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Immigration to Spain
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<p><a href="/facts/Immigration/8vNxfBhT">Immigration</a> to <a href="/facts/Spain/bIyrB8EY">Spain</a> increased significantly at the beginning of the 21st century. In 1998, immigrants accounted for 1.6% of the population, and by 2009, that number had risen to over 12%. Until 2014, the number of immigrants decreased due to the <a href="/facts/Great_Recession/9LoVUhLf">economic crisis</a>, but since 2015, immigration to Spain has been on the rise, especially after 2021, reaching 19.11% of the population today. </p><p>As of 2025, there were 9,379,972 foreign-born people in Spain, making up to 19.11% of the population, including 5,308,314 (11.14%) born in a non-European country. Of these 6,852,348 (13.96%) did not have Spanish citizenship. This makes Spain the 4th country in Europe by immigration numbers and the <a href="/facts/List_of_sovereign_states_and_dependent_territories_by_immigrant_population/B07LKtAm">10th worldwide</a>. Spain attracts significant immigration from <a href="/facts/Latin_America/Qmx9Jx2a">Latin America</a> and <a href="/facts/Eastern_Europe/f5CDGzNA">Eastern Europe</a>. The fastest-growing immigrant groups in 2017 were <a href="/facts/Venezuelan/eX1qnkln">Venezuelans</a>, <a href="/facts/Colombians/4wJoLuEC">Colombians</a>, <a href="/facts/Italians/dsdUeJ1n">Italians</a>, <a href="/facts/Ukrainians/393lUkjj">Ukrainians</a>, and <a href="/facts/Argentines/aBjJqrlh">Argentines</a>. </p><p>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 in the 1960s when a mean year-on-year growth of 1% was experienced. In 2005 alone, the immigrant population of Spain increased by 700,000 people. </p><p>Spain accepted 478,990 new immigrant residents in just the first six months of 2022 alone. During these months, 220,443 people also emigrated from Spain, leaving a record-breaking net migration figure of 258,547. More women than men chose to move to Spain during 2022; this is due to higher rates of emigration from Latin America. </p>