Italian community is spread all around the world. Between 1861 and 1985, 29,036,000 Italians immigrated to other countries.

The fact of huge Italian migrations occurred in three different waves. The first wave occurred between the unification of Italy in 1861 and 1900, the second wave occurred between 1900 and 1914 during the beginning of World War I, and the third wave occurred following World War II along with Europeans from various countries.

In Barcelona, Italian immigration is a more modern phenomenon, that happened mostly after 2010.

The city of Barcelona attracts more and more Italians, who make up the biggest foreign community in Barcelona.

The Italian embassy shared that 54% of the people who emigrated did so from northern Italy, and 37% of them are between 18 and 34 years old.

It's important to point out that a third of the Italians registered in Barcelona come from South America and obtained their Italian nationality after proving that they had an Italian background. Most people of Italian nationality are widespread throughout the city, but they tend to settle in the Eixample, in Gràcia, and in central parts of Sarrià-Sant Gervasi and Sant Martí.

Pakistan’s culture is a melting pot of Indian, Persian, Afghan, Central Asian, South Asian, and Western Asian influences. There are over 15 major ethnic groups in Pakistan, which differ in customs. Some of these include Punjabis, Sindhis, Baloch, Pashtuns, Kashmiris, Hazaras, Makranis, and Baltis.

Since Pakistan gained independence from British rule in 1947, some eight million Pakistani nationals have emigrated to other countries. According to the United Nations, Pakistan has the 6th largest diaspora in the world.

In 1972, the first Pakistani immigrants arrived in Catalunya, coming mainly from the Punjab region, which spans the border between Pakistan and India, that is why most of them speak Punjabi rather than Urdu. The main Muslim community in Barcelona is the Pakistani population. They are the second largest immigrant population in Barcelona.

Mainly based in the Raval neighborhood of Barcelona, most of the population is from the Punjab region, which provides useful networking opportunities. It is common for Pakistanis to run small supermarkets and restaurants in Raval.

China has the largest migration in history. The mass emigration known as the Chinese diaspora which occurred from the 19th century to 1949 was mainly caused by wars and starvation, invasion of foreign countries, and political corruption. During this emigration wave the population moved to neighboring countries, such as Malaysia. 

The modern emigration of the late 20th century was due to the more liberalized policies that allowed increasing numbers of Chinese overseas. 

From 2017, the Chinese community is the second largest community in the city. 

The first large wave of Chinese immigrants came to Spain in the 1920's and 1930's however the vast majority of Chinese residents started arriving around the 1980's. 

Over 80% of the Chinese immigrants come from Zhejiang's Qingtian County with smaller numbers from Guangdong and Fujian. Others have come from Hong Kong, Macau and Southeast Asia. 

The Chinese community has increased commercial linkages in Catalonia. In fact, 40% of Chinese investments in Spain, are based in Catalonia.

For thousands of years, people have passed back and forth across the Strait of Gibraltar from Spain to North Africa blending the artistic, cultural, and religious traditions of both regions into the Spain we know today.

The first group of black Africans to reside in Spain after WW2 came in the 1960s from Equatorial Guinean (former Spanish colony). It wasn't until the 1970s that there was a first wave of black immigrants coming from other countries such as Gambia, Senegal, and Sierra Leona.

Countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea such as Spain are the ones that receive more immigrants from Africa. In 2006, Spain received at least 636,000 migrants, representing almost half of the EU’s total. Spain had difficulties to accommodate immigration from Africa and called on the European Union to shoulder some of the responsibility. 

Around 19,000 asylum-seekers arrived in Spain in the first five months of 2018, almost as many as arrived there in all of 2017, a record year, and eclipsing for the first time the numbers flowing through North Africa to Italy. 

Spain currently has about 683,000 African descent. 1.5% of the population, just over 10% of foreigners according to the High Council of Black Communities (Alto Consejo de las Comunidades Negras). 

African immigrants In Spain mostly come from Algeria, Senegal, Nigeria, Equatorial Guinee, Gambia & Ghana. 

Of the estimated 5.6 million Moroccans living abroad, 5.1 million live in Europe. The largest concentration of Moroccans outside Morocco is in France, the Netherlands and Belgium. 

The majority of the Moroccan diaspora are Muslims, with a sizeable minority of Jews and Christians. The vast majority of Moroccan Jews are now living in Israel. 

It was at the beginning of the last century that the first Moroccan mass emigrations began. The Moroccan diaspora is historically composed of guest workers. Until the start of the 1970s, many contingents left for France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany. 90% of migrants were rural men.

In 1996 European Union countries prohibited entry for Moroccans and the result was the start of illegal immigration.

Later, in 2009 the economic recession faced by France caused Moroccans to move the country next door to work mostly in the construction sector, which needed plenty of manpower.

Significant Moroccan immigration to Catalonia began in 1967, and in 1972 the consulate of the Kingdom of Morocco was established in Barcelona. Curiously, the first Moroccans to arrive came from other countries in Europe.

According to information from 2023 from the City Council’s Department of Statistics, a total of 14.954 citizens of Moroccan origin live in Barcelona. This represents 4.1% of the total population of foreigners. The districts where they are most present are Ciutat Vella (22%), Sants-Montjuïc (14%), and Sant Marti (14%). These numbers do not include those who, despite being of Moroccan origin, have obtained Spanish nationality over the years. Over 50,000 have done so since 2004. 

The type of people immigrating from Morocco has changed over the years: in the beginning, it was primarily made up of men without families, and later on, thanks to regroupings, it consisted of more consolidated families. The role of women has also been reinforced: they became a key piece in promoting coexistence, while also gaining visibility in Catalan public life.

The most important migrations of Latin Americans in Spain in general and Catalonia in particular are concentrated in the last quarter of the 20th century, motivated in some cases by factors like violence, economic crises or political instability. In the 70s, political exile characterised the first migratory wave of Argentines and Chileans; Cubans, Brazilians and some Uruguayans also stand out during this period. Later on, in the ‘80s, the immigration was led by those from Colombia, Ecuador, the Dominical Republic and Peru, and in the early ‘90s primarily Uruguayans and Paraguayans immigrated.

The signing of bilateral agreements to regulate the flow of migrants with several Latin American countries like Colombia, Ecuador or the Dominican Republic, and the application of the Law of Grandchildren (which allowed for the children and grandchildren of Spaniards exiled during the dictatorship to obtain citizenship) promoted a new migratory wave where Venezuelans, Argentines and Cubans predominated.

Almost 60% of Latin American women have a higher secondary education, mid-level professional training, or university studies. Additionally, Bolivia, Honduras, Peru, Colombia, and Ecuador are the countries with the greatest impact on our city’s districts, as the women of these nationalities make up 51% of the total number of Latin American women. This feminization of Latin American migration has caused Latin American women to become a key group in the process of maintaining the welfare of the local population. Many of them work in personal care, taking care of issues like dependency, maintenance of the demographic structure of the working world or the access of local women to the job market. 

The modern Romanian diaspora was estimated at about 8 million people in 2006, most of them living in Western Europe: Italy, Spain, and France. 

After the December 1989 Romanian Revolution, emigration was liberalized, but for the next few years, emigration to Spain was modest. It started to increase slowly in the late 1990s, and exploded after 2002. Emigration was further facilitated by the entry of Romania into the EU in 2007. 

As of 2022, there were 1,079,726 Romanians in Spain, of whom, 623,097 are Romanian citizens living in Spain.

In 2022, about 86.528 Romanians live in Catalonia, and in Barcelona, there are approximately 7.311 Romanians. 

Most of the immigration is for economic reasons, as well as the linguistic similarities between Romanian and Spanish. Romanians' Latin identity and Catholic religion are also a reason for the emigration of Rumanian citizens.

The Romanian population has been steadily decreasing in Catalunya and Spain since 2012 due to economic problems and unemployment in the country.

The Rumanian communities live in the Sant Martí, Sants-Montjüic and Nou Barris neighborhoods. 

The gypsy migration started more than 1,000 years ago in the region of northern India. Known as a nomad community, for years the moved to different parts of Europe. An important part moved to Romania, that is why gypsies are called “romanies”. Both terms are due to some Romanis, upon their first arrivals to Europe in the 14th and 15th centuries, claiming to be Egyptians for more favorable treatment by local Europeans, or being mistaken as Egyptians by local Europeans. 

Gitano identity is particularly complex in Spain. A confusing element is the thorough hybridization of Andalusian and Roma culture at a popular level. The clearest example of this is flamenco music and Sevillanas, art forms that are Andalusian rather than gitano in origin but, having been strongly marked by gitanos in interpretative style, are now commonly associated with this ethnicity by many Spaniards. 

Iberian Gipsies were established in Andalucian and Catalonia. Here they contribute to the creation of Rumba music and the Flamenco dance. They have their own language, Caló, which encompasses a range of regional dialects of Spanish with numerous Romani words and mannerisms.

The Somorrostro was an ancient neighborhood of Barcelona that ranges from what is now Hospital del Mar to Bogatell Beach. It was well known due to its poverty. In 1950, 1,400 barracks and 18,000 people were living there. Sometimes, the sea would flood the barracks. Carmen Amaya, a famous flamenco dancer, was born in the neighborhood. In 1966 it was demolished due to the military maneuvers of the Spanish dictator. Gypsies moved then to different parts of the city such as La Barceloneta and Gracia.

The exaltation of Roma culture and heritage is a large element of Spanish identity. Gitanos, rather than being considered a "foreign" or minority within the country are perceived as "deep Spain".