Spanish Word for Immigration

The Spanish word "inmigración" means immigration in English.

Spain has the second highest immigration rate in the EU after Cyprus. There are various reasons for the high level of immigration, including Spain's cultural ties with Latin America, the porosity of its borders, the large size of its underground economy, its geographical position, and the strength of the agricultural and construction sectors, which demand more low cost labor than can be offered by the national workforce.

Another reason is the large number of residents of EU origin that typically retire to Spain's Mediterranean coast. Spain was Europe's largest absorber of migrants from 2002 to 2007, with an immigrant population more than doubling as 2.5 million people arrived. Spain was the favored destination for West Europeans that were considering a move from their own country and searching for jobs elsewhere in the EU.

The number of immigrants in Spain has grown from 500,000 people in 1996 to 5.2 million in 2008. This is out of a total population of 46 million.