10.1% of Spain’s total population is foreign, according to the latest figures from the Spanish National Institute of Statistics (INE).
The largest foreign communities are from Morocco (750,000) and Romania (673,00) with the British in third place with 241,000 residents.
Italians the fastest growing foreign community
In the Canary Islands, the Italian have overtaken the British and the Germans to become the largest EU community, according to Canarias 7. The number of Italian residents has risen by almost 2000% in the last 20 years and now stands at over 45,000.
22% of Spain’s Italian residents live in the Canary Islands.
In Gran Canaria, there are now almost 8000 registered Italian residents with almost 3000 living in Las Palmas and 2500 in San Bartolomé de Tirajana. Tenerife has over 22,000 Italian residents and Fuerteventura almost 7000.
Most Italian immigrants in the Canary Islands are between 18-44 years old and have come to the islands in search of work.
Canary Islands foreign resident stats
Overall, there are 260,000 foreign residents in the Canary Islands; 12.% of the total population. The foreign population rose by 5.3% in the past year while the total population was up just 0.9%.
That said, foreign residents are concentrated in a small number of the island’s municipalities.
Gran Canaria’s foreign population accounts for just 7.5% of the total population with most living in Mogan, San Bartolomé de Tirajana and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. In Mogán, foreign residents are 34.4% of the total population.
