Spain is among the European Union (EU) countries with the highest proportion of foreign-born residents, according to an analysis carried out by Funcas in the latest ‘Focus on Spanish Society’.
The analysis centre dedicated to economic and social research has detailed that, in 2023, the percentage of foreign-born population in the European Union countries as a whole amounted to 13.3%, according to Eurostat data.
For its part, Spain had 17.1% of foreign-born residents in 2023, close to countries such as Sweden (20.4%) and Germany (19.5%), and ahead of France (13.1%) and the other southern European countries: Portugal (16.1%), Greece (11.3%) and Italy (10.9%).
According to data from the Continuous Population Statistics, analysed by Funcas in the latest Focus on Spanish Society, January 2024 will see the highest recorded number of foreign-born residents in Spain, 8.8 million people and 18.1% of the population, one percentage point more than in 2023.
By autonomous communities, the highest percentages correspond to the Balearics (27%), Catalonia and Madrid (24%), Melilla (23%), the Valencian Community and the Canary Islands (both 22%).
The regions with the lowest percentages are Extremadura (6%), Asturias (10%), Castilla y León and Galicia (11%).
Among people of foreign origin resident in Spain, approximately four out of every ten (42%) are between 25 and 49 years of age, a bracket which, within the working age group, concentrates the bulk of the active population of any society.
In this respect, Funcas highlighted that this figure places Spain among the European countries with the highest proportion of foreign-born people aged between 25 and 49 (out of the total foreign-born population), above the European average (37%), although below Denmark (44%), the Czech Republic (46%) and Finland (49%).
It has also highlighted that in regions with more immigrants, such as Catalonia and Madrid, as well as the Basque Country and Navarre, a higher proportion of them are in the 25-49 age group.
On the other hand, it is precisely some of the regions with the lowest proportion of immigrants, such as Asturias, Galicia and Castilla y León, which have the highest percentage of immigrants aged 65 and over (around one in four).
A significant number of these older immigrants come from countries such as Argentina, Cuba and Venezuela.
“Immigration plays an increasingly important role both in the labour market and in the socio-demographic structures of European societies. The weight and age composition of immigrants reflects not only the potential of these societies to attract new populations, but also raises the need for a public discussion on the long-term implications for ageing societies in terms of integration, labour market adjustment and social protection,“ he explained.
With regard to the acquisition of nationality in EU countries, he pointed out that in 2022 there were 989,940 people, the majority (857,173) from non-EU countries.
In Spain, 181,581 people obtained nationality in 2022, i.e. 18% of all naturalised immigrants in the European Union.
This places Spain, together with Italy (22%) and Germany (17%), among the countries with the highest share of naturalised immigrants in the European Union.
In Spain, 38% of the new citizens were citizens of Central or South American countries, and 32% came from North African countries.
By contrast, in Germany, almost half of the naturalised immigrants were of Asian origin, many of them from Syria (29%), Turkey (9%), Iraq (4%), Iran (3%) and Afghanistan (3%).