Murders Committed by Foreigners in Spain Soar 69% in a Decade

The number of murders committed by immigrants in Spain has sky-rocketed by 69 percent over the past decade, according to data provided by the Ministry of the Interior.

The statistics, viewed by La Gaceta online newspaper following an information request, cover the period from 2013 to 2023, and highlight a growing trend in violent crimes involving foreign nationals, raising concerns about the disproportionate representation of immigrants in Spain’s crime and prison data.

As the site reported, there were 81 foreign nationals arrested or investigated for homicides in 2013. By 2023, that figure had climbed to 137, marking a significant 69 percent increase in the involvement of immigrants in such crimes. In comparison, the overall number of arrests and investigations for homicide in Spain rose from 311 in 2013 to 399 in 2023, representing a 28 percent increase in total cases.

The sharper rise among foreign nationals suggests their growing proportional contribution to the country’s homicide rates.

The figures could further be distorted by foreign-born nationals who have since acquired Spanish citizenship and would no longer fall under the “foreign” bracket. This is often a tactic used by European governments, such as in Germany, to dilute the figures.

Since 2020, the total number of arrests for homicide in Spain has remained fairly consistent, fluctuating between 360 and 399 cases annually — an increase of around 10 percent. However, during the same period, arrests of foreign nationals have grown disproportionately, from 101 in 2020 to 137 in 2023 — a 35 percent increase in just four years.

This rise in violent crime among immigrants mirrors the growth of the foreign prison population in Spain, La Gaceta reports. According to official figures, 28 percent of Spain’s inmates are foreign nationals. The most represented groups include individuals from Morocco, Colombia, Romania, and Algeria, with Moroccan nationals making up the largest share. Over 5,400 Moroccans are currently incarcerated in Spain, accounting for 29.5 percent of the foreign prison population. This is particularly disproportionate given that Moroccans represent just 1.9 percent of the general Spanish population.

Since 2020, the number of foreign inmates has increased by 16 percent while the number of Spanish prisoners has only grown by 3 percent during the same period.

In October 2022, Remix News reported on data from the Spanish National Institute of Statistics (INE) which revealed that 45.62 percent of all of those convicted of sexual assault do not have Spanish nationality.

A total of 491 people were convicted in 2021 in Spain for crimes related to sexual assault. Of these, 267 were Spanish citizens and 224 were foreigners. Again, the Spanish column will also include foreign-born nationals who have since been naturalized.

The disproportionate nature of migrant crime is greatly emphasized in certain regions. In Catalonia, for example, 91 percent of those convicted of rape are foreigners, despite comprising 17 percent of the region’s population.

Data shows that last year there were 8,505 inmates in Catalan prisons, 50.48 percent of whom were foreigners.

Catalonia has become the epicenter of violent crime in Spain, with foreigners vastly overrepresented in serious offenses.

According to the Ministry of the Interior’s crime statistical portal for 2023, the 10 Spanish cities with the highest rates of violent robberies and intimidation are all located in Catalonia, with Barcelona leading the list.

The Catalan capital, governed by Socialist mayor Jaume Collboni, recorded an alarming rate of 823.9 violent robberies per 100,000 inhabitants — six times the national average and far exceeding Madrid’s 266.6 per 100,000 inhabitants despite being half the Spanish capital’s population.