The Diplomat
The number of foreign residents who acquired Spanish nationality in 2020 reached 126,164 people, a figure that represents an increase of 27.5%, compared to the previous year, but which is also the highest figure since 2016, according to data from the National Statistics Institute (INE), collected by Europa Press.
The INE highlights that, between 2013 and 2015, there was a gradual decline in the granting of nationalities in the country. Thus, from the 225,793 granted in 2013, there were 205,880 in 2014, 114,351 in 2015.
In 2016, this figure rose to almost 151,000, reaching the highest peak in recent years, as one year later, in 2017, the acquisition of nationality fell to 66,498. In 2018 there were 90,774 and in 2019 98,954. In 2020, as reported by the INE, this figure will again exceed 100,000.
By nationality, the most frequent origin was Morocco (28,258), Colombia (9,010) and Ecuador (8,328). However, the most frequent country of birth in the acquisition of Spanish nationality was Spain, with 26,407 cases. The INE notes that the majority were children (81.4% under the age of 10), while among those born outside Spain, the most frequent country of birth was Morocco, with 13,047 acquisitions of nationality.
By sex, women are in the majority, accounting for 53.2% of those naturalised last year. In terms of profile, citizens between 30 and 39 years of age constituted the largest group in terms of acquisitions of Spanish nationality, closely followed by the 40-49 age group.
The INE also highlights that Catalonia (with 34,924 cases) and the Community of Madrid (with 25,284) accounted for 47.7% of the acquisitions of Spanish nationality in 2020. For their part, Extremadura (574) and La Rioja (841) were the Autonomous Communities with the lowest number of acquisitions of nationality among their residents.
Compared with the resident foreign population at the beginning of the year 2020, the highest intensities of the phenomenon of acquisition of nationality occurred in the Autonomous Communities of País Vasco (4.3% of foreign nationals acquired Spanish nationality), Región de Murcia (3.5%) and Cataluña (3.2%). The lowest percentages were recorded among foreigners resident in the Canary Islands (1.5%), the Balearic Islands (1.6%) and Andalusia (1.6%).
Finally, regarding the method of acquiring Spanish nationality, the Institute indicates that 111,219 cases were by residence and 14,774 by option. The latter, according to the INE, was mainly among those under 20 years of age, in fact 94.7% of all acquisitions at this age were by choice.
