Foreigners working and living in Spain now make up 11% of the country’s National Health contributors

The number of foreigners affiliated to the national health system in Spain went up by 45,655 in May which is 2.1% more than the previous month. The total number of foreigners affiliated to the seguridad social as it is called here (social security) now stands at 2.1 million according to figures provided by the Ministry for Work and Immigration.

Specifically, 12,285 of the newly affiliated contributors are from EU member states while there are 33,370 new contributors from other non EU states, increases of 1.6% and 2.4% respectively.

Figures from the Work and Immigration Ministry show that the social security system in Spain has a total of 740,819 contributors from EU countries and 1,405,082 contributors from non EU countries.

Overall social security had a total of 19,384,101 contributors out of which immigrants in the system made up 11.07% of the total compared to 10.

9% for the previous month.

Out of the non EU countries four out of ten people affiliated to social security were Moroccan (288,455) and from Equador (260,855). There were 152,897 affiliated contributors from Colombia which is the third country for non EU immigrants working in Spain ahead of Peru with 82,365 affiliated contributors.

The rest of non EU affiliated contributors living and working in Spain are from China (66,769), Argentina (58,288), Bolivia (57,858), the Ukraine (40,396), the Dominican Republic (36,416), Cuba (25,086) and others (335.697).

Rumania, Portugal and Italy top the list of EU contributors to social security with 265,394, 81,439 and 72,288 affiliated members respectively. Britons follow closely and then Bulgaria with 63,231 and 56,106 affiliated contributors. Germans are less numerous with just 47,311 affiliated contributors.

One out of every four foreigners affiliated to social security (359,512) work in the construction industry although this sector lost 4,699 affiliated contributors in May.
The rest of foreigners affiliated to the social security system in Spain work in the service industry (18.5%), commerce (14.6%), the housing sector (15.1%) and in agriculture (8.9%).

Only 11% of foreigners affiliated to social security are self employed (237,373).
Almost half (43.4%) of foreigners affiliated to social security in Spain live in Catalonia (480,071) and Madrid (452.402) followed by Andalucía with 237,975 affiliated contributors and the Comunidad Valenciana with 240,161. Murcia has 101,454; the Balearic Islands 97,473; the Canary islands 96.122; Castilla-La Mancha with 86,327; Aragón with 83,208; Castilla y León with 71,374 and the Basque Country with 53,351.

Galicia, Navarra, the Rioja and Asturias had the lowest numbers of registered foreigners affiliated to social security.