Short answer
Alicante province had 550,809 foreign residents on 1 July 2026, 26.2% of its population and the highest share of any Spanish province; the whole Valencian Community had 1,173,815 (21.1%), according to INE. Town data for 1 January 2025 show 15 municipalities with a foreign majority, all in Alicante province, led by Rojales (68.1%). In Torrevieja, 49.5% of residents were foreign nationals, with Ukrainians the largest group; València city had the most foreign residents, 163,356.
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Foreigners in Alicante make up a larger share of the population than in any other Spanish province, and in parts of its coast they outnumber Spanish nationals. For Spain as a whole, see foreigners in Spain by nationality and language.
How many foreigners live in Alicante and the Valencian Community?
Alicante province had 550,809 foreign residents on 1 July 2026, according to INE's quarterly estimate. The Valencian Community as a whole had 1,173,815, 21.1% of its 5,574,948 residents.
- 26.2% of Alicante province's residents had a foreign nationality on 1 July 2026, the highest share of any Spanish province. Source: INE, table 59591
- 117,890 more foreign residents lived in the Valencian Community on 1 July 2026 than on 1 January 2025. Source: INE, table 59587
- 15 municipalities had a foreign majority on 1 January 2025, all of them in Alicante province. Source: Generalitat statistics portal
On 1 July 2026, Valencia province had 490,082 foreign residents (17.3%) and Castellón 132,924 (20.5%). Figures by town and nationality stop at 1 January 2025, so the tables below use that date, and today's counts are likely higher.
Which towns have the most foreign residents?
València city has the most, but on the coast foreign residents make up a far larger share, almost half in Torrevieja.
| Town | Foreign residents | Share of residents |
|---|---|---|
| València | 163,356 | 19.4% |
| Alicante | 76,685 | 21.0% |
| Torrevieja | 49,699 | 49.5% |
| Castelló de la Plana | 39,000 | 21.2% |
| Elche | 35,421 | 14.4% |
| Orihuela | 30,946 | 36.7% |
| Benidorm | 26,862 | 34.8% |
| Gandia | 21,521 | 26.0% |
| Torrent | 15,045 | 16.5% |
| Calp (Calpe) | 14,857 | 54.1% |
INE reports the fastest population growth in 2024 among Spain's main cities for Torrevieja (4.9%), Gandia (3.6%) and Benidorm (3.5%).
Where are foreign residents the majority?
In 15 of the region's 542 municipalities, all in Alicante province, led by Rojales (68.1%) and San Fulgencio (66.8%).
| Town (comarca) | Foreign residents | Share of residents |
|---|---|---|
| Rojales (Vega Baja) | 11,914 | 68.1% |
| San Fulgencio (Vega Baja) | 6,616 | 66.8% |
| Benitachell (Marina Alta) | 3,093 | 61.5% |
| San Miguel de Salinas (Vega Baja) | 4,202 | 57.1% |
| Teulada (Marina Alta) | 7,299 | 56.4% |
| Calp (Marina Alta) | 14,857 | 54.1% |
| Finestrat (Marina Baixa) | 5,042 | 50.5% |
| l'Alfàs del Pi (Marina Baixa) | 10,614 | 50.4% |
Seven villages under 4,000 residents complete the list: Daya Vieja, Llíber, Algorfa, Alcalalí, Hondón de los Frailes, Murla and Benijófar. By comarca, the shares are highest in the Marina Alta (38.9%), Vega Baja (38.6%) and Marina Baixa (34.9%). The Vega Baja alone has 154,665 foreign residents, more than the whole province of Castellón.
Torrevieja, Orihuela, Benidorm: which nationalities live where?
Each town has its own mix: Ukrainians lead in Torrevieja, the British in Orihuela, Benidorm, l'Alfàs del Pi, Rojales and Jávea, Colombians in València and Alicante, Romanians in Castelló de la Plana.
| Town | Largest nationalities, number of residents |
|---|---|
| Torrevieja | Ukraine 8,191; Russia 5,343; Colombia 4,859; United Kingdom 4,383 |
| Orihuela | United Kingdom 8,780; Morocco 2,845; Ukraine 2,040; Russia 1,771 |
| Benidorm | United Kingdom 3,065; Colombia 2,971; Romania 2,115; Pakistan 1,919 |
| l'Alfàs del Pi | United Kingdom 1,973; Norway 1,626; Netherlands 1,505; Romania 649 |
| Rojales | United Kingdom 5,135; Netherlands 784; Morocco 741; Norway 646 |
| Jávea (Xàbia) | United Kingdom 4,550; Colombia 1,803; Netherlands 1,114; Morocco 952 |
| València | Colombia 20,620; Italy 14,905; Venezuela 10,410; Ukraine 10,216 |
| Alicante | Colombia 11,674; Algeria 11,063; Ukraine 7,019; Italy 5,186 |
| Castelló de la Plana | Romania 14,667; Colombia 5,839; Morocco 2,719; Venezuela 2,528 |
Smaller groups matter locally: Torrevieja also has 1,521 Swedish, 574 Norwegian and 521 Finnish residents. Between the 2021 and 2025 censuses, Ukrainian nationals in the region almost tripled to 60,885, and Colombians to 123,266, now the largest foreign group.
Which languages are behind these nationalities?
Beyond Spanish: mostly English, Arabic, Ukrainian and Russian on the Alicante coast, Italian and Chinese in València, Romanian in Castelló de la Plana, and Norwegian and Dutch in l'Alfàs del Pi. INE counts nationality, not language, and a nationality is a clue, not an answer, so we grouped each nationality under an official language of its country.
| Town | Spanish speaking nationalities | Other languages, largest first |
|---|---|---|
| Torrevieja | 17.3% | Ukrainian 16.5%, Russian 10.8%, English 9.9%, Arabic 8.0% |
| Orihuela | 9.2% | English 31.3%, Arabic 12.3%, Ukrainian 6.6%, Russian 5.7% |
| Benidorm | 24.0% | English 12.5%, Arabic 10.4%, Romanian 8.0%, Urdu 7.1%, Ukrainian 7.1% |
| l'Alfàs del Pi | 7.8% | English 20.1%, Norwegian 15.3%, Dutch 14.2%, Romanian 6.2% |
| València | 37.1% | Italian 9.1%, Ukrainian 6.3%, Chinese 5.4%, Russian 4.8% |
| Alicante | 32.1% | Arabic 19.7%, Ukrainian 9.2%, Italian 6.8%, Russian 5.3% |
| Castelló de la Plana | 30.9% | Romanian 37.9%, Arabic 9.4%, Ukrainian 3.6%, Italian 3.0% |
How we grouped: Spanish covers the 14 Spanish speaking countries of Latin America named in the Generalitat data, plus Equatorial Guinea; English covers the United Kingdom, Ireland, the United States and Canada; Arabic covers Morocco, Algeria and Mauritania; Romanian covers Romania and Moldova; Urdu stands for Pakistan. Groups such as "other European countries" are left out, so rows do not add up to 100%.
Tip
Ask, don't guess
Ask each person which language they want to read: a Belgian may want Dutch or French, and someone from Ukraine may want Ukrainian or Russian. Arabic has many spoken varieties, so test with a speaker from Morocco or Algeria first.
What does this mean for clinics, estate agencies, schools and town halls?
Plan languages town by town, not for the region as a whole: Torrevieja and Castelló de la Plana need different lists.
| Who | Typical conversations | Example from the data |
|---|---|---|
| Clinics and pharmacies | Appointments, forms, payments | Torrevieja: Ukrainian, Russian, English, Arabic |
| Estate agencies | Viewings, offers, community fees | Rojales and Jávea: English; l'Alfàs del Pi: Norwegian, Dutch |
| Schools | Enrolment, parent meetings | València: Italian, Ukrainian, Chinese, Russian |
| Town halls | Padrón registration, local taxes | Castelló de la Plana: Romanian; Benicarló: Arabic |
Find your town's languages. Use the tables above or the official tables in the sources, and mark nationalities with more than one language, such as Belgian.
Check your own visitors. The census counts residents, not clients: compare it with last month's requests.
Pick your first languages. Getix Translate runs up to 5 languages in one meeting, depending on the plan.
Decide where a person is needed. Medical consent, contracts and the notary call for a person who interprets, as listed below.
Captions by link work well
- A desk conversation: the visitor reads their language on their own phone, with no account and nothing to install.
- A parent meeting with several languages at one table.
- A viewing or first visit, with the original on the host's screen.
Captions by link are not enough
- Consent, diagnosis and treatment decisions: ask for a professional interpreter.
- The notary, contracts and documents that need a sworn translation.
- No connection: Getix Translate needs internet on every phone.
Estate agents: see our guide to a viewing with a foreign buyer.
How we counted, and what the numbers miss
We downloaded the tables on 10 November 2026 and did the arithmetic: foreign residents are the population minus Spanish nationals.
| Source | Latest date | By town | By nationality |
|---|---|---|---|
| INE, Continuous Population Statistics | 1 July 2026 | No provinces only | Partly Spanish or foreign |
| INE, annual population census | 1 January 2025 | Yes | Partly 14 countries by name for towns |
| INE, official padrón figures | 1 January 2025 | Yes | No totals only |
| Generalitat portal, census data | 1 January 2025 | Yes towns and comarcas | Yes 52 countries by name |
- New citizens count as Spanish. In the Valencian Community, 24.1% of residents were born abroad but 19.5% had a foreign nationality (1 January 2025).
- Only registered residents count. Visitors and people missing from the padrón are not in the census.
- Two official counts differ. Torrevieja's padrón figure for 1 January 2025 is 98,533, the census 100,470. We use the census because it has nationality. Local news may quote a town hall's own register for a later date, so press figures can differ again.
- Padrón
- The register of residents that each town hall keeps.
- Annual population census
- INE's count of residents on 1 January, built from the padrón and other administrative records.
- Continuous Population Statistics (ECP)
- INE's quarterly estimate by province, split into Spanish and foreign nationals.
- Comarca
- A group of neighbouring municipalities, such as the Marina Alta.
We will update the tables when INE publishes town figures for 1 January 2026. If your clients speak one of these languages, check it against the 60 languages for live captions in Getix Translate for relocation teams.
FAQ
How many foreigners live in Alicante?
550,809 foreign residents lived in Alicante province on 1 July 2026, 26.2% of its population, the highest share of any Spanish province. Alicante city counted 76,685 on 1 January 2025 (21.0%), led by Colombian, Algerian and Ukrainian nationals.
What percentage of Torrevieja's population is foreign?
49.5% on 1 January 2025: 49,699 of its 100,470 residents. The largest groups: Ukrainian (8,191), Russian (5,343), Colombian (4,859) and British (4,383).
How many expats live on the Costa Blanca?
Statistics count foreign nationals, and the Costa Blanca is not a statistical area. Alicante province, which covers it, had 550,809 foreign residents on 1 July 2026. The British were its largest group on 1 January 2025, with 68,904, and the largest in Orihuela (8,780), Rojales (5,135), Jávea (4,550) and Benidorm (3,065).
How many Romanians live in Castellón and Valencia?
On 1 January 2025, 36,462 Romanian nationals lived in Castellón province, 14,667 of them in Castelló de la Plana, and 39,272 in Valencia province, 7,080 of them in València city. The whole Valencian Community had 99,768.
How many Ukrainians and Russians live in Alicante province?
32,831 Ukrainian and 22,979 Russian nationals on 1 January 2025. Torrevieja had the most of both, 8,191 and 5,343, then Alicante city with 7,019 and 4,068.
Sources
All pages checked on 10 November 2026.
- INE, table 59591 and table 59587: foreign residents by province and in the Valencian Community, to 1 July 2026.
- INE, Continuous Population Statistics, 1 July 2026: provisional data, published 6 August 2026.
- INE, Annual Population Census 2025: fastest growing main cities in 2024.
- INE census tables for Alicante, Valencia and Castellón: population by town and nationality, 1 January 2025.
- INE, official padrón figures, Alicante province: Torrevieja.
- Generalitat statistics portal, census 2025: towns with a foreign majority, comarcas, people born abroad.
- Generalitat data bank, population by town and nationality: 52 nationalities, 2021 to 2025.