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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 2019
Barcelona Girona Lleida Tarragona Catalonia
Total 849,405 162,710 91,131 150,667 1,253,913
Total European Union (EU28) 328,384 58,697 45,339 65,540 497,960
Romania 51,365 20,924 34,000 35,213 141,502
Italy 84,413 5,672 904 5,441 96,430
France 45,433 9,520 578 3,816 59,347
Germany 25,687 3,683 286 2,741 32,397
United Kingdom 26,207 3,949 400 4,232 34,788
Portugal 18,721 2,832 2,056 2,058 25,667
Poland 15,133 2,013 2,468 2,316 21,930
Bulgaria 8,957 2,621 3,247 2,951 17,776
Netherlands 12,116 2,507 175 1,536 16,334
Sweden 9,635 241 27 152 10,055
Belgium 4,959 1,738 95 1,076 7,868
Lithuania 1,738 593 242 1,294 3,867
Czech Republic 2,272 409 128 576 3,385
Slovakia 1,578 425 292 727 3,022
Ireland 3,621 314 47 251 4,233
Hungary 2,837 305 60 338 3,540
Austria 2,728 143 55 115 3,041
Rest of European Union 10,984 808 279 707 12,778
Total rest of Europe 32,912 10,030 4,932 7,691 55,565
Ukraine 9,606 3,558 3,520 2,624 19,308
Russia 11,978 4,558 636 2,341 19,513
Moldavia 1,730 561 402 1,222 3,915
Swiss 3,021 806 25 799 4,651
Rest of Europe 6,577 547 349 705 8,178
Total Africa 165,654 57,732 30,519 48,015 301,920
Morocco 125,558 40,603 16,299 40,433 222,893
Gambia 5,307 8,083 1,571 334 15,295
Senegal 10,912 3,484 3,963 3,141 21,500
Algeria 3,288 783 2,532 1,940 8,543
Mali 3,453 1,996 2,078 266 7,793
Nigeria 3,798 471 598 758 5,625
Ghana 5,114 446 405 425 6,390
Guinea 1,984 743 1,279 134 4,140
Mauritania 1,042 416 369 28 1,855
Rest of Africa 5,198 707 1,425 556 7,886
Total America 174,031 22,653 6,644 17,862 221,190
Ecuador 23,040 1,315 555 1,843 26,753
Colombia 15,257 2,401 1,550 3,679 22,887
Bolivia 21,924 2,184 618 1,281 26,007
Peru 15,205 783 537 833 17,358
Dominican Republic 14,143 1,213 641 1,221 17,218
Argentina 12,370 1,874 416 2,083 16,743
Brazil 10,088 1,624 911 1,639 14,262
Chile 5,507 782 151 691 7,131
Uruguay 4,567 1,096 126 788 6,577
Cuba 5,015 773 228 1,003 7,019
Honduras 10,162 6,455 168 407 17,192
Paraguai 8,384 259 96 442 9,181
Venezuela 13,526 841 381 1,054 15,802
Mexico 4,087 258 102 344 4,791
United States 5,992 371 66 277 6,706
Rest of America 4,764 424 98 277 5,563
Total Asia 147,495 13,430 3,673 11,488 176,086
China 53,725 4,867 2,138 4,082 64,812
Pakistan 43,493 1,131 810 4,265 49,699
India 15,846 5,766 383 1,656 23,651
Philippines 10,414 376 24 445 11,259
Bangladesh 6,883 107 91 31 7,112
Georgia 4,106 399 72 409 4,986
Armenia 2,997 191 32 116 3,336
Rest of Asia 10,031 593 123 484 11,231
Total Oceania 711 93 9 29 842
Not stated 218 75 15 42 350
Source: Ministry Inclusion, Social Security and Migrations.

Last update: May 13, 2020.

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 "..".