The number of foreign residents in Spain stands at 4,925,089 persons

USPA NEWS - The number of foreigners with registration certificate or residence permit in force stood at 4,925,089 people, according to the Statistics of foreign residents in Spain at December 31, 2014 prepared by the Permanent Immigration Observatory (OPI in its Spanish acronym).

Of the total foreign residents 2,773,707 correspond to EU rules on free movement (EU citizens and third country national family), ie the 56.32% of the total, 2,151,382 to the general regime, 43,68 %. During 2014 the number of foreigners fell by 18,538 persons, 0.37% as a result of the decrease in 101,068 people in the general scheme and the increase in 82,530 in the EU free movement. Throughout the year, around 180,000 foreigners in general regime agreed to the Spanish nationality, being one of the main reasons for the decline in the number.

Foreigners with greater presence in Spain are nationals of Romania (953,183), Morocco (770,735) and the UK (275 817). Foreigners whose number has increased more in 2014 are nationals of Italy (6.09%), the UK (3.87%) and Romania (2.69%). The largest decreases correspond to those from Ecuador (-13.94%), Colombia (-13.81%) and Bolivia (-12.27%), mainly because of access to Spanish nationality of these groups.

Catalonia (1085523), Comunidad de Madrid (798,187), Andalusia (676,613) and Valencia (660,194) regions add a total of 3,220,517 foreigners, ie 65.47% of all foreigners with registration certificate or valid residence card. On the other hand, the regions with fewer foreigners are Cantabria, Asturias, La Rioja and Extremadura, the Spanish government said in a note.