Last year, 1,250,991 people arrived in Spain from abroad (0.6% less than the previous year), while 608,694 left, which is 14.4% more than in 2022, resulting in a migratory balance with the outside of 642,296 people. This is according to the Statistics on Migration and Changes of Residence published by the INE, which confirms that this is the second highest balance of the last ten years, behind the one recorded in 2022.
The migration balance is positive for both foreigners (616,234) and Spaniards (26,062). In other words, last year more people with Spanish nationality arrived in Spain than those who left.
However, if the focus is on those born in Spain, statistics show that there are still more people emigrating to other countries than returning: -3,652 for Spaniards and -12,893 among foreigners.
However, emigration is mainly driven by foreigners. Eight out of ten people who left the country last year were foreigners. Out of the 126,901 Spaniards who emigrated, only 81,805 were born in Spain, representing 13.4% of the total emigrants in 2023.
Among the foreigners who left, the most numerous nationalities were Romanian (with 55,411 departures), Moroccan (52,650), and Colombian (29,230); while among those who already had Spanish nationality when leaving the country, those born in Morocco (6,249), Ecuador (4,990), and Colombia (4,130) stood out.
Immigration
Of the 1,250,991 immigrants that Spain received last year, almost 1.1 million (88%) had foreign nationality, while 152,963 (12%) were Spanish. They mainly came from Colombia (170,722), Morocco (123,468), and Venezuela (88,361).
And among those who immigrated holding a Spanish passport, 11,571 were born in Cuba, 7,752 in Argentina, and 7,253 in Ecuador.
The Valencian Community attracts population
Madrid, Catalonia, and Valencia are the regions that attract the most foreign immigrants, and as a result, they have the highest migration balances with other countries in 2023. All three saw their populations increase through this channel.
However, when analyzing migration balances between regions, Madrid and Catalonia are the ones that lost the most residents last year: 16,390 and 5,171 respectively. This was due to both foreigners and nationals moving to other territories.
On the other hand, the Valencian Community emerges as a magnet for both those migrating from other countries and those coming from other autonomous communities. In 2023, its migratory balance with foreign countries amounted to 102,302 people, and internally to 10,827.
However, if one looks at the major cities, Valencia is experiencing the same phenomenon as Madrid and Barcelona: it gains residents because more people from abroad arrive than leave for other countries, but more people move from this municipality to other Spanish localities than arrive from the rest of Spain.
On the other hand, Dos Hermanas, Getafe, and Sabadell have the highest internal balances.
