Total population | |
---|---|
535,935 Born in Romania (INE 2022) [1] [2] [3] 630,795 Romanian citizens (INE 2023) [4] 1,079,726 (includes naturalized and second and third generation Romanians) (2022) [5] | |
Languages | |
Romanian, Spanish | |
Religion | |
Predominantly: Romanian Orthodox ; also: Greek Catholic, Roman Catholic | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Romanian Britons, Romanian Italians, Romanian Germans, Romanian Australians, Romanian Americans, Romanian Canadians, Romanian French people | |
Part of a series of articles on |
Romanians |
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Romanians form the second largest group of foreigners in Spain, after Moroccans. [6] As of 2023 [update] , there were 630,795 Romanian citizens living in Spain. [7] Most of the immigration took place given economic reasons. The linguistic similarities between Romanian and Spanish, as well as Romanians' Latin identity, are also a reason for the country's attractiveness to Romanians. [8]
After the December, 1989 Romanian Revolution, emigration was liberalized, but for the next few years, emigration to Spain was modest. It started to increase slowly during the late 1990s, and exploded after 2002. Emigration was further facilitated by the entry of Romania in the EU in 2007. By 2011, it reached a peak of nearly 900,000 people, after which the Romanian population has been steadily decreasing as a result of emigration from Spain since 2012 due to the economic problems and unemployment in the country, falling to 623,097 by 2022. [9] Because of this, the diaspora in Italy, which has continued to increase, is now considerably larger than that in Spain.
Year | Pop. | ±% |
---|---|---|
1998 | 2,258 | — |
1999 | 3,147 | +39.4% |
2000 | 6,410 | +103.7% |
2001 | 31,641 | +393.6% |
2002 | 67,279 | +112.6% |
2003 | 137,347 | +104.1% |
2004 | 207,960 | +51.4% |
2005 | 317,366 | +52.6% |
2006 | 407,159 | +28.3% |
2007 | 527,019 | +29.4% |
2008 | 731,806 | +38.9% |
2009 | 798,892 | +9.2% |
2010 | 831,235 | +4.0% |
2011 | 865,707 | +4.1% |
2012 | 897,203 | +3.6% |
2013 | 870,258 | −3.0% |
2014 | 797,054 | −8.4% |
2015 | 752,268 | −5.6% |
2016 | 717,462 | −4.6% |
2017 | 687,733 | −4.1% |
2018 | 676,005 | −1.7% |
2019 | 671,985 | −0.6% |
2020 | 667,378 | −0.7% |
2021 | 644,473 | −3.4% |
2022 | 627,478 | −2.6% |
Romanian diaspora in Spain is today the second Romanian diaspora in the EU, after that of Italy. Romanians in Spain have settled especially in the provinces of Madrid, Castellón, Valencia, Zaragoza and Barcelona. [10]
Immigration to Spain increased significantly in 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 numbers were decreasing due to the economic crisis, but since 2015, immigration to Spain has increased again, especially after 2021.
Moroccans in Spain formed 16.4% of the 4,549,858 foreigners in Spain as of 1 January 2017. They are again the largest foreign group in Spain, after they were surpassed temporarily by Romanians in 2007. In 2003, they were estimated to make up about 6% of all Moroccans abroad. In 2022, the number of Moroccans in Spain increased to about 1,000,000.
Pakistanis in Spain form one of the country's larger migrant communities. Their numbers began to grow rapidly in the early 2000s.
Russians in Spain form one of the country's smaller foreign communities, making up about 0.83% of all foreigners in Spain.
As of 2022, official statistics showed 265,949 Peruvian-born residents in Spain. Out of these, 143,867 were Spanish citizens and 122,082 had not yet acquired Spanish citizenship.
Iranians in Spain have a history going back for over a millennium and form a minor population in modern day. They are a part of the Iranian diaspora.
Venezuelans form one of the main immigrant groups in Spain, which is also the European country to which most Venezuelans choose to migrate because of shared language, customs and family ties. Similarly to nationals from other countries of Ibero-America, Venezuelans of origin are allowed to apply for dual Spanish citizenship after two years of legal residence in Spain. In addition, Venezuelans who are children or grandchildren of Spanish citizens can legally obtain Spanish citizenship from their countries of origin, an option open to over 3 million Venezuelans.
Argentines in Spain are the largest community of Argentines abroad. In Spain, they represent one of the largest immigrant groups in the country.
The presence of a sizeable Ecuadorian in Spain community in Spain dates back to the early 2000s.
The presence of Colombians in Spain dates back to Colombian independence from Spain.
Dominicans in Spain from the Dominican Republic make up about 1.66% of all foreigners in Spain, this includes immigrants and people of Dominican descent born in Spain. The first country of destination for Dominicans in Europe is Spain, and it is the country with the most Dominican migrants outside of the United States.
The Albanians in Spain are people of full or partial Albanian ancestry and heritage in Spain. They trace their ancestry to the territories with a large Albanian population in the Balkans among others to Albania, Greece, Kosovo as well as to Italy.
The presence of Algerians in Spain dates back to the 1990s.
The presence of people from Equatorial Guinea in Spain dates back to the 1990s.