Foreigners in Spain by nationality: the languages behind the numbers

Foreigners in Spain by nationality: Moroccans, Colombians and Romanians are the largest groups, but each province has its own mix, and a passport does not tell you which language a client reads. This page covers both, nationality and language, with our own summary of official INE data, province by province, and checks which translation apps list each language.

Relocation agencies, gestorías, clinics, schools and NGOs can use it to decide which languages to prepare. If you run relocation services, see how live captions work in relocation consultations.

How many foreigners live in Spain, and what percentage are they?

Spain had 7,437,543 foreign residents on 1 July 2026, out of 49,801,559 people: 14.9% of the population. People born abroad numbered 10,291,807, more than the foreign nationals, because many of them have acquired Spanish citizenship. The Valencian Community had the largest relative population increase of any region in the second quarter of 2026 (0.43%).

Alicante has the highest share of any Spanish province: more than one resident in four is a foreign national. Almería (24.1%) and Lleida (22.8%) come next.

Shares are our calculation from INE table 59591, which covers every province.

Foreigners in Spain by nationality: which groups are largest?

Morocco, Colombia and Romania lead, and together they account for about a third of all foreign residents. These are the latest figures by country, for 1 January 2025, when Spain counted 6,911,971 foreign residents. The last column shows the language group we counted each nationality under.

Which languages are behind the numbers?

Spanish comes first: 2,362,786 foreign residents, 34% of the total, hold the citizenship of a Spanish speaking country in Latin America or of Equatorial Guinea. After Spanish, Arabic is the largest group nationwide and in the Valencian Community, followed by Romanian and English.

How we grouped them: Spanish covers the Spanish speaking countries of Latin America and Equatorial Guinea. Arabic covers Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Mauritania. Romanian covers Romania and Moldova. English covers the United Kingdom, Ireland, the United States, Canada and Australia. Portuguese covers Portugal, Brazil, Angola and Cabo Verde. German covers Germany and Austria. Russian covers Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. Urdu stands for Pakistan. French counts France only.

Region by region: which nationalities lead in Valencia, Alicante and Castellón?

Each Valencian province has a different mix, so a single language list for "Valencia" will miss clients. In Alicante province the British lead, in Castellón the Romanians, in Valencia province the Colombians.

The share of Spanish speaking nationalities varies just as much: about half of foreign residents in Madrid province, 36% in Valencia province, 25% in Castellón and 21% in Alicante. An office in Alicante that only prepares for Spanish and English misses Arabic, Ukrainian, Russian and Dutch speakers in the same province.

Which apps cover which languages with Spanish?

Google Translate lists every language in the table below; each of the other four misses at least one. We read each vendor's published list for its conversation feature on 1 November 2026. "Listed" means the language appears there. Spanish is on every list. A listing says nothing about how well a language works, and we did not test quality.

Cells marked with an asterisk: DeepL processes these languages through a third party provider that a team admin has to switch on. None of the five lists names Valencian separately.

The languages are only half of the choice. How each tool handles a conversation:

For two people and a language your phone lists, the built in tools are the simpler choice, and some work without internet. Getix Translate is built for the other case: several people at one table or on one call, each reading their own language. Our comparison of live translation tools for meetings goes further.

What do the numbers miss?

Nationality is not language, and these tables count people, not preferences. Four gaps matter in practice:

• People from one country may prefer different languages. Ask each client which language they want to read. Arabic covers many spoken varieties, so test with a speaker from Morocco or Algeria before relying on any app.
• New citizens disappear from the count. 10,291,807 residents were born abroad, but only 7,437,543 are foreign nationals; the gap includes people who became Spanish citizens and may still prefer their first language.
• Different sources count different things. The census counts 202,105 Ukrainian nationals on 1 January 2025. The Ministry of Inclusion counts 353,009 Ukrainians with valid residence documents on 30 June 2026, 262,782 of them under temporary protection, with Alicante province first at 62,831. Different dates, different measures.
• Some groups are not in our language table. We left out Belgium and Switzerland, which have several official languages, and French speaking African countries, where people may also use other languages. Senegal alone counted 101,432 nationals.

These are resident counts, so tourists and short visits do not appear at all. For daily life questions, see how ten conversations work in Spain without Spanish; for client visits, see the relocation consultant checklist.

How we built this, and when we update it

We downloaded the INE tables on 1 November 2026 and added the figures ourselves. Totals by province come from the Continuous Population Statistics for 1 July 2026. Counts by country come from the annual census for 1 January 2025, the latest breakdown by nationality that INE publishes. We grouped nationalities by an official language of each country, as listed above; INE itself publishes nationality, not language. App lists come from each vendor's own help or product pages.

We will update the tables when INE publishes a newer breakdown by nationality, and recheck the app lists at the same time. If you serve clients in one of these languages, check that it is among the 60 languages for live captions in Getix Translate for relocation teams.

FAQ

What are the largest foreign communities in Spain in 2026?

The latest breakdown by nationality, for 1 January 2025, puts Moroccans first with 968,999 residents, then Colombians (676,534), Romanians (609,270), Venezuelans (377,809) and Italians (345,777). In total, Spain counted 7,437,543 foreign residents on 1 July 2026.

How many foreigners live in Spain?

7,437,543 foreign nationals lived in Spain on 1 July 2026, according to INE. Counting everyone born abroad, including people who have since become Spanish citizens, the figure was 10,291,807.

What percentage of Spain's population is foreign?

14.9% on 1 July 2026: 7,437,543 foreign residents out of 49,801,559 people. By province, it is highest in Alicante (26.2%), followed by Almería (24.1%) and Lleida (22.8%).

Which languages do immigrants in Alicante speak?

By nationality, the largest groups in Alicante province are British (68,904), Colombian, Moroccan, Ukrainian and Romanian. Grouped by language, Spanish comes first (106,401), then English (76,799) and Arabic (74,987), followed by Ukrainian, Russian and Romanian. Only about one foreign resident in five there holds a Spanish speaking nationality.

Which translation apps support Ukrainian, Romanian and Arabic to Spanish?

On 1 November 2026, Google Translate's live translate, DeepL Voice and Getix Translate listed all three; in DeepL Voice, spoken Arabic goes through a third party provider that a team admin has to switch on. Apple Translate listed Ukrainian and Arabic but not Romanian. Samsung Interpreter listed Romanian and Arabic but not Ukrainian. A listing does not tell you how well each one works.

Sources

• INE, population statistics, 1 July 2026: foreign residents, population, people born abroad, regional growth. Checked 1 November 2026.
• INE table 59591, population by province and nationality: foreign residents by province, 1 July 2026. Checked 1 November 2026.
• INE table 68527, population by country of nationality: counts by country and province, 1 January 2025. Checked 1 November 2026.
• Ministry of Inclusion, Ukrainians with residence documents: 353,009 people, temporary protection, Alicante. Checked 1 November 2026.
• Google Translate Help, live translate: languages, face to face mode, Pixel only without internet. Checked 1 November 2026.
• Google Translate, App Store Spain: price 0 EUR. Checked 1 November 2026.
• Apple, feature availability: Translate app languages. Checked 1 November 2026.
• Apple Support, in person conversations: face to face view, downloaded languages without internet. Checked 1 November 2026.
• Samsung Spain, Galaxy AI: Interpreter languages and split view. Checked 1 November 2026.
• Samsung UK, Galaxy AI features: Interpreter works without internet, Samsung Account. Checked 1 November 2026.
• Samsung US, Galaxy AI features: supported phones, language downloads. Checked 1 November 2026.
• DeepL Help, DeepL Voice languages: speech input languages and third party processing. Checked 1 November 2026.
• DeepL Help, group conversations: headsets, hold to speak, guests by link, required plans. Checked 1 November 2026.