Immigration to Spain

Immigration to Spain by country (2008)

As of 2010, there were over 6 million foreign-born residents in Spain, corresponding to 14% of the total population. Of these, 4.1 million (8.9% of the total population) were born outside the European Union and 2.3 million (5.1%) were born in another EU Member State.^[1]

Because of its location in the Iberian Peninsula, the Canary islands and two exclaves in Northern Africa, the territory comprising modern Spain has always been at the crossroads of human migration, having harboured many waves of historical immigration. The Spanish Empire, one of the first global empires and one of the largest in the world, spanned all inhabited continents and throughout the years people from these lands emigrated to Spain in varying numbers.

In migration terms and after centuries of net emigration, Spain has recently experienced large-scale immigration for the first time in modern history. According to the Spanish government, there were 5,598,691 foreign residents in January 2010.^[2] Of these, well over one million and a half were from Latin America (especially from Ecuador, Colombia, Bolivia, Argentina and Brazil), three quarters of a million were Moroccan, while immigrants and expatriates from the European Union member states amounted more than two million (especially from Romania, United Kingdom, Germany, Italy and Bulgaria). Chinese are estimated to number 145,425, while South East Asian groups such as Filipinos—whose country was a former Spanish possession—created a small community in Spain. Immigrants from several sub-Saharan African countries have also settled in Spain as contract workers, although they represent only 4.08% of all the foreign residents in the country.

The population of Spain doubled during the 20th century due to the spectacular demographic boom in the 1960s and early 1970s. The birth rate then plunged by the 1980s, and Spain's population became stagnant, its demographics showing one of the lowest sub-replacement fertility rate in the world..

During the early 21st century, the average 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.^[3] This trend is far from being reversed at the present moment and, in 2005 alone, the immigrant population of Spain increased by 700,000 people.^[4]

Currently

According to the Spanish government, there were 5.6 million foreign residents in Spain in 2010; independent estimates put the figure 14% of total population (Red Cross, World Disasters Report 2006). According to the official 2011 census data, almost 800,000 were Romanian, 774,000 were Moroccan, 317,000 were Ecuadorian, 312,000 were British and 250,000 were Colombian . Other important foreign communities are Bolivian (4.1%), German (3.4%), Italian (3.1%), Bulgarian (2.9%), Chinese (2.6%) and Argentine (2.5%). In 2005, a regularization programme increased the legal immigrant population by 700,000 people. Since 2000 Spain has experienced high population growth as a result of immigration flows, despite a birth rate that is only half of the replacement level. This sudden and ongoing inflow of immigrants, particularly those arriving clandestinely by sea, has caused noticeable social tensions.

According to Eurostat, in 2010, there were 6.4 million foreign-born residents in Spain, corresponding to 14.0% of the total population. Of these, 4.1 million (8.9%) were born outside the EU and 2.3 million (5.1%) were born in another EU Member State.^[7]

As of 2005 Spain had the second highest immigration rates within the EU, just after Cyprus, and the second highest absolute net migration in the World (after the USA).^[8] This can be explained by a number of reasons including its geographical position, the porosity of its borders, the large size of its underground economy and the strength of the agricultural and construction sectors which demand more low cost labour than can be offered by the national workforce. In fact, booming Spain was Europe's largest absorber of migrants from 2002 to 2007, with its immigrant population more than doubling as 2.5 million people arrived.

Over 920,000 immigrants arrived in Spain during 2007, on top of the 802,971 new arrivals in 2006, 682,711 new arrivals in 2005, and 645,844 new arrivals in 2004.^[9]

Impact of immigration on the Spanish population pyramid

Although the number of immigrants in Spain, officially, is smaller than that of other countries in the EU, the following data should be taken into consideration:

• Immigrants from countries belonging to the former Spanish Empire (mainly in Central and South America–Latin America–, Asia–the Philippines– and Africa–Equatorial Guinea and Western Sahara–) can obtain Spanish nationality after legal and continuous residence of 2 years in Spain, after which naturalized citizens are no longer counted as immigrants.

• In order to avoid statelessness, Spain automatically grants Spanish nationality to the children of immigrants born in Spain whose parents' nationality of origin is not transferred jus sanguinis upon their child's birth abroad. Unlike other countries of the EU that do not do it. It is for this reason that although the Latin American immigrants of origin are most numerous, the Romanians or the Moroccans surpassed them in the official statistics.

In the same way the majority of children born in Spain between 2000 and 2010 are children of immigrants despite not counting as such. Considering these data, there are sectors of Spanish society who oppose immigration that affirm the real number of immigrants in Spain is 10–11 million, or about 25% of the total population.

As for other nationalities than Spanish speaking, in order to stay in Spain for more than 3 months, it's required a residence card, residence visa or work permit.^[10]

Immigrants from the European Union

Immigrants from the European Union make up a growing proportion of immigrants in Spain. The main countries of origin are Romania, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, and Bulgaria.

The British authorities estimate that the real population of UK citizens living in Spain is much bigger than Spanish official figures suggest, establishing them at about 1,000,000, about 800,000 being permanent residents.^[11] Of these, according to the BBC and contrary to popular belief, only about 21.5% are over the age of 65.^[12]

In fact, according to the Financial Times, Spain is the most favoured destination for West Europeans considering to move from their own country and seek jobs elsewhere in the EU.^[13]

Major immigration

European Union member states are indicated with the EU flag in regional European sub-divisions.

Origin	2014	2011	2007	2006	2001	Growth 2001–2011	% Change	Article
Romania	7005730340000000000♠730,340	7005798104000000000♠798,104	7005527019000000000♠527,019	7005407159000000000♠407,159	7004316410000000000♠31,641	7005766463000000000♠766,463	+2,522%	Romanians in Spain
Morocco	7005714221000000000♠714,221	7005769920000000000♠769,920	7005582923000000000♠582,923	7005563012000000000♠563,012	7005233415000000000♠233,415	7005536505000000000♠536,505	+230%	Moroccans in Spain
United Kingdom	7005311774000000000♠311,774	7005390880000000000♠390,880	7005314951000000000♠314,951	7005274722000000000♠274,722	7005107326000000000♠107,326	7005283554000000000♠283,554	+264%	British migration to Spain
Ecuador	7005212970000000000♠212,970	7005359076000000000♠359,076	7005427099000000000♠427,099	7005461310000000000♠461,310	7005139022000000000♠139,022	7005220054000000000♠220,054	+158%	Ecuadorians in Spain
Colombia	7005172368000000000♠172,368	7005271773000000000♠271,773	7005261542000000000♠261,542	7005265141000000000♠265,141	7004872090000000000♠87,209	7005184564000000000♠184,564	+212%	Colombians in Spain
Bolivia	7005126421000000000♠126,421	7005197895000000000♠197,895	7005200496000000000♠200,496	7005139802000000000♠139,802	7003661900000000000♠6,619	7005191276000000000♠191,276	+2,890%	-
Germany	7005149522000000000♠149,522	7005195842000000000♠195,842	7005164405000000000♠164,405	7005150490000000000♠150,490	7004992170000000000♠99,217	7004966250000000000♠96,625	+97%	-
Italy	7005182249000000000♠182,249	7005187847000000000♠187,847	7005135108000000000♠135,108	7005115791000000000♠115,791	7004346890000000000♠34,689	7005153158000000000♠153,158	+441%	-
Bulgaria	7005140206000000000♠140,206	7005172634000000000♠172,634	7005122057000000000♠122,057	7005101617000000000♠101,617	7004120350000000000♠12,035	7005160599000000000♠160,599	+1,334%	Bulgarians in Spain
China	7005164555000000000♠164,555	7005166223000000000♠166,223	7005106652000000000♠106,652	7005104681000000000♠104,681	7004275740000000000♠27,574	7005138649000000000♠138,649	+503%	Chinese people in Spain
Portugal	7005109568000000000♠109,568	7005140706000000000♠140,706	7005100616000000000♠100,616	7004806350000000000♠80,635	7004470640000000000♠47,064	7004936420000000000♠93,642	+199%	-
Peru	7004835830000000000♠83,583	7005131886000000000♠131,886	7005103650000000000♠103,650	7004959030000000000♠95,903	7004349750000000000♠34,975	7004969110000000000♠96,911	+277%	Peruvians in Spain
France	7005100448000000000♠100,448	7005122385000000000♠122,385	7005100408000000000♠100,408	7004900210000000000♠90,021	7004515820000000000♠51,582	7004708030000000000♠70,803	+137%	-
Argentina	7004809100000000000♠80,910	7005120012000000000♠120,012	7005141159000000000♠141,159	7005150252000000000♠150,252	7004324290000000000♠32,429	7004875830000000000♠87,583	+270%	Argentines in Spain
Brazil	7004633650000000000♠63,365	7005106908000000000♠106,908	7004901610000000000♠90,161	7004724410000000000♠72,441	7004170780000000000♠17,078	7004898300000000000♠89,830	+526%	-
Dominican Republic	7004772800000000000♠77,280	7004906120000000000♠90,612	7004651190000000000♠65,119	7004610710000000000♠61,071	7004311530000000000♠31,153	7004594590000000000♠59,459	+191%	-
Paraguay	7004555240000000000♠55,524	7004874060000000000♠87,406	7004462380000000000♠46,238	7004285870000000000♠28,587	7002928000000000000♠928	7004864780000000000♠86,478	+9,319%	Paraguayans in Spain
Ukraine	7004816250000000000♠81,625	7004859130000000000♠85,913	7004699830000000000♠69,983	7004698930000000000♠69,893	7004103180000000000♠10,318	7004755950000000000♠75,595	+733%	-
Poland	7004706060000000000♠70,606	7004858620000000000♠85,862	7004614640000000000♠61,464	7004457970000000000♠45,797	7004134690000000000♠13,469	7004723930000000000♠72,393	+537%	Poles in Spain
Pakistan	7004554520000000000♠55,452	7004698410000000000♠69,841	7004421050000000000♠42,105	7004421380000000000♠42,138	7003827400000000000♠8,274	7004615670000000000♠61,567	+744%	Pakistanis in Spain
Senegal	7004510460000000000♠51,046	7004632480000000000♠63,248	7004369550000000000♠36,955	7004350790000000000♠35,079	7004106270000000000♠10,627	7004526210000000000♠52,621	+495%	-
Algeria	7004562820000000000♠56,282	7004605380000000000♠60,538	7004458130000000000♠45,813	7004470790000000000♠47,079	7004182650000000000♠18,265	7004422730000000000♠42,273	+231%	-
Venezuela	7004442900000000000♠44,290	7004594530000000000♠59,453	7004514810000000000♠51,481	7004512610000000000♠51,261	7004165490000000000♠16,549	7004429040000000000♠42,904	+259%	Venezuelans in Spain
Netherlands	7004469140000000000♠46,914	7004544240000000000♠54,424	7004443980000000000♠44,398	7004394840000000000♠39,484	7004231460000000000♠23,146	7004312780000000000♠31,278	+135%	-
Cuba	7004499920000000000♠49,992	7004544060000000000♠54,406	7004456980000000000♠45,698	7004447390000000000♠44,739	7004245340000000000♠24,534	7004298720000000000♠29,872	+122%	-
Philippines	7004300790000000000♠30,079	-	7004543850000000000♠54,385	7004513680000000000♠51,368	-	7003301700000000000♠3,017	-	Filipinos in Spain
Russia	7004624520000000000♠62,452	7004528320000000000♠52,832	7004397980000000000♠39,798	7004399040000000000♠39,904	7004100470000000000♠10,047	7004427850000000000♠42,785	+426%	Russians in Spain
Nigeria	7004385460000000000♠38,546	7004448700000000000♠44,870	7004321190000000000♠32,119	7004315880000000000♠31,588	7003759800000000000♠7,598	7004372720000000000♠37,272	+490%	-
Uruguay	7004284370000000000♠28,437	7004425810000000000♠42,581	7004460690000000000♠46,069	7004455080000000000♠45,508	7003682800000000000♠6,828	7004357530000000000♠35,753	+524%	Uruguayans in Spain
Chile	7004270640000000000♠27,064	7004417120000000000♠41,712	7004408440000000000♠40,844	7004397040000000000♠39,704	7004116740000000000♠11,674	7004300380000000000♠30,038	+257%	-
Belgium	7004311280000000000♠31,128	7004358760000000000♠35,876	7004314120000000000♠31,412	7004295260000000000♠29,526	7004198690000000000♠19,869	7004160070000000000♠16,007	+80%	-
TOTAL	7006467602200000000♠4,676,022	7006573066700000000♠5,730,667	7006451955400000000♠4,519,554	7006414416600000000♠4,144,166	7006137065700000000♠1,370,657	7006436001000000000♠4,360,010	+318%

• (2007dates)
• 2011: INE
• (2013dates)

From other countries – Europe

European Union member states are indicated with the EU flag in regional European sub-divisions.

Origin	2007	2006
Albania	7003135300000000000♠1,353	7003131600000000000♠1,316
Andorra	7003102200000000000♠1,022	7003107500000000000♠1,075
Austria	7003865100000000000♠8,651	7003777600000000000♠7,776
Belarus	7003313500000000000♠3,135	7003326200000000000♠3,262
Bosnia and Herzegovina	7003165900000000000♠1,659	7003182700000000000♠1,827
Croatia	7003164900000000000♠1,649	7003178800000000000♠1,788
Cyprus	7002146000000000000♠146	7002130000000000000♠130
Czech Republic	7003642300000000000♠6,423	7003516000000000000♠5,160
Denmark	7004109060000000000♠10,906	7003997700000000000♠9,977
Estonia	7002984000000000000♠984	7002784000000000000♠784
Finland	7003999000000000000♠9,990	7003931300000000000♠9,313
Greece	7003356700000000000♠3,567	7003302700000000000♠3,027
Hungary	7003459700000000000♠4,597	7003334400000000000♠3,344
Iceland	7003108300000000000♠1,083	7002920000000000000♠920
Ireland	7004132790000000000♠13,279	7004114950000000000♠11,495
Latvia	7003212800000000000♠2,128	7003174100000000000♠1,741
Liechtenstein	7001480000000000000♠48	7002117000000000000♠117
Lithuania	7004185280000000000♠18,528	7004152000000000000♠15,200
Luxembourg	7002562000000000000♠562	7003133600000000000♠1,336
Macedonia	7002407000000000000♠407	7002440000000000000♠440
Malta	7002152000000000000♠152	7002129000000000000♠129
Moldova	7004128010000000000♠12,801	7004113300000000000♠11,330
Norway	7004156300000000000♠15,630	7004141540000000000♠14,154
Serbia	7003313300000000000♠3,133	7003347400000000000♠3,474
Slovakia	7003599900000000000♠5,999	7003451500000000000♠4,515
Slovenia	7002799000000000000♠799	7002619000000000000♠619
Sweden	7004200580000000000♠20,058	7004180960000000000♠18,096
Switzerland	7004163610000000000♠16,361	7004153850000000000♠15,385
Rest of European countries	7001660000000000000♠66	7001830000000000000♠83
TOTAL EUROPE	7006189572700000000♠1,895,727	7006160985600000000♠1,609,856

From other countries – Africa

Origin	2007	2006	Article
Angola	7003211400000000000♠2,114	7003369800000000000♠3,698
Cape Verde	7003299800000000000♠2,998	7003361100000000000♠3,611
Cameroon	7003402900000000000♠4,029	7003395500000000000♠3,955
Republic of the Congo	7003180100000000000♠1,801	7003188800000000000♠1,888
Ivory Coast	7003163600000000000♠1,636	7003175900000000000♠1,759
Egypt	7003256600000000000♠2,566	7003363400000000000♠3,634	Egyptians in Spain
Gambia	7004173930000000000♠17,393	7004136270000000000♠13,627
Ghana	7004126990000000000♠12,699	7004131330000000000♠13,133
Guinea	7003915900000000000♠9,159	7003990100000000000♠9,901
Equatorial Guinea	7004131290000000000♠13,129	7004194560000000000♠19,456	Spanish Equatoguineans
Guinea-Bissau	7003522900000000000♠5,229	7003527400000000000♠5,274
Liberia	7002581000000000000♠581	7003116700000000000♠1,167
Mali	7004170940000000000♠17,094	7004144970000000000♠14,497
Mauritania	7003927100000000000♠9,271	7003930800000000000♠9,308
DR Congo	7003100800000000000♠1,008	7003154800000000000♠1,548
Sierra Leone	7002989000000000000♠989	7003148700000000000♠1,487
South Africa	7002704000000000000♠704	7003208600000000000♠2,086
Tunisia	7003154400000000000♠1,544	7003219400000000000♠2,194	Tunisians in Spain
Rest of African countries	7003504100000000000♠5,041	7003867900000000000♠8,679
TOTAL	7002806795000000000♠806.795

• Source:

From other countries – Central America

Origin	2007	2006
Costa Rica	7003132000000000000♠1,320	7003237300000000000♠2,373
El Salvador	7003379500000000000♠3,795	7003510200000000000♠5,102
Guatemala	7003241700000000000♠2,417	7003432100000000000♠4,321
Honduras	7004142530000000000♠14,253	7004106520000000000♠10,652
Nicaragua	7003454700000000000♠4,547	7003420400000000000♠4,204
Panama	7003179400000000000♠1,794	7003352000000000000♠3,520
Rest of Central America countries	7003100200000000000♠1,002	7003251700000000000♠2,517
TOTAL	7002139945000000000♠139.945

From other countries – North America

Origin	2007	2006
Canada	7003241900000000000♠2,419	7003542000000000000♠5,420
United States	7004220820000000000♠22,082	7004326260000000000♠32,626
Mexico	7004211070000000000♠21,107	7004405740000000000♠40,574
TOTAL	7001456080000000000♠45.608

From other countries – Asia

Origin	2007	2006	Article
Armenia	7003958200000000000♠9,582	7003936500000000000♠9,365	Armenians in Spain
Georgia	7003735500000000000♠7,355	7003628400000000000♠6,284
Philippines	7004543850000000000♠54,385	7004513680000000000♠51,368	Filipinos in Spain
South Korea	7004224650000000000♠22,465	7004131440000000000♠13,144	Koreans in Spain
India	7004212960000000000♠21,296	7004232960000000000♠23,296
Bangladesh	7003648000000000000♠6,480	7003613000000000000♠6,130
Iran	7004123340000000000♠12,334	7003456800000000000♠4,568	Iranians in Spain
Iraq	7002880000000000000♠880	7003170600000000000♠1,706	Iraqi people in Spain
Israel	7003171300000000000♠1,713	7003242700000000000♠2,427
Japan	7004116360000000000♠11,636	7003768400000000000♠7,684	Japanese Spaniards
Jordan	7003108800000000000♠1,088	7003208200000000000♠2,082	Jordanian people in Spain
Lebanon	7003625000000000000♠6,250	7003275000000000000♠2,750	Lebanese people in Spain
Syria	7003612900000000000♠6,129	7003457500000000000♠4,575	Syrian people in Spain
Turkey	7003175800000000000♠1,758	7003165600000000000♠1,656	Turks in Spain
Rest of Asian countries	7003643000000000000♠6,430	7003251700000000000♠2,517
TOTAL	7002219843000000000♠219.843

From other countries – Oceania

Origin	2007	2006
Australia	7003145500000000000♠1,455	7003513100000000000♠5,131
New Zealand	7002301000000000000♠301	7002298000000000000♠298
Rest of Oceanian countries	7002494000000000000♠494	7003109900000000000♠1,099
TOTAL	7000227100000000000♠2.271

Comparison with other countries from European Union

According to Eurostat 47.3 million people lived in the European Union in 2010 who were born outside their resident country. This corresponds to 9.4% of the total EU population. Of these, 31.4 million (6.3%) were born outside the EU and 16.0 million (3.2%) were born in another EU member state. The largest absolute numbers of people born outside the EU were in Germany (6.4 million), France (5.1 million), the United Kingdom (4.7 million), Spain (4.1 million), Italy (3.2 million), and the Netherlands (1.4 million).^[14]

Irregular migration

Irregular migration to Spain is the act of foreign nationals entering Spain, without government permission and in violation of the given nationality law, or staying beyond the termination date of a visa, also in violation of the law.

In order to deal with the overwhelming numbers of illegal immigrants the government has initiated an amnesty in 2005 to reduce the problem. Some critics believe this will only encourage Chain migration.^{[15][16][17][18]}

See also

• Immigration to Europe
• List of countries by immigrant population
• List of sovereign states and dependent territories by fertility rate

References

External links

• ASESER Teranga: Asociación de Inmigrantes Senegaleses Residentes en A Coruña

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Immigration to Spain.