Immigration in Spain by country
The population of Spain doubled during the twentieth 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, only second to Japan's. . Many demographers have linked
Spain's very low fertility rate to the country's lack of any real
family planning policy. Spain is the Western European country that
spends the least on family support (0.5% of GDP). A graphic
illustration of the enormous social gulf between Spain and the
other countries of Europe 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.
In emigration/immigration 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 4,145,000 foreign residents in Spain in
January 2007.
Of these, well over half a million were
Moroccan
while
the Ecuadorians
figure was
around half a million as well. Romanian and
Colombian populations amounted to around
300,000 each.
There are also a significant number of
British (274,000 as of 2006) and German (133,588) citizens, mainly
in Alicante
, Málaga
provinces, Balearic
Islands
and
Canary Islands
.
Chinese in Spain are estimated to
number between 10 to 60,000, and
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.
During the early twenty first 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. 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.
Currently
| Foreign
population in SpainFuente: para los años
1981, 1986 y 1991, los datos se refieren tan sólo a extranjeros con
permiso de residencia a 31 de diciembre y proceden del Ministerio
de Trabajo y Asuntos Sociales, citado en [464104] (tomando, para el porcentaje de 1986,
la población española de hecho según la estimación intercensal del
INE para el 1 de julio [464105]). Para los datos de 1996 y
posteriores, todos los datos proceden del INE
[464106] |
| Year |
Population |
% total |
| 1981 |
198.042 |
0,52% |
| 1986 |
241.971 |
0,63% |
| 1991 |
360.655 |
0,91% |
| 1996 |
542.314 |
1,37% |
| 1998 |
637.085 |
1,60% |
| 2000 |
923.879 |
2,28% |
| 2001 |
1.370.657 |
3,33% |
| 2002 |
1.977.946 |
4,73% |
| 2003 |
2.664.168 |
6,24% |
| 2004 |
3.034.326 |
7,02% |
| 2005 |
3.730.610 |
8,46% |
| 2006 |
4.144.166 |
9,27% |
| 2007 |
4.519.554 |
9,99% |
| 2008 |
5.220.600 |
11,3% |
|
According to the Spanish government, there were 4.5 million foreign
residents in Spain in 2007; independent estimates put the figure at
4.8 million or 15.1% of total population (Red Cross, World
Disasters Report 2006). According to residence permit data for
2007, around 500,000 were Moroccan, another half a million were
Ecuadorian and Romanians, 260,000 were Colombian. Other important
foreign communities are British (8.09%), French (8.03%), Argentine
(6.10%), German (5.58%) and Bolivian (2.63%). 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.
Spain
currently has the second highest immigration rates within the EU,
just after Cyprus
, and the
second highest absolute net migration in the World (after the
USA). This can be explained by a number of reasons including
its geographical position, the porosity of its borders, the large
size of its submerged 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.
Immigrants from the European Union
Immigrants from the European Union make up a growing proportion of
immigrants in Spain. They mainly come from countries like Romania,
the United Kingdom, and Germany, but the British case is of
especial relevance due to its magnitude. 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.
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.
Major immigration
From other countries - Europe
| Origin |
2007 |
2006 |
2001 |
Growth |
% Change |
|
|
|
|
|
– |
|
|
|
|
|
– |
|
|
|
|
|
– |
|
|
|
|
|
– |
|
|
|
|
|
– |
|
|
|
|
|
– |
|
|
|
|
|
– |
|
|
|
|
|
– |
|
|
|
|
|
– |
|
|
|
|
|
– |
|
|
|
|
|
– |
|
|
|
|
|
– |
|
|
|
|
|
– |
|
|
|
|
|
– |
|
|
|
|
|
– |
|
|
|
|
|
– |
|
|
|
|
|
– |
|
|
|
|
|
– |
|
|
|
|
|
– |
|
|
|
|
|
– |
|
|
|
|
|
– |
|
|
|
|
|
– |
|
|
|
|
|
– |
|
|
|
|
|
– |
|
|
|
|
|
– |
|
|
|
|
|
|
– |
|
|
|
|
|
– |
|
|
|
|
|
– |
|
|
|
|
|
– |
|
|
|
|
|
– |
|
|
|
|
|
– |
|
|
|
|
|
– |
| TOTAL
EUROPE |
|
|
|
|
– |
|
From other countries - Africa
From other countries - Central America
From other countries - North America
From other countries - Asia
From other countries - Oceania
References
- Official report on Spanish recent Macroeconomics,
including data and comments on immigration
- Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadística. Evolution
of the foreign population in Spain since 1998 [1]
- Eurostat - Population in Europe in 2005
- [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]
- [9]
External links
Wikis
Quiz
Map
Search
