JUST over 10% of Spain's population is foreign, with British citizens making up the third national group among the country's expatriates, says the Permanent Observatory on Immigration (OPI).
The total figure stands at 4,925,089, based upon European Union nationals who hold a 'green certificate', which replaces the former photo residence card and the NIE certificate, and upon the numbers of non-EU nationals with a residence visa.
As at the last day of 2014 - for which the most recent statistics are available - a total of 2,773,707 were either EU nationals or immediate family members of these including husbands, wives and blood relatives such as aunts, uncles, grandparents, nieces and nephews, meaning 56.32% of all foreign nationals in Spain are from countries adhering to the free movement treaty.
Of these, 370,580 were non-EU citizens but direct family members of those who are, and the remaining 2,403,127 are nationals of the 28 European Union member States.
Romanians make up the largest citizen group, with 953,183 of them living in Spain, followed by Moroccans, of whom 770,735 are legally resident, and Brits, who make up 275,817.
The number of foreign residents in Spain reduced last year by 183,598, of whom 82,530 were from the EU, but of the remaining 101,068 the decline was largely due to non-Europeans acquiring Spanish citizenship.
Read more at thinkSPAIN.com