The country’s socialist leaders argue that immigrants are necessary to offset low birth rates
More than ten million people living in Spain were born abroad, according to newly-released government statistics. Despite facing an ascendant right wing, the country’s government has doubled down on its pro-migrant policies.
Out of a total population of 49.5 million, more than 10 million people were born in other countries, according to information published by Spain’s National Institute of Statistics (INE) on Thursday. Spain’s foreign-born population has almost doubled in the last decade, while its native population has shrunk by more than one million due to low birth rates and emigration.
Moroccans are the largest immigrant group, with 1.17 million living in Spain, followed by Colombians and Venezuelans, at 980,000 and 690,000 respectively. 144,600 Colombians, 94,000 Venezuelans, and 96,300 Moroccans arrived last year alone.
Alongside the influx of immigrants, Spain’s right-wing Vox party has surged in popularity, going from 2% in opinion polls in 2018 to 18% this month, according to an aggregate compiled by Politico. Vox currently holds 33 out of 350 seats in parliament, but doubled its seats in regional elections in Extremadura in December and Aragon on Sunday.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: rt.com
