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Foreigners with residence card. By sex and by age groups. Provinces

Foreigners with a valid certificate of registration or residence card. By sex and by age groups. Provinces 2024
Barcelona Girona Lleida Tarragona Catalonia Spain % Cat./Spa.
By sex 1,097,785 192,940 110,444 177,117 1,578,286 7,176,639 22.0
Men 572,015 103,339 61,842 93,574 830,770 3,707,854 22.4
Women 525,770 89,601 48,602 83,543 747,516 3,468,785 21.5
By age groups 1,097,785 192,940 110,444 177,117 1,578,286 7,176,639 22.0
From 0 to 15 years 101,547 20,861 12,828 20,582 155,818 723,027 21.6
From 16 to 64 years 933,659 151,146 92,256 139,483 1,316,544 5,712,402 23.0
65 years and over 62,579 20,933 5,360 17,052 105,924 741,210 14.3
Source: Ministry Inclusion, Social Security and Migrations.

Last update: November 25, 2025.

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.

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 "..".

For further information about these statistics, you may check the methodology.