# Huge rise in expats in Spain but unemployment could see numbers slowing



## Editor (Aug 20, 2009)

The number of expats living in Spain has increased more than sixfold in the last decade with*emigrants nows making up 12% of the population, according to the latest figures. Some 5.6 million non Spaniards were registered as living in the country last year, a huge*increase of more than 400,000 on 2008, the figures from the National [...]

Click to read the full news article: Huge rise in expats in Spain but unemployment could see numbers slowing...
Please come back to discuss the story here in this thread.


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## nigele2 (Dec 25, 2009)

Steve any article that mentions 'Torrejon de Ardoz' my families base in Madrid is a good article. Never seen it mentioned before but to be honest if you went there you'd know why 

But on the hole, yes I could have written that


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## Guest (Apr 14, 2010)

Do you mean Steve that current stats show a net exodus taking emigration and immigration into account, or that there is a trend in that direction (but still a net increase overall), and are you including Spaniards leaving the country in those figures? Are there any official figures which separate the stats by country of origin anywhere on line?

Just interested because I want to compare with the likes of France. In theory the trend should be pretty similar for the Brits, for example, in both countries. But if there is a significant difference, it would be interesting to know why. The British tabloids have been full of exaggerated guff about British expats pouring back into the UK from France, indeed some hack from the Express woke me up one morning last year to try to fill out a piece he had already written, but where I am in France I know of no one heading back to Blighty.


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## Caz.I (Mar 21, 2009)

The article definitely raises more questions than answers and I dont find it convincing it all.

Firstly, do any of these stats take into account that a lot of these jobs mentioned, probably no longer exist (having been created in 2000-2008), particularly in the construction and hospitality sector. And how many of them were foreign businesses which employed other foreigners? And secondly, does it take account of the amount of foreigners who have left who are still registered here? The stats quoted may not actually provide factual evidence for the story and stats are notoriously unreliable for this reason. 

Certainly I know of a lot of people on the CDS who have lived here between 5-10 years or more who have returned to the UK. Yes, there are still people coming here but a lot of people have come and gone over the last 10 years, and no doubt a lot of people coming over here now wont settle here forever. People come here, try and make a go of it and then go back if it doesnt work out, be it after six months, 2 years or more.

BTW, knowing about a particular situation in a suburb of Madrid doesnt make for a good article in itself, anyone can search the internet these days for stories in the Spanish press.
And, as we know, what is considered a good story in journalism may be interesting but isnt always based on hard facts.


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