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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 2017
Barcelona Girona Lleida Tarragona Catalonia
Total 763,732 153,515 85,937 143,135 1,146,319
Total European Union (EU28) 284,949 54,645 42,577 62,480 444,651
Romania 48,468 19,494 31,867 34,198 134,027
Italy 69,002 5,015 774 4,817 79,608
France 38,767 8,796 537 3,505 51,605
Germany 22,921 3,565 259 2,650 29,395
United Kingdom 21,974 3,639 338 3,811 29,762
Portugal 16,180 2,701 1,991 1,960 22,832
Poland 13,790 1,962 2,422 2,239 20,413
Bulgaria 8,498 2,465 3,070 2,853 16,886
Netherlands 10,563 2,365 155 1,425 14,508
Sweden 8,528 225 24 141 8,918
Belgium 4,272 1,616 86 1,009 6,983
Lithuania 1,510 566 232 1,265 3,573
Czech Republic 2,036 386 125 561 3,108
Slovakia 1,428 413 293 726 2,860
Ireland 2,983 276 44 231 3,534
Hungary 2,378 288 54 321 3,041
Austria 2,393 138 56 112 2,699
Rest of European Union 9,258 735 250 656 10,899
Total rest of Europe 28,862 9,343 4,837 7,388 50,430
Ukraine 8,706 3,324 3,437 2,551 18,018
Russia 10,271 4,166 627 2,186 17,250
Moldavia 1,727 573 410 1,261 3,971
Swiss 2,617 771 22 769 4,179
Rest of Europe 5,541 509 341 621 7,012
Total Africa 160,776 56,102 29,114 46,388 292,380
Morocco 122,732 39,602 15,602 39,241 217,177
Gambia 5,298 7,950 1,400 282 14,930
Senegal 10,255 3,266 3,658 2,924 20,103
Algeria 3,123 739 2,551 1,889 8,302
Mali 3,284 1,898 1,908 246 7,336
Nigeria 3,645 441 612 742 5,440
Ghana 4,619 398 380 409 5,806
Guinea 2,005 762 1,237 126 4,130
Mauritania 1,076 402 366 24 1,868
Rest of Africa 4,739 644 1,400 505 7,288
Total America 155,591 21,041 6,040 16,481 199,153
Ecuador 23,280 1,380 576 1,936 27,172
Colombia 13,238 2,198 1,434 3,410 20,280
Bolivia 23,148 2,345 666 1,403 27,562
Peru 14,209 721 436 755 16,121
Dominican Republic 13,057 1,148 614 1,255 16,074
Argentina 10,424 1,780 403 1,938 14,545
Brazil 8,689 1,500 853 1,449 12,491
Chile 5,248 775 146 662 6,831
Uruguay 4,523 1,101 115 758 6,497
Cuba 4,691 737 216 859 6,503
Honduras 7,945 5,792 111 316 14,164
Paraguai 7,961 233 91 413 8,698
Venezuela 6,823 410 157 584 7,974
Mexico 3,472 236 81 280 4,069
United States 4,902 320 53 231 5,506
Rest of America 3,981 365 88 232 4,666
Total Asia 132,737 12,273 3,347 10,346 158,703
China 49,703 4,664 2,073 3,826 60,266
Pakistan 39,224 958 595 3,761 44,538
India 13,422 5,158 360 1,431 20,371
Philippines 9,781 356 22 417 10,576
Bangladesh 5,992 90 97 20 6,199
Georgia 3,623 364 70 391 4,448
Armenia 2,811 195 31 105 3,142
Rest of Asia 8,181 488 99 395 9,163
Total Oceania 596 67 10 25 698
Not stated 221 44 12 27 304
Source: Spanish Ministry of Employment and Social Security.

Last update: October 4, 2018.

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 "..".