% of 8,131 towns 5.4°C above the Spanish average (30.2°C)
- Rainy days a year
- 59 days top 38% of 8,088 towns 14% less than the Spanish average (69 days)
- Sunshine
- no local data
- Summer water stress (WEI+) regional estimate
- 73 bottom 23% of 8,033 towns 17 above the Spanish average (56)
- River-flood depth (T=100, town centre) estimated
- 0 m top 1% of 8,129 towns 0.04 m below the Spanish average (0.04 m)
- River-flood risk score estimated
- 0 top 1% of 8,129 towns about the Spanish average (0)
- Wildfire burn rate (2010–23)
- 0.25 ha/km² bottom 34% of 8,132 towns 2.06 ha/km² below the Spanish average (2.31 ha/km²)
- Forest fires (2010–23)
- 15 bottom 7% of 8,132 towns 9 above the Spanish average (6)
- High fire-weather days (province) regional estimate
- 22.9% bottom 43% of 8,130 towns about the Spanish average (22.9%)
The year, month by month
AEMET 30-year climate normals — what a January or an August actually feels like, not the annual average.
How good is healthcare in Olivenza?
Olivenza's nearest health centre is 4.4 km away, and the reported hospital drive is 39 min.
Healthcare
- Drive to a hospital
- 39 min bottom 41% of 8,132 towns
- Nearest health centre
- 4.4 km top 23% of 8,132 towns
- Surgical wait (region) regional estimate
- 135 days #14 of 17 regions, +32 days vs national 25% more than the Spanish average (108 days)
What are schools like in Olivenza?
Olivenza has 4 schools in town; the nearest international school is 25 km away.
Schools
- Schools in town
- 4 top 15% of 7,042 towns
- Nearest international school
- 25 km top 28% of 8,132 towns
- PISA maths (region) regional estimate
- 469 #12 of 17 regions, −10 vs national 12 below the Spanish average (481)
How much does it cost to live in Olivenza?
Olivenza's reported asking price is €927/m².
Cost & economy
- Home price
- no local data
- Asking price
- €927/m² asking · Fotocasa Jun 2026 · small sample
- Registered long-let rent
- €3.61/m²·mo
- Registered rent p25
- €2.88/m²·mo
- Registered rent p75
- €4.67/m²·mo
- Registered-rent yield
- no reliable sale-price data — yield not imputed
- Net income per person
- €10,854 bottom 7% of 8,059 towns 25% less than the Spanish average (€14,495)
- Income growth ’18–’23
- 32.4% top 17% of 6,605 towns
Which languages are used in schools in Olivenza?
Spanish is the only region-wide official language in Extremadura, and Spanish-medium teaching is the public-school default. Individual bilingual and international programmes can use other languages, so check the specific school. See the Extremadura region guide for the wider regional context.
What is the community like in Olivenza?
Olivenza's reported population is 11,775.
Who lives here
- Population
- 11,775
- Born in Spain
- 94.9% 6.1% above the Spanish average (88.8%)
- Born elsewhere in EU/UK
- 1.8% 2.1% below the Spanish average (3.8%)
- U.S.-born residents
- 0.17 per 1,000
How easy is it to get around Olivenza?
Olivenza is a reported 46 min drive from the nearest airport, with 89% fibre-to-home coverage.
Getting around
- Drive to nearest airport
- 46 min top 21% of 8,132 towns
- Fibre-to-home coverage
- 89% bottom 48% of 8,132 towns 10% above the Spanish average (79%)
- 100 Mbps+ coverage
- 90% bottom 40% of 8,132 towns 7% above the Spanish average (83%)
Numbers: Spainability town dataset, derived from INE, AEMET, Mitma and the Catastro. Registered long-let rent is SERPAVI declared-contract data; its p25–p75 values show the observed band. Registered-rent yield is gross, excludes costs and is never imputed. Percentile chips count only the municipalities that report the figure — the "of n" says how many. Region-ranked figures (PISA, surgical waits) compare Spain's 17 comunidades autónomas. A blank means no municipal-level figure is published — not a zero.
How does Olivenza fit you?
These are the town's numbers. Whether it's your town depends on what you're optimising for — winter sun or mild summers, a city or a village, short medical waits, an easy flight home. The 3-minute quiz scores Olivenza against every one of Spain's 8,132 municipalities on your priorities. It sits about 50 min from Badajoz, if that's your anchor.
Take the quiz — rank Olivenza for you →Questions to verify locally
- Ask whether current long-let rents match the registered-contract figure.
- Ask what recent sales closed at; the published figure is asking price.
- Test fibre speed at the exact address, not the town average.
- Visit local schools and confirm places for incoming families.
- Confirm health-centre registration and opening hours in person.
Nearby towns
Other places we profile within easy reach.