The Number of Immigrants in Sabadell Has Increased by More Than 3,000% in 30 Years

The political situation in Catalonia is marked by the debate on immigration. Especially after PSOE and Junts agreed on the transfer of powers, which will now have to be approved by Congress. The debate has been on the streets for months.

For some, there is no problem with immigration, and it is the essentialization by the far right to spread hate speech. For others, however, the exponential increase in population due to the latest migratory waves has an evident impact. Especially when there are not enough resources to care for so many people.

The data point to a demographic explosion in the last thirty years, mainly driven by the increase in immigration. Some specific data about the increase in immigration in Catalan cities are striking. For example, Sabadell.

Sabadell, A Reflection of What Is Happening in Catalonia

The foreign population in this Barcelona locality has multiplied by 3,000% in the last thirty years. It has gone from one thousand immigrants to 33,000 in just three decades. The increase has been 43% in the last ten years, and it has gone from being 11% to representing 14% of the total population of Sabadell.

As in many other cities in Catalonia, the population increase in Sabadell is sustained by migratory growth. Sabadell had 283,788 registered inhabitants in 2001, and now it has more than 220,000.

The big leap occurred precisely in the period 2000-2005, when immigration multiplied by 700%, from almost 2,000 foreigners to just over 15,500. Since then, there has been sustained growth, which now stands at around 8% annually. In 2024, 2,270 foreigners arrived in the city, while the increase the previous year had been 2,179.

According to the data, two out of ten foreigners in Sabadell are Moroccans, by far the largest community in the city. The second is Colombian, followed by Honduran and Venezuelan.

44.6% are young people between 25 and 44 years old, while only 3.5% are over 65 years old. This links the larger number of foreigners to ages suitable for procreation. Moreover, these cultures tend to have a birth rate well above the native one.

Most Catalans, Concerned

What is happening in Sabadell is just a reflection of what is happening in Catalonia, where the population has grown from 6M to 8M in thirty years. In 2000, foreigners represented 3% of the total population in Catalonia, while now it is 18%. Thirty years ago, there were 181,000 foreigners, and now there are 1.4M.

This data intersects with the statistics on citizen perception regarding immigration. According to a CEO statistic, 48% of Catalans believe there is too much immigration. Only 4% think more is needed.