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Foreigners with residence card. By country of nationality. Provinces

Foreigners with a valid certificate of registration or residence card. By country of nationality. Provinces 2015
Barcelona Girona Lleida Tarragona Catalonia
Total 715,140 147,911 83,372 139,049 1,085,472
Total European Union (EU28) 251,858 50,967 40,564 59,716 403,105
Romania 45,660 18,095 30,319 33,210 127,284
Italy 59,140 4,581 708 4,392 68,821
France 32,901 8,091 505 3,221 44,718
Germany 20,759 3,417 247 2,503 26,926
United Kingdom 18,637 3,371 290 3,515 25,813
Portugal 14,265 2,584 1,896 1,894 20,639
Poland 12,793 1,883 2,362 2,143 19,181
Bulgaria 8,014 2,374 2,956 2,764 16,108
Netherlands 9,377 2,259 150 1,324 13,110
Sweden 7,635 215 20 130 8,000
Belgium 3,697 1,469 83 935 6,184
Lithuania 1,261 525 228 1,230 3,244
Czech Republic 1,851 376 118 550 2,895
Slovakia 1,275 402 284 715 2,676
Ireland 2,539 249 39 216 3,043
Hungary 2,043 274 51 272 2,640
Austria 2,142 133 58 105 2,438
Rest of European Union 7,869 669 250 597 9,385
Total rest of Europe 25,001 8,501 4,740 6,892 45,134
Ukraine 7,990 3,125 3,365 2,444 16,924
Russia 8,372 3,596 626 1,871 14,465
Moldavia 1,720 568 425 1,258 3,971
Swiss 2,282 745 19 740 3,786
Rest of Europe 4,637 467 305 579 5,988
Total Africa 163,014 56,172 28,700 46,474 294,360
Morocco 126,317 40,036 15,743 39,509 221,605
Gambia 5,267 7,983 1,309 253 14,812
Senegal 9,723 3,119 3,271 2,780 18,893
Algeria 3,195 752 2,647 1,909 8,503
Mali 3,138 1,762 1,710 229 6,839
Nigeria 3,605 426 647 790 5,468
Ghana 4,283 359 342 410 5,394
Guinea 2,043 729 1,241 123 4,136
Mauritania 1,127 409 361 29 1,926
Rest of Africa 4,316 597 1,429 442 6,784
Total America 153,353 20,764 6,197 16,458 196,772
Ecuador 25,364 1,477 621 2,052 29,514
Colombia 13,582 2,271 1,512 3,545 20,910
Bolivia 24,472 2,594 783 1,486 29,335
Peru 15,152 731 452 746 17,081
Dominican Republic 13,155 1,148 635 1,276 16,214
Argentina 10,129 1,803 410 1,901 14,243
Brazil 7,635 1,431 824 1,364 11,254
Chile 5,377 796 164 696 7,033
Uruguay 4,711 1,122 111 742 6,686
Cuba 4,856 783 213 850 6,702
Honduras 6,382 5,133 91 277 11,883
Paraguai 7,487 231 94 375 8,187
Venezuela 4,812 382 121 489 5,804
Mexico 3,082 225 64 256 3,627
United States 3,811 283 41 203 4,338
Rest of America 3,346 354 61 200 3,961
Total Asia 121,233 11,438 3,152 9,477 145,300
China 45,985 4,419 2,015 3,611 56,030
Pakistan 36,377 809 506 3,367 41,059
India 11,854 4,876 328 1,300 18,358
Philippines 9,444 325 16 386 10,171
Bangladesh 5,129 89 101 16 5,335
Georgia 3,225 336 63 364 3,988
Armenia 2,600 186 31 83 2,900
Rest of Asia 6,619 398 92 350 7,459
Total Oceania 477 44 4 18 543
Not stated 204 25 15 14 258
Source: Spanish Ministry of Employment and Social Security.

Last update: June 3, 2016.

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 "..".