Spain Welcomes Half-Million New Foreign Residents
Spain News
Published: 12 September 2023 13:56 CET
Spain's population increased by half a million people from July 2022 to July 2023. The growth was primarily driven by families of foreign nationalities, accounting for 97.48 percent of the total growth.
According to the Continuous Population Survey (ECP) conducted by the National Institute of Statistics (INE), Spain's population grew by 537,611 individuals during this period. Of this increase, 524,087 were foreign citizens, while only 13,524 were Spanish nationals.
These figures indicate that the foreign population in Spain now stands at 6.34 million, making up 13.1 percent of the total population. Spanish citizens still constitute the majority, with over 42 million people, comprising 86.9 percent of the entire Spanish population.
Over the past year, the foreign-born population has experienced growth across all provinces and autonomous cities in Spain, with particularly notable increases in A Coruña (16.7 percent), Lugo (15.44 percent), and Asturias (15.11 percent).
Based on the ECP survey, the foreign-born population played a significant role in population growth in 24 out of the 32 provinces, where the Spanish-born population saw a decline. The foreign population contributed notably to the demographic boost in some provinces, such as Valencia (98.1 percent of the total increase), Barcelona (96.84 percent), Seville (96.48 percent), and Lleida (96 percent).
As of July 2023, the provinces with the highest percentage of foreign nationals in their population were:
- Alicante with 22.9 percent
- Almeria with 22.4 percent
- Girona with 21.8 percent
Conversely, the provinces with the lowest percentage of foreign nationals in their population were Jaén (3.4 percent), Córdoba (3.5 percent), and Badajoz (3.8 percent).
INE data also revealed that Spain has been experiencing negative natural growth since 2017, with more deaths than births. Additionally, the monthly number of births for the first half of 2023 reached its lowest point in the last eight years, totaling 155,629 births, reflecting a 2.5 percent decrease compared to the previous year.
Furthermore, in 2022, Spain's population became the sixth oldest in the European Union, with an average age of 45.1 years. Over the past decade, Spain has witnessed a noticeable aging process, with the average age increasing by 4.3 years. This aging trend is second only to Portugal within the European Union, according to Eurostat, the European Office for Statistics.
Additionally, population projections provided by the INE suggest that Spain is expected to experience a net population increase of approximately 5.6 million due to migration by the year 2036.
Source
https://www.schengenvisainfo.com/news/spanish-population-grows-by-over-half-million-foreigners-only-13-5k-spaniards/
