The Spanish Council of Ministers has approved a measure to regularize approximately 500,000 undocumented migrants.
This reform follows a popular initiative signed by more than 600,000 people and supported by around 900 organizations.
The regularization would apply to foreigners in an irregular situation who can demonstrate continuous residence in Spain for at least five months.
The aim is to support the national economy in a context of population aging: Spain’s median age, at 45.8 years, ranks it as the 6th oldest population in the European Union, close to Germany (45.5 years), well below Italy (49 years), and significantly higher than France’s median age of 42.8 years.
According to INE, Spain’s National Statistics Institute, out of a total population of 49 million residents, 6.9 million are foreign nationals, representing 14.1% of the population.
As of January 1, 2025, the largest foreign national groups were Moroccans, with 968,999 residents:
| Marocco | 969000 |
| Colombia | 677000 |
| Romania | 609000 |
| Italy | 346000 |
| United Kingdom | 266000 |
| Peru | 261000 |
| Chiina | 238000 |
| Ukraine | 202000 |
Migration flows to and from the EU in 2024
Spain recorded the highest total number of immigrants from outside the EU in 2024 (1,288,600), followed by Germany (1,078,500), Italy (451,600), and France (438,600). Spain and Germany also recorded the highest numbers of emigrants in 2024 (662,300 and 584,200 respectively), followed by France (263,200).
Relative to population size, Spain ranks 4th among EU countries in terms of migrants arriving from outside the EU, with 26.4 migrants per 1,000 inhabitants, well behind Malta (59.9) and Cyprus (41.5), and ahead of Germany (12.9) and France (6.4 migrants from outside the EU per 1,000 inhabitants).
Sources :
– Prix des carburants 13-avr-2026 | GlobalPetrolPrices.com
– [demo_pjanind] Population structure indicators at national level
– Euros data – Migrants: in 2024, the EU welcomed 4.2 million people
