Catalonia’s foreign-born population has surged in the past year, with over 100,000 new immigrants, pushing the total number of foreign-born residents close to two million by October 2024.
According to the latest data from the National Statistics Institute’s (INE) Continuous Population Survey, approximately one in four people in Catalonia were born abroad, a figure that reflects the broader growth of the region’s population, which now stands at 8.1 million.
The millennial generation, particularly those aged 25 to 40, represents the largest group of immigrants in Catalonia. A striking 45% of people in this age range were born outside of Spain, although many of them have since acquired Spanish nationality. In fact, only 36% of them still hold a foreign nationality.
It’s important to distinguish between people born abroad and those who maintain foreign citizenship. While many immigrants born outside Spain are now Spanish citizens, the numbers vary. For instance, 24% of people born abroad have already obtained Spanish nationality, contributing to an overall increase in the number of residents with foreign nationality, which has grown by 61,000, bringing the total to over 1.5 million. This group now makes up 18.5% of the population, a stable figure compared to previous years.
The overall immigrant population in Catalonia has been steadily growing. People born abroad have seen an uptick of 5.7% in just one year, while those with foreign nationality have risen by 4.3%. Over the past decade, the number of foreign-born residents has increased by nearly 10%, while the group holding foreign nationality has risen by only 4%.
Among the foreign-born population, many are people who either gained Spanish citizenship after moving to Spain, or children of Spanish emigrants born abroad but retaining their nationality. There are also instances of individuals holding dual citizenship. Notably, the number of foreign-born residents with Spanish nationality has grown by 10% in less than a year, jumping from 440,000 in 2023 to nearly 490,000 today.
This ongoing trend underscores the dynamic shift in Catalonia’s demographic landscape, marked by rising immigration and increasing naturalization.
