Friday, 22 December 2023, 09:58
Malaga was the fifth-most popular province in Spain among immigrants in 2022, new figures show.
Some 61,056 foreigner moved to Malaga in 2022, according to data from Spain’s INE national institute of statistics. Madrid recorded 238,354 immigrants, Barcelona (202,812), Alicante (84,745) and Valencia (80,350). The province’s position in the ranking corresponds to its population, where Malaga is the sixth most populated province, with 1.75 million inhabitants, according to latest census data.
Of the 61,056 new foreigners who moved to Malaga province, 19,362 come from South American countries: with Argentinians (6,824), followed by Colombians (4,798). Europeans account for nearly 14,000 new residents, the data shows. Almost half of those (6,784) are from Ukraine, while 3,300 are from the UK.
Malaga province also attracted people from North America last year, specifically 1,188, of which 737 are American by birth, while 283 are Mexican and 168 are Canadian.
More than the majority of regions
The attraction of immigrants to Malaga, not only surpasses the growth in most Spanish provinces, but also most of the regions. According to the data, the number of migrants welcomed to the province is only exceeded by five regions: Catalonia (274,438), Madrid (238,354), the Valencian Community (183,433), Andalucía (164,135) and the Canary Islands (61,745).
The 61,056 immigrants who arrived in Malaga province in 2022 is 24.75% more than the 48,942 who arrived a year earlier.
41% increase in immigration in Spain last year
Spain welcomed 887,960 immigrants in 2021 compared to 1.258 million in 2022, a 41% increase, the figures show. Meanwhile, in the Andalucía region, the provinces that exceeded this average growth were Jaén and Seville, with increases of 42%, to almost 5,000 in Jaén and more than 23,600 in Seville.