Immigrants contributed 0.7 percentage points to per capita GDP growth in Spain

According to data from the Bank of Spain, immigrants contributed an average of 0.7 percentage points to the annual growth of per capita GDP, which stood at 2.9% between 2022 and 2024. This means that the increase in the number and integration of migrants is not slowing down economic growth — it’s accelerating it.

📊 By the end of 2024, 9.4 million people born outside of Spain were living in the country — that’s 19% of the population. Of those, 75% have been living in Spain for more than four years.

🔍 The main contribution comes from employment growth, especially among long-term migrants. In 2024, the number of employed foreign nationals rose by 6.9%, compared to just 1.4% among Spaniards.

📉 Despite the fact that many immigrants work in low-productivity sectors, their overall contribution to per capita GDP remains positive thanks to high labor market participation and improvements in educational attainment.