Spain vs United Kingdom: Total number of international immigrants
Spain
8.87 million immigrants
in 2024
United Kingdom
11.85 million immigrants
in 2024
Spain rank
6th
United Kingdom rank
4th
Total number of international immigrants over time
- Spain
- United Kingdom
How they compare
United Kingdom currently reports 11.85 million immigrants against 8.87 million immigrants in Spain, a difference of 2.97 million immigrants.
That makes United Kingdom's figure about 1.3 times Spain's.
Across all 8 years both countries report, United Kingdom has been ahead every year.
Spain ranks 6th and United Kingdom ranks 4th of 232 countries.
United Kingdom has averaged higher in every one of the 4 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Spain | United Kingdom | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 1.04 million immigrants | 3.92 million immigrants | 2.88 million immigrants | United Kingdom |
| 2000s | 3.20 million immigrants | 5.37 million immigrants | 2.17 million immigrants | United Kingdom |
| 2010s | 6.09 million immigrants | 8.39 million immigrants | 2.31 million immigrants | United Kingdom |
| 2020s | 8.01 million immigrants | 11.18 million immigrants | 3.17 million immigrants | United Kingdom |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher total number of international immigrants, Spain or United Kingdom?
- United Kingdom, at 11.85 million immigrants against 8.87 million immigrants in Spain as of 2024.
- What is the difference in total number of international immigrants between Spain and United Kingdom?
- 2.97 million immigrants, with United Kingdom ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Spain and United Kingdom?
- 8 years are reported by both, from 1990 to 2024.
- How do Spain and United Kingdom rank globally for total number of international immigrants?
- Spain ranks 6th and United Kingdom ranks 4th of 232 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (2024) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Total number of international immigrants. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
People living in a given country who were born in another country.