Spain’s resident foreign population: evolution, basic characteristics and economic integration

Abstract

The more than six million people who were born abroad but live in Spain have particular sociodemocratic and economic integration characteristics. With the intention of serving as a general descriptive framework, this artcle analyses arrival and departure trends in Spain and details the main characteristics of this foreignorigin population in 2017-2018. Following a general description in the first two sections, the reader will find two specific parts: the first goes deeper into the demographic impact of the foreign population and the second reviews the data that describe their level of economic integration, both from the labour market point of view and of income earned and situations of poverty. Finally, some conclusions are offered that highlight the main characteristics of the phenomenon.

Keywords

• Spain
• immigration
• integration
• labour market
• migration flows