Barcelona's expat population from wealthy countries quadruples in 25 years

Barcelona is home to more than 86,000 people from countries with a GDP per capita above Spain's. 

Italy, France, and the UK are the main countries of origin, with the United States and Japan being the leading non-European nations. 

In the last five years, the number of people from the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Ireland, Cyprus, and Israel has seen the most significant relative growth. 

According to an analysis by the Catalan News Agency (ACN), this group, commonly referred to as expats, has quadrupled over the last 25 years. 

In 2024, expats made up over 5% of the total population of Barcelona and over 15% of foreign residents. 

The Old Town, Ciutat Vella, has seen the largest increase in expats, while Eixample is home to the highest number, with over 20,000 residents. Sant Martí also stands out, housing 13% of the city's expats. 

From neither here nor there

"A lot of studies show that expats are usually received positively by the public. Public opinion is usually very good, and they are seen as an asset to society," Marina Ruiz Tada, professor of cross-cultural management at Barcelona's Ramon Llull – La Salle University, tells Catalan News. 

"Expatriates are almost automatically seen as assets to the country," she adds. 

Behind this distinction there is a lot of "stigma around the term 'immigrant,' although I think that the word itself has to be, not redefined or refined, but just more widely used to encompass varying degrees of experiences," this cross-cultural professor says.  

Listen to our Filling the Sink podcast episode on what's it like to integrate in Catalonia? 

Expat growth 

In 1999, Barcelona had a population of 1.5 million. Around 65,000 of those people were born abroad – 4.4% of the total. 

Of that group, 18,867 came from countries with a higher GDP per capita than Spain – 1.3% of all registered residents. 

A quarter of a century later, there are more than half a million foreign-born people in Barcelona – an eightfold increase. They now represent one third of Barcelona's population. 

Foreigners from richer countries – expats – now number 86,654, or 5.1% of the total. 

The growth of the foreign-born population surged in the first decade of this century. It has continued in the last five years, with approximately 140,000 new residents – more than in the previous decade. 

Expat growth has been steady, but it has slowed slightly in recent years: while about 20,000 arrived in the past decade, since 2019, the growth has decreased to around 8,000. 

Eight out of ten, Europeans 

Of the 86,654 immigrants from wealthier countries, a quarter are from Italy (26.7%), and a fifth from France (20.9%). 

Europeans account for eight out of ten expats in Barcelona, with Brits (10.7%) and Germans (9.2%) also accounting for a significant number. 

Outside of Europe, those born in the US (10.1% of the total) and Japan (1.9%) are the most numerous. 

Standing out in terms of increasing numbers are Israel (with 49% more than in 2019), Ireland (45.2%), the US (35%), and Canada (33%). 

Eixample, Ciutat Vella, and Sant Martí 

More than half of the foreign residents from wealthier countries than Spain live in the districts of Eixample (23.6%), Ciutat Vella (15.2%), and Sant Martí (13.1%) – where Poble Nou is located. 

Nou Barris (2.5%) and Sant Andreu (3.3%) have the lowest numbers. 

Salaries 

According to data released last Sunday, Spanish nationals living in Barcelona earned an average of €37,451 a year before tax in 2023, while those from the rest of the EU earned an average of €37,721. 

The average salary for foreign-born population on the whole was €28,739, highlighting the salary gap between Europeans and others. 

Pros and cons

The Mediterranean climate, good food, beaches, not to mention excellent health care and public transport: what’s not to like about living in Catalonia? Well, how about high rents, low salaries, and hellish bureaucracy?

Those are some of the issues highlighted by Filling the Sink listeners, Catalan News readers and attendees at Barcelona International Community Day, who tell us the good, the bad, and the funny side of moving to Catalonia from abroad.

Press play below to listen to our Filling the Sink podcast episode on what are the pros and cons of living in Catalonia according to the international community.