In 2022, the EU received an estimated 5.1 million immigrants from non-EU countries, more than doubling the 2.4 million in 2021. The number of EU residents who emigrated to countries outside the EU remained stable at 1 million. Spain received many immigrants, but where does Spain rank within the EU in terms of immigrants?
According to the European Statistical Office Eurostat immigration figures showed significant differences between Member States. Malta had the highest immigration rate with 66 immigrants per 1,000 inhabitants, followed by Luxembourg (48) and Estonia (37). Spain is in eighth place on this list with 27 immigrants per 1000 inhabitants. The Netherlands and Belgium are both on the list with fewer than 20 immigrants per 1,000 inhabitants.
A significant share of immigrants to the EU in 2022 were asylum seekers and refugees, in particular from Ukraine as a result of the Russian invasion. In addition to asylum seekers and refugees migrant workers a significant portion of the immigrant population. Many EU Member States have programs to attract workers from non-EU countries to fill labor market shortages. This economic migration contributed to the increase in immigration numbers in 2022.
Spain had in 2022 according to Eurostat figures 47,432,893 inhabitants, making Spain the fourth largest country in the EU after Germany, France and Italy. According to figures from the Spanish Statistical Office INE live there at the moment 6,491,502 foreigners in Spain, but if we look at immigrants (including people with Spanish nationality) then that number is 8,775,213 immigrants. The Eurostat figures show that this was the case 1.2 million immigrants in Spain in 2022.
Tags: overview immigration Spain European Union
