Moroccans Remain Spain’s Biggest Foreign-Born Community but Lowest in Higher Education

Marrakech – Spain’s National Statistics Institute (INE) released yesterday new data from its Annual Population Census, revealing that Moroccans continue to make up the largest foreign-born community in the country. According to the report, a total of 1,165,955 residents born in Morocco were living in Spain as of January 1, 2025.

The INE’s latest figures place Morocco well ahead of Colombia, which ranked second with 978,041 residents, and Venezuela, which came third with 692,316.

Spain’s total population stood at 49,128,297, with foreign-born residents now accounting for roughly one in five people in the country. According to the census, Spain had 9,464,210 foreign-born residents in total on that date.

Of those, 24.4% – or 2,308,073 people – arrived in the country during 2023 and 2024 alone. Some 12.8% came in 2024. The INE noted that this share has generally decreased the further back the year of arrival, except during the 2001-2010 decade, when 27% of the current foreign-born population settled in Spain.

Among Moroccans specifically, 136,417 arrived in 2024 and 119,571 in 2023. The bulk of Morocco-born residents, however, came during the 2001-2010 period, with 353,197 arrivals recorded in that decade. Another 165,105 arrived before 2001.

Colombia had the highest share of recent arrivals among major nationalities, with 34.7% of its residents having come in 2023 and 2024. Peru followed at 32.4% and Venezuela at 31.3%. Bolivia, Ecuador, and the United Kingdom recorded the lowest shares of recent arrivals at 10.8%, 13.1%, and 13.6%, respectively.

Read also: Beyond the Strait: What Every Moroccan Family Should Know About Moving to Spain Legally in 2026

The census also showed that more than a third of Spain’s population – 34.7%, or 17,057,466 people – had always lived in the municipality where they were born. Córdoba, Murcia, and Seville had the highest percentages, while L’Hospitalet de Llobregat recorded the lowest at 17.6%.

On the education front, 33.6% of people aged 15 and older held higher education degrees in 2024. Among foreign-born residents, the rate stood at 28%. Venezuela-born residents led with 47.4%, followed by those born in France at 45.5% and Argentina at 44.3%.

Morocco-born residents recorded the lowest rate of higher education among all major nationalities at just 9.3%. Romania and the Dominican Republic followed at 14.5% and 17.8%.

The gap is significant. While 42.7% of Spain’s 25-to-64 population held higher education degrees, only one in ten Moroccans in the country had reached that level. Women outpaced men nationally, with 46.9% holding degrees compared to 38.4% for men.

Gipuzkoa, Bizkaia, and Madrid were the provinces with the highest shares of residents holding higher education degrees. Municipalities near Madrid and Barcelona dominated the top rankings, with Tres Cantos, Las Rozas de Madrid, and Sant Cugat del Vallès all exceeding 63%.

Employment also grew broadly across Spain in 2024 compared to the previous year. Puerto Real, Villacarrillo, and Pájara saw the largest gains in employment rates among working-age residents, with increases of around three percentage points.

Among foreign nationals, Chinese citizens had the highest employment rate at 61.5%, followed by Ecuadorians at 56.7% and Romanians at 56.4%. British nationals had the lowest at 24%, followed by Colombians at 32.3% and Peruvians at 34%.

Separate preliminary data from the INE’s Continuous Population Statistics indicated that as of January 1, 2026, the number of foreign-born residents in Spain had already surpassed 10 million.

The data comes as Spain launched a mass regularization program in April, offering one-year residence and work permits to an estimated 500,000 undocumented migrants. Applications are open until June 30.

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