foreigner

Vast majority are nationals from Morocco, Italy, Romania, and China

The language skills of Catalonia’s population to understand, read, speak and write in Catalan have reached record highs, according to a report from the Statistical Institute of Catalonia (Idescat) with data from 2011. That year, 95.2 % of the residents could understand Catalan, 79.1 % could read it, 73.2 % knew how to speak it, and 55.8 % knew how to write in this language. According to the Idescat figures, the foreign nationality population has registered the highest increases: 82.1 % of them stated they could understand Catalan in the 2011 survey, whereas, according to the previous census from 2001, only 61.1% of the foreign-born population had good language comprehension skills.

International tourism keeps growing in Catalonia. The money that each international visitor spends in Catalonia increased by 4.9% in the first 9 months of 2013 and reached €905 per person on average. Furthermore, between January and September, foreigners visiting Catalonia spent 11.9% more than they did in the same period of 2012. According to data released by the Spanish Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism, Catalonia has been the main destination in Spain measured by total spending volume during the first 9 months of the year. It is followed by the Balearic Islands, which registered revenue of €9.59 billion (7.5% more than 2012 figures). Valencia (also called Valencian Country) was the fifth Autonomous Community, with €4.24 billion.

Catalonia has consolidated its position as Spain’s top destination for international tourists, strengthening its leadership during the summer months but also throughout the year. 11.04 million foreigners visited Catalonia between January and August, 26.1% of all the 42.3 million international tourists who visited Spain in that period. The Balearic Islands (19.7%) and the Canary Islands (15.9%) follow Catalonia’s lead. Furthermore, all the historical records at Spanish and Catalan level were broken last August: 8.3 million tourists visited Spain during that month, and 27% of them chose Catalonia as their destination. This represents more than 2.25 million foreigners visiting Catalonia in a single month, a 12.3% increase on data from August 2012. 

Following a decade of significant increases in the amount of foreign nationals in Catalonia, it appears that many are beginning to leave as job opportunities dry up. In 2000, the percentage of foreign nationals living in Catalonia was 2.9%, while just over a decade later in 2011 this figure had increased to 15.73%. However, in the past couple of years the amount is beginning to reduce: between 2009 and 2013, 44,000 foreign nationals left Catalonia. According to the Spokesperson of non-governmental organisation SOS Racisme, Jose Peñín, immigrants are leaving as “they have less stable contracts and work in more abusive conditions”.

The ‘Rossinyol’ project aims to improve social problems faced by foreigners such as inequality and social exclusion. It is an adapted version of the ‘Nightingale’ program, consolidated in different European cities, and was brought to Girona due to migratory patterns. The ‘Rossinyol’ project is based on a mentoring network helping the inclusion process of immigrant children. Volunteer university students play a tutorial role for Primary or Secondary school foreign students who are in difficult economic and social situations. In 2006, the project was implemented for the first time both in Catalonia and Spain thanks to the University of Girona. Now the project is applied by different organisations in the province of Barcelona and in Navarra, in the north of Spain.

The decision by Spanish Government to restrict access to the public healthcare system could leave 600,000 people in Catalonia (8% of the population) without primary and specialised medical attention. 180,000 of these people would be foreigners. The Catalan Minister for Health, Boi Ruiz, explained that the measure aims to guarantee the universal access to healthcare to all the population, independent of their legal status, but at the same time avoid healthcare tourism.

The numbers of foreign workers contributing to Social Security in Catalonia reached 400,075 people at the end of July. This figure represents a 2.11% increase compared to a month ago. Seasonal work related to tourism and fruit harvesting caused the number of non-EU workers increase by more than 8,000 people over July.

Catalan hotels registered in 2011 a new tourist record of 48.029.385 overnight stays. Foreign tourism increased by 10.6% in 2011. However the economic crisis led to a 2.5% fall in domestic tourism. Catalonia hosted 16.5 million of tourists last year, a 5% increase regarding 2010 figures.

The private school will follow the British curriculum so, that when the students finish high school, they will be able to attend any public or private university either in Spain or in the United Kingdom. It is the latest addition to a series of international schools in Catalonia, which infuse an international and intercultural perspective into their teaching programmes, or they directly follow a curriculum from another country.

This English writer has been living in Catalonia for the last 26 years. This week he presented his new book ‘Barcelona, Catalonia: A View from the Inside’. Tree explains the difficulties he encounters explaining Catalonia to foreigners.

President Montilla visited a new centre for foreign children?s´ educational integration. These centres are the first step for integration when a student coming from abroad joins a school in Catalonia.