Immigration data for Barcelona

Public figures on the foreign population and on residence permits in the province of Barcelona. Each figure has its source, its date and a link so you can check it.

1,126,859People with foreign nationality in the province of Barcelona18.7% of the population · 1 July 2026
82,376People with a valid arraigo permit in the province+50.7% in one year · 30 June 2026
257,602Applications for the extraordinary regularisation in Catalonia21.9% of all applications in Spain · up to 30 June 2026

Foreign population

People with foreign nationality living in Spain, in Catalonia and in the province of Barcelona.

Population with foreign nationality on 1 July 2026.
Area	Foreign population	% of the population
SpainTotal population: 49,801,559	7,437,543	14.9%
CataloniaTotal population: 8,233,788	1,598,400	19.4%
Province of BarcelonaTotal population: 6,028,373	1,126,859	18.7%

Source: INE · Estadística Continua de Población, por comunidades (tabla 59587) · INE · Estadística Continua de Población, por provincias (tabla 59591). Date of the figure: 1 July 2026. Provisional figure.

Towns and cities in the province

Foreign population of the largest municipalities in the province included in the INE table.

Population with foreign nationality by municipality on 1 January 2026.
Municipality	Foreign population	% of the population
BarcelonaTotal population: 1,713,694	444,123	25.9%
L'Hospitalet de LlobregatTotal population: 300,672	85,805	28.5%
BadalonaTotal population: 233,286	44,126	18.9%
TerrassaTotal population: 235,403	36,241	15.4%
SabadellTotal population: 227,896	35,360	15.5%
Santa Coloma de GramenetTotal population: 122,876	29,885	24.3%
MataróTotal population: 132,453	23,774	17.9%

Source: INE · Estadística Continua de Población, municipios (tabla 79544). Date of the figure: 1 January 2026. The INE table only includes some municipalities, so not all of the province's municipalities are here.

Most common nationalities

The ten foreign nationalities with the most people in the province of Barcelona, according to the annual population census.

Foreign population of the province of Barcelona by country of nationality. Year 2025.
Nationality	People	% of the foreign population
Morocco	141,867	13.2%
Italy	79,445	7.4%
Colombia	76,477	7.1%
China	58,783	5.5%
Pakistan	54,935	5.1%
Peru	49,361	4.6%
Honduras	46,389	4.3%
Venezuela	40,335	3.8%
Romania	31,516	2.9%
France	29,966	2.8%

Source: Idescat · Censo de población: población extranjera por país de nacionalidad (tabla 6000). Date of the figure: 2025. Foreign population of the province in the census: 1,075,119 people.

Arraigo

People with a valid arraigo residence permit, and arraigo permits granted during 2025. These figures do not include the extraordinary arraigo from the 2026 regularisation.

People with a valid arraigo residence permit on 30 June 2026.
Area	People	Change in one year
Spain	542,953	+54.7%
Province of Madrid	104,474	+101.5%
Province of Barcelona	82,376	+50.7%

Source: OPI · Personas con autorización de residencia por arraigo en vigor. Date of the figure: 30 June 2026.

Arraigo residence permits granted in 2025.
Area	Permits	Change in one year
Spain	221,802	-0.7%
Province of Madrid	39,404	+20.0%
Province of Barcelona	31,091	-9.9%

Source: OPI · Autorizaciones de residencia por arraigo concedidas, año 2025. Date of the figure: 2025.

Valid residence permits, by type

People with a valid residence permit under the general immigration rules, across Spain. The OPI (Permanent Observatory on Immigration) report does not break this down by province.

People with a valid residence permit under the general immigration rules in Spain, by type, on 30 June 2026.
Type of permit	People	% of the total
Long-term residence	1,667,202	42.9%
Work	665,128	17.1%
Arraigo	542,953	14.0%
Other exceptional circumstances (temporary protection, humanitarian reasons and others)	485,592	12.5%
Family reunification	195,977	5.0%
Family member of a Spanish national	134,453	3.5%
International protection or statelessness	108,915	2.8%
Non-lucrative residence	84,957	2.2%
Total	3,885,177	+15.6%*

Source: OPI · Personas con documentación de residencia en vigor. Date of the figure: 30 June 2026. * Change in one year.

2026 extraordinary regularisation

The deadline to apply ended on 30 June 2026. These are the applications received according to the Government's report.

Applications for the extraordinary regularisation received up to 30 June 2026.
Area	Applications	% of the total
Catalonia	257,602	21.9%
Community of Madrid	202,424	17.2%
All of Spain	1,174,978	100.0%

Source: La Moncloa · Balance del plazo de presentación de la regularización extraordinaria. Date of the figure: 30 June 2026. We calculated the percentage ourselves from the figures in the report.

How to read these figures

Each source counts different things on different dates. The INE (Spain's National Statistics Institute) and Idescat (the Statistics Institute of Catalonia) count people who live here; the OPI counts people with a permit, or permits granted. They can't simply be added together or compared.
The INE figures for 1 July 2026 are provisional and may change.
Having foreign nationality doesn't mean you need an immigration procedure: people from the EU, for example, have their own rules.
These are general figures. They say nothing about any individual case or about how an application will be decided.

Sources

INE · Estadística Continua de Población, por comunidades (tabla 59587)Accessed on 13 October 2026.
INE · Estadística Continua de Población, por provincias (tabla 59591)Accessed on 13 October 2026.
INE · Estadística Continua de Población, municipios (tabla 79544)Accessed on 13 October 2026.
Idescat · Censo de población: población extranjera por país de nacionalidad (tabla 6000)Accessed on 13 October 2026.
OPI · Personas con autorización de residencia por arraigo en vigorPublished on 30 September 2026. Accessed on 13 October 2026.
OPI · Autorizaciones de residencia por arraigo concedidas, año 2025Accessed on 13 October 2026.
OPI · Personas con documentación de residencia en vigorPublished on 15 September 2026. Accessed on 13 October 2026.
La Moncloa · Balance del plazo de presentación de la regularización extraordinariaPublished on 2 July 2026. Accessed on 13 October 2026.