Skip to main content

Foreigners with residence card. By country of nationality. Provinces

Foreigners with a valid certificate of registration or residence card. By country of nationality. Provinces 2009
Barcelona Girona Lleida Tarragona Catalonia
Total European Union (EU27) 157,403 38,564 27,122 47,508 270,597
Romania 34,311 13,880 20,163 27,148 95,502
Italy 36,517 3,499 484 3,261 43,761
France 18,133 5,574 332 2,260 26,299
Germany 12,178 2,690 162 1,895 16,925
United Kingdom 10,090 2,545 150 2,571 15,356
Poland 9,978 1,575 1,517 1,848 14,918
Portugal 9,430 2,136 1,509 1,652 14,727
Bulgaria 5,779 1,876 2,042 2,156 11,853
Netherlands 5,197 1,671 108 1,020 7,996
Sweden 3,875 139 10 99 4,123
Belgium 2,132 1,170 59 727 4,088
Lithuania 729 403 141 1,028 2,301
Czech Republic 1,175 327 93 475 2,070
Rest of European Union 7,879 1,079 352 1,368 10,678
Total rest of Europe 18,570 6,964 4,432 6,111 36,077
Ukraine 6,702 2,716 3,112 2,272 14,802
Russia 5,449 2,509 541 1,326 9,825
Moldavia 1,571 532 423 1,206 3,732
Switzerland 1,406 669 15 643 2,733
Rest of Europe 3,442 538 341 664 4,985
Total Africa 181,035 60,855 26,414 44,915 313,219
Morocco 147,722 44,106 15,639 39,454 246,921
Gambia 5,942 9,819 1,246 170 17,177
Senegal 7,109 2,392 2,163 1,943 13,607
Algeria 3,318 705 2,574 1,701 8,298
Mali 2,616 1,305 1,127 158 5,206
Nigeria 2,890 313 648 612 4,463
Ghana 3,034 257 212 226 3,729
Guinea 1,886 616 905 105 3,512
Mauritania 1,352 517 330 26 2,225
Rest of Africa 5,166 825 1,570 520 8,081
Total America 260,269 28,020 10,752 24,763 323,804
Ecuador 77,308 3,691 1,614 4,603 87,216
Colombia 32,118 4,988 3,296 6,836 47,238
Peru 36,002 1,350 852 1,385 39,589
Bolivia 25,487 3,041 1,005 1,325 30,858
Argentina 17,944 3,229 719 3,076 24,968
Dominican Republic 19,056 1,427 1,109 1,728 23,320
Brazil 8,120 1,464 1,054 1,226 11,864
Uruguay 7,736 1,947 169 1,088 10,940
Chile 8,176 1,148 213 928 10,465
Cuba 6,836 1,064 287 1,041 9,228
Venezuela 5,149 570 173 499 6,391
Honduras 2,481 3,077 41 111 5,710
Paraguai 5,047 211 64 254 5,576
Mexico 3,377 250 64 307 3,998
United States 2,951 241 29 161 3,382
Rest of America 2,481 322 63 195 3,061
Total Asia 95,698 10,177 2,334 7,043 115,252
China 38,790 3,966 1,638 3,145 47,539
Pakistan 25,308 487 239 2,159 28,193
India 8,164 4,450 204 809 13,627
Philippines 10,547 446 16 334 11,343
Bangladesh 4,175 102 78 26 4,381
Georgia 1,722 232 40 228 2,222
Armenia 1,856 152 20 51 2,079
Rest of Asia 5,136 342 99 291 5,868
Total Oceania 341 37 5 6 389
Not stated 1,288 176 115 162 1,741
Total 714,604 144,793 71,174 130,508 1,061,079
Source: Ministerio de Trabajo e Immigración. Observatorio Permanente de la Immigración.

Last update: June 1, 2010.

Methodological note

Definition of concepts

Foreign
Person that does not have Spanish nationality, notwithstanding the stipulations of special laws and international treaties signed by Spain (Organic Law 4/2000, of January 11, on rights and liberties of foreigners in Spain and their social integration).
Foreign residents
Number of foreigners, according to the records of the Permanent Observatory of Immigration of the Ministry for Labour and Social Affairs, which on a determinate date reside in Catalonia and have a valid residence permit. The data is stock-type information recorded on December 31 every year.

Methodological aspects

These statistics are obtained from files produced by the Central Register of Foreigners, an administrative record managed by the Directorate General of the Police and the Civil Guard, which is part of the Ministry for the Interior.

The statistical treatment of these files corresponds to the Permanent Immigration Observatory, which is part of the Ministry of Employment and Social Security.

These are stock statistics that are produced quarterly. They count and analyse the number of foreigners with a valid registry certificate or residency card at the end of each quarter.

The legislation applicable to foreigners residing in Spain depends on their residency system and this, to a large extent, on the nationality of foreigners.

These statistics do not include the following foreigners:

  • Those that are only staying temporarily in Spain (three months per half-year).
  • Those that are in Spain with a permit to be in the country for a course, studies, research work, training or volunteering.
  • Trans-frontier workers that do not reside in Spain.
  • Applicants for asylum or persons that have obtained refugee or expatriate status.
  • Foreigners from the European Union that have not applied for inscription to the Central Registry of Foreigners or that have applied for it but have not yet received the corresponding certificate.
  • Foreigners whose documentation has expired and are in the process of renewing it.

Foreigners authorised to remain in Spain must inform the Immigration Office or the police headquarters in the place where they reside or are staying of any changes of nationality, usual abode or marital status.

The country of nationality is considered to be the nationality of the foreigner. In the case of dual nationality, the one counted is that used by the foreigners when making the application for a registration permit, card or certificate.

The province is that in which the foreigner reports that they reside at the moment when their currently applicable registration certificate of residency card is issued.

Data from 2010 onward has been reviewed with the aim of excluding persons who have been granted Spanish nationality and foreigners who have expired, in Spain, and whose residence permits were valid at the time of their death.

Data are on December, 31.

Unavailable information is represented using the symbol ":". When the value is lower than that of the minimum unit to be able to estimate the statistical operation or if it effects statistical confidentiality, the symbol used is "..".