Barcelona is the first province in which there are more foreigners than Spaniards in the age group

As has been repeated recently, this recent increase in population is due to immigrants coming to reside in Spain. What’s more, the same statistics confirm that the number of residents born in the country declined last year. However, today, Foreign-born Spanish population Its population is approaching 10 million people: in the third quarter of this year it reached 78,937 people.

In Catalonia, the foreign group also continues to rise. In the community, according to the latest data, 8,186,259 people live. They are 1.2% more than last year. the Barcelona Province It concentrates the majority of the region’s population, as well as those residing in other countries. Among them was one figure who stood out in particular.

New generations

Barcelona became the first Spanish province to include, for the first time, a number of foreigners greater than the number of local residents registered in a certain age group. It’s about Youth from 30 to 34 years: Specifically, as of October 1, 2025, there were 196,654 citizens of foreign origin and 195,666 Spanish citizens. Reviewing the other provinces of the state, the provinces closest to this scenario, in this age group, would be Girona and Lleida, also in Catalonia.

Statistics already predicted this change in trend, especially since then July 2024Since then, the number of citizens of this sector has begun to rise significantly. The decline of the local population, much less surprising than the increase in the number of foreigners, has led to the present situation.

However, out of 392,320 young people aged between 30 and 34 in Barcelona, 200,784 mencompared to 191,536 women. In terms of nationality, rather than place of birth, the numbers are more mixed: those with Spanish documents number 244,210, while foreigners number 148,110.

On the other hand, Barcelona’s statistics also indicate that there are fewer and fewer Under 15 years old They were born outside Spain (and have the lowest numbers, around 13%, since this type of data has been available). Conversely, those over 65 who were born abroad continue to grow and represent nearly one in five citizens.

National figures actually show similar behaviours: in almost all age groups, the number of foreigners is increasing, and the increase among people aged 25 to 39 is particularly significant. Thus, at the country level, 48.8% of the population between the ages of 30 and 34 years were born outside Spain (1,034,574 out of 2,894,830 citizens) and the proportion of this number is 47.1%, among those between the ages of 35 and 39 years.