Internal Migration of Foreign Immigrants in Spanish Rural Areas

Jordi Bayona i Carrasco , Universitat de Barcelona (UB) & Centre d'Estudis Demogràfics (CED)
Andreu Domingo, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Osama Damoun, Center for Demographic Studies

Within the debate on depopulation in Spain, foreign immigration has often been seen as a lifeline, limiting population loss and even reversing recessionary demographic dynamics. Its effects on rural municipalities are diverse, and its arrival even acts to widen the gap between the most dynamic municipalities and those with more recessive dynamics. Much of this international migration does not originate in a migratory movement directly from abroad, but occurs at a later stage, through internal migration from other areas of the country, in contexts of high mobility related to their precarious economic situation and employability. Little is known about these dynamics, the characteristics of internal migratory flows and their evolution, nor about the characteristics of the migrants who finally establish their residence in these areas and, above all, which elements condition their permanence. In order to analyse these issues, we work with the Residential Variation Statistics (RVS) and the 2021 Population Census. Rural municipalities are defined based on the criteria of Reig et al. (2016), who classify Spanish municipalities into six categories. Migrants will be analysed according to origin, distinguishing six groups according to place of birth. Temporally, we analyse the evolution since the beginning of the century, which will allow us to distinguish the effect on migration flows of the succession of several economic cycles. Finally, and through the analysis of the 2021 Population Census, migratory movements towards rural areas will be related to socio-demographic characteristics, in comparison with those who do not migrate.

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 Presented in Session 56. Flash session Internal Migration of Immigrant Origin Populations