Spain has the highest rate of immigrant arrivals in all of Europe.

Spain has become the European country with the highest rate of immigrant arrivals in proportion to its population. Recent data from the Bank of Spain indicate that, during 2023, Spain received a migratory flow of 24 immigrants per thousand inhabitants. This figure is notably higher than that recorded in other countries like France or Italy, which have rates of five and six immigrants per thousand inhabitants, respectively.

As is known, Spain's population growth is mainly driven by the entry of foreigners. According to the National Institute of Statistics (INE), in the last year, almost five foreigners were registered for every new Spaniard in the population. This dynamic has allowed Spain to grow in number of inhabitants, reaching a total population of more than 49 million people in April 2025.

The explanation is in the demographics

Various factors explain the high immigration to Spain. First, the geographical proximity to countries like Morocco favors the constant arrival of migrants. Additionally, historical, cultural, and linguistic ties with Hispanic countries continue to be a determining factor in migratory flows. All of this is supported by the government's lax immigration policies and the absence of a state migration policy.

From a demographic perspective, immigration is presented as the key element to counteract the aging of the Spanish population. Spain faces a low birth rate and a number of deaths higher than births among the native population. For this reason, the arrival of foreigners contributes to demographic growth and the short-term sustainability of the Welfare State, primarily Social Security.

In this line, the government has recently announced the regularization of about 900,000 foreigners without legal documentation in the country. The reform of the immigration law will facilitate and expedite these regularization processes. In fact, this regularization is a reduction of the requirements because, for example, having a criminal record will no longer be a reason for exclusion.

The economic side

Experts point out that to keep the current levels of welfare and address aging, Spain will need a considerably higher net annual flow of immigrants in the coming decades. According to AIReF, approximately 330,000 immigrants should arrive each year between now and 2050. This figure is much higher than the average of 205,000 recorded between 1990 and 2019.

As explained these days in E-Notícies, this high immigration also has a negative economic impact. New economic reports show that the massive flow of immigrants clearly reduces the country's GDP per capita. The explanation for this reality is found in the nature of the Spanish productive model.

The Spanish productive structure, based on sectors with low productivity, requires a lot of low-skilled labor, which puts downward pressure on wages. As a consequence, economic growth per inhabitant is stalled, keeping Spain at levels comparable to its income when it joined the European Union.

The massive migratory phenomenon, combined with the lack of a clear and selective migration policy, has led to successive massive regularizations. This system creates a cycle where irregular immigration becomes a resource for informal economic sectors.