Migration flows and the foreign-born population measure different things. Spain recorded nearly 4.7 million arrivals from abroad between 2021 and 2024, while Morocco ranked first in the latest census count of residents born outside the country. The INE publishes quarterly migration estimates as preliminary figures and definitive migration statistics annually through its Estadística de Migraciones y Cambios de Residencia (EMCR).
Pedro Sánchez gave a different breakdown of arrivals during an interview with Jordi Wild, saying that 40% of migrants arriving in Spain were European and another 40% Latin American. Wild asked the programme’s fact-checkers, Javier Collado and Iván Muñoz, to examine figures for the previous five years. Their account identified Colombia and Morocco among the leading countries of origin, and also named Venezuela. Arrivals, nationality and country of birth are distinct measures: an arrival is a migration flow, while a census count records residents at a particular date, classified by birthplace.
The INE’s Estadística de Migraciones y Cambios de Residencia (EMCR) recorded 1,288,562 arrivals from abroad in 2024. Of those, 1,144,227 had foreign nationality. The annual totals were 1,250,991 in 2023, 1,258,894 in 2022 and 887,960 in 2021. The EMCR publishes definitive annual migration figures, while the INE’s quarterly migration data are preliminary estimates.
Across the four years, 575,620 arrivals came from Colombia and 469,783 from Morocco. Venezuela accounted for 311,488, while Peru accounted for 227,785. The figures also show 762,416 arrivals from Europe and 708,516 from Africa. They do not give a single total for Latin American arrivals, so the country and continental figures shown do not by themselves establish Sánchez’s 40% estimate.
The distinction between migration flows and a snapshot of the resident population also featured in a related fact-check of a claim made during an interview with Ada Colau. That report concerned arrests in Barcelona; the figures here count arrivals and people’s birthplace.
The latest Censo Anual de Población counted 9,464,210 residents born abroad on 1 January 2025. Morocco was the most common country of birth, with 1,165,955 residents. Colombia followed with 978,041; Venezuela accounted for 692,316, and Romania for 521,181. Together, the four countries represented about 35.5% of the foreign-born total.
INE population figures for the third quarter of 2026 provide a later snapshot: Spain’s population grew by 130,223 and reached 49,935,642 on 1 October. The foreign-born population stood at 10,433,091 and accounted for 98.8% of the quarter’s population growth; the number of foreign nationals was 7,518,237. The INE also reported that foreign nationals increased by 86,883 during the quarter, while the population of Spanish nationals increased by 43,340. The difference between the foreign-born and foreign-nationality counts reflects, among other factors, residents born abroad who have acquired Spanish citizenship.
In the same third-quarter 2026 release, Colombians, at 33,200, and Spanish nationals, at 23,600, were the largest nationality groups among immigrants arriving in Spain. Venezuelans followed, at 19,000. These quarterly migration figures are preliminary estimates, distinct from the definitive annual EMCR totals.
