When does a foreigner become a resident? EU citizens should apply for residence it they spend more than six months in Andalucia. The figures below are based on statistics from residence permit from the Ministry of the Interior. When using these statistics, keep in mind that many, many foreign residents never register - even though they should. Also, some nationalities have a greater interest in becoming legally registered than do others. Non-EU citizens, for instance, go to great lengths to get their papers in order and obtain residency and even citizenship, while EU citizens often don't feel these things to be pressing issues.

Number of foreign residents in Andalucia by year

• 1986 - 23.000
• 1991 - 49.000
• 1996 - 67.000
• 1997 - 83.000
• 1998 - 95.000
• 2000 - 109.000
• 2001 - 143.000

Registered Foreign residents in 2001 by Nationality

• Morroco - 27%
• UK - 15%
• Germany - 6%
• France - 4%
• USA - 3%
• Italy - 3%
• Holland - 3%
• Senegal - 2%
• China - 2%
• Belgium - 2%
• Denmark - 2%
• Portugal - 2%
• Switzerland - 2%
• Argentina - 2%
• Finland - 2%
• Colombia - 1%
• Ecuador - 1%
• Algeria - 1%

Foreign residents' province of residence:

• Malaga - 55.000
• Almeria - 34.000
• Granada - 14.000
• Seville - 11.000
• Cadiz - 11.000
• Huelva - 5.000
• Cordoba - 4.000
• Jaen - 4.000

The foreign population represents on average about 2% of the Andalucian Population. In most inland municipalities this is actually less than 0.5%. In most of the large cities the figure is about the 2% average. On all the Mediterranean coast foreigners represent over 5% of the population and in most municipalities of the Costa del Sol it is 15%.

Official Foreign Population Figures by Age and sex in 1999

According to the Social Security Office in 2000 there were 54.000 foreign residents affiliated. This suggest that 50% of foreign residents are working. The remainder would either be at school, home, retired or working illegally. Those working were divided into the following areas.

• General - 20.000
• Agriculture - 19.000
• Self Employed - 12.000
• Home Workers - 2.500
• At Sea - 300

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