A third of the British expatiate population in Europe live in Spain as expats.
And thanks to Brexit, gone are the days when Britons could freely move, live, work, study, or retire in any EU country of choice.
Since 2021, all Britons are now classified as non-European citizens.
The latest figures show that in 2021 there were 313,975 Britons legally living in Spain, just short of the peak reached in 316,362 recorded in 2013 according to Statista.
Between 2013 and 2018 there was a drop in numbers but then an increase from 2018. But it appears that any recent rise has been because of the need to become a resident to live in Spain full-time as a result of Brexit and the 90 days rule, much of the slight increase is down to Briton living in Spain who were not resident getting their paperwork in order.
The largest community is in Andalusia where there are 88,233 British residents.
The Balearics is the fifth most popular destination with 17,953 British residents, although that figures, as in the rest of Spain, may shrink as a result of further Brexit complications such as UK driving licences still not being valid, unlike in most other EU countries apart from Italy.