Brussels, 09/05/2012 (Agence Europe) - Spain is setting an example, cited by the Algerian ambassador in Madrid: around 1,000 Algerian nationals have gone back home over the course of the last two years, following the economic crisis that hit Spain hard, said Mohamed Haneche, the head of the Algerian diplomatic mission, quoted by his country's media.
The Algerian community numbers between 2,500 and 3,000, living mainly in the suburbs of the major cities of Barcelona, Alicante, Valencia, Logro, Buglossa and Madrid. This community has doubly suffered, through the deep economic crisis and through its low level of university training, Haneche said. Nevertheless, “some have succeeded socially and have built small businesses”, he went on.
The largest North African community in Spain is from Morocco. According to the Immigración y Globalización report published by the Ciudadania y Valors foundation at the end of 2011, the numbers of Moroccans legally residing in Spain, who according to official statistics only totalled 5,817 in 1985, have increased over recent years to 74,886 in 1995, 199,782 in 2000 511,294 in 2005 and 758,900 in 2009 (Spanish National Statistical office figures). “The number of Moroccans is now more than 130 times larger, and has seen a tenfold increase over the last 15 years. Moroccans are outnumbered only by Romanians (793,205) in a foreign population of almost 4,744,000 in June 2010.” The report states that one of the most striking phenomena in migration of Moroccans to foreign countries in recent years has been the geographical shift of flows to new centres of attraction, such as Spain and, to a lesser extent, Italy. (FB/transl.rt)