Ukrainians in Spain
An overview of what is known about Ukrainians in Spain
Headline statistics
- In 2021, there were a total of 115,028 Ukraine-born in Spain
- This corresponds to 2 Ukraine-born per 1,000 people
- The average age of Ukrainian nationals in Spain is 36 (compared to 44 for Spanish nationals)
- 52.7% of Ukrainian nationals in Spain aged 16 to 64 are employed (compared to 64.4% for Spanish nationals)
- 57.3% of Ukrainian nationals in Spain are women (compared to 51.1% for Spanish nationals)
- 30.4% of Ukraine-born in Spain aged 16 or older hold a tertiary qualification (compared to 22.7% for Spain-born)
Where do existing Ukrainian migrants live in Spain?
Sources and technical notes
Source: 2021 residents register, data provided by the INE. Migrants defined by country of birth.Close to 50% of the Ukraine-born in Spain are settled in the Levante, while the capital, Madrid, hosts 20% of the total Ukrainian population in Spain. The municipality of Guissona, in the province of Lleida, has the highest share of Ukrainians with over 100 Ukraine-born per every thousand residents.
What do we know about Ukrainians in Spain?
Among non-EU residents in Spain, Ukrainians are the thirteenth largest group. In 2021, 115,028 Ukraine-born residents were present in the country – around 2% of all non-EU-born.
Relative to other non-EU groups, the Ukrainian community is older, and mostly composed of women.
| Ukrainian nationals | All non-EU nationals | Spanish nationals | |
| Mean age | 36 | 33 | 44 |
| % Younger than 18 | 16.3% | 18.5% | 17.7% |
| % Women | 57.3% | 49.6% | 51.1% |
Sources and technical notes
Source: 2019 residents register, data provided by the INE. Migrants defined by nationality. All non-EU excludes Ukrainian.The labour market performance of Ukrainian nationals in Spain is on average better than other non-EU immigrants. Ukrainian nationals are widely over-represented within the household services sector.
| Ukrainian nationals | All non-EU nationals | Spanish nationals | ||
| Employment rate | 52.7% | 52.0% | 64.4% | |
| Employment Regime* | General | 64.7% | 61.0% | 78.1% |
| Agriculture | 3.7% | 15.3% | 3.2% | |
| Household Services | 22.2% | 8.1% | 1.3% | |
| Self-Employed | 9.2% | 15.4% | 17.0% |
Sources and technical notes
Source: 2019 residents register, data provided by the INE and social security records. Employment rate measured as registered employment over 16-64 population. Migrants defined by nationality. *We exclude mining and fishing as these account for less than 1% in all three groups considered here. All non-EU excludes Ukrainian.Ukraine-born working-age migrants in Spain are on average more educated than other non-EU-born and disproportionately employed in elementary occupations.
| Ukraine-born | All non-EU-born | Spain-born | ||
| Education | % Illiterate | 0.4% | 3.3% | 0.6% |
| % No Formal Education | 2.8% | 6.6% | 3.1% | |
| % Primary | 6.6% | 15.0% | 11.4% | |
| % Secondary | 59.8% | 57.9% | 62.1% | |
| % Tertiary | 30.4% | 17.7% | 22.7% | |
| Sector | % Agriculture, forestry, fishing | 6.7% | 7.3% | 4.2% |
| % Construction | 13.6% | 8.4% | 7.5% | |
| % Industry | 13.3% | 10.2% | 14.1% | |
| % Services | 66.4% | 74.4% | 74.1% | |
| Occupation | % Managers and Directors | 0.9% | 3.0% | 4.7% |
| % Skilled Technical and Professional | 3.4% | 8.5% | 17.5% | |
| % Technical Support | 7.1% | 7.2% | 12.4% | |
| % Clerical | 4.9% | 7.0% | 14.1% | |
| % Service Workers | 19.8% | 26.4% | 19.6% | |
| % Skilled Workers in Agriculture | 2.4% | 2.9% | 2.9% | |
| % Skilled Workers in Manufacturing | 16.3% | 11.7% | 11.7% | |
| % Machine Operators | 9.3% | 5.8% | 7.3% | |
| % Elementary Occupations | 35.9% | 27.9% | 9.1% |