Absolute abundance data of planktonic foraminifera of sediment core MD95-2042 (3146 m water depth) off the Western Iberian margin for the past 60 ka. Counts were performed within the coarse sedimentary fraction (>150 µm) and a minimum of 300 specimens were counted per sample. Harmonized taxonomy follows Siccha and Kucera (2017). Age (ka) is based on Chabaud et al., 2014, The Holocene and Sanchez Goñi et al., 2013 Nature Geoscience.