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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 2018
Barcelona Girona Lleida Tarragona Catalonia
Total 802,741 157,690 88,271 146,245 1,194,947
Total European Union (EU28) 305,120 56,541 44,040 63,712 469,413
Romania 49,957 20,185 33,022 34,690 137,854
Italy 75,734 5,320 835 5,031 86,920
France 41,973 9,166 559 3,603 55,301
Germany 24,257 3,629 269 2,670 30,825
United Kingdom 23,815 3,764 366 3,945 31,890
Portugal 17,413 2,751 2,012 2,010 24,186
Poland 14,449 1,978 2,449 2,273 21,149
Bulgaria 8,726 2,545 3,172 2,895 17,338
Netherlands 11,362 2,426 166 1,459 15,413
Sweden 9,050 231 25 144 9,450
Belgium 4,597 1,664 90 1,033 7,384
Lithuania 1,624 583 234 1,295 3,736
Czech Republic 2,171 390 126 566 3,253
Slovakia 1,494 414 291 728 2,927
Ireland 3,273 288 46 243 3,850
Hungary 2,570 296 55 334 3,255
Austria 2,558 140 55 115 2,868
Rest of European Union 10,097 771 268 678 11,814
Total rest of Europe 31,007 9,643 4,891 7,597 53,138
Ukraine 9,226 3,421 3,490 2,597 18,734
Russia 11,094 4,341 630 2,293 18,358
Moldavia 1,767 574 401 1,257 3,999
Swiss 2,819 787 25 784 4,415
Rest of Europe 6,101 520 345 666 7,632
Total Africa 162,642 56,879 29,635 46,962 296,118
Morocco 123,591 40,058 15,753 39,583 218,985
Gambia 5,292 8,013 1,491 305 15,101
Senegal 10,590 3,359 3,867 3,070 20,886
Algeria 3,240 781 2,521 1,894 8,436
Mali 3,369 1,937 2,000 256 7,562
Nigeria 3,739 460 589 763 5,551
Ghana 4,864 421 387 407 6,079
Guinea 1,978 762 1,249 127 4,116
Mauritania 1,056 409 366 23 1,854
Rest of Africa 4,923 679 1,412 534 7,548
Total America 162,962 21,655 6,187 17,016 207,820
Ecuador 23,178 1,348 559 1,905 26,990
Colombia 14,012 2,283 1,487 3,522 21,304
Bolivia 22,727 2,260 620 1,340 26,947
Peru 14,605 763 443 806 16,617
Dominican Republic 13,720 1,155 620 1,254 16,749
Argentina 11,079 1,796 406 1,970 15,251
Brazil 9,426 1,565 887 1,552 13,430
Chile 5,354 782 147 669 6,952
Uruguay 4,525 1,086 118 763 6,492
Cuba 4,820 752 234 902 6,708
Honduras 9,168 6,161 128 362 15,819
Paraguai 8,300 239 93 431 9,063
Venezuela 8,466 479 195 712 9,852
Mexico 3,765 247 101 319 4,432
United States 5,406 353 56 260 6,075
Rest of America 4,411 386 93 249 5,139
Total Asia 140,161 12,830 3,495 10,897 167,383
China 51,693 4,772 2,116 3,955 62,536
Pakistan 41,537 1,047 676 4,027 47,287
India 14,548 5,447 377 1,508 21,880
Philippines 10,133 366 23 434 10,956
Bangladesh 6,407 100 95 25 6,627
Georgia 3,854 379 74 407 4,714
Armenia 2,922 193 31 109 3,255
Rest of Asia 9,067 526 103 432 10,128
Total Oceania 639 79 8 26 752
Not stated 210 63 15 35 323
Source: Spanish Ministry of Employment and Social Security.

Last update: March 13, 2019.

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 "..".