In Barcelona, people of different origins, cultures, and faiths live side by side. As of 2022, more than 1 in 5 Barcelona locals are foreign-born.

This diverse, intercultural, and multi-faceted city is quickly transitioning from a multi-cultural Barcelona to an inter-cultural Barcelona. Below you'll find information on some of the city's primary communities that contribute to Barcelona's unique social fabric.

As of 2022, Italians are the largest immigrant community in Barcelona, making up almost 15% of the city's foreign-born local population. While many come from Italy itself, over a third of the Italians registered in Barcelona actually come from South America and obtained their Italian nationality after proving that their predecessors were Italian.

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

The Taste-It Italian Food Fair and Italian Design Day are great events to get to know Italian culture, right here in Barcelona. You can check out the Camera Italiana in Barcelona for more recommendations of events.

There are many family-owned Italian small businesses in Barcelona as well - you'll find some of them on our staff restaurant recommendations page. :) 

According to 2022 data, just under 130,000 people from Latin America live in Catalonia, not including Catalans with Latin American family. Half are adults between 25 and 39 years of age, most coming to Barcelona to pursue higher education or economic opportunities. They primarily relocated from Ecuador (13% of the city's foreign population), Bolivia (9.5%), and Peru (9%), but there is a strong presence of all Latin American countries in Barcelona.

There has been a consistent wave of Latin American immigration to Spain since the last quarter of the 20th century. In recent years, the "Law of Grandchildren" has allowed for the children and grandchildren of Spaniards exiled during Spain's dictatorship to apply for Spanish citizenship, which has fostered a new migratory wave led by Venezuelans, Argentinians, and Cubans.

More than 60% of the Latin Americans in Barcelona are women. This feminization of Hispanic migration has caused Latin American women to become a key community in Barcelona.

There is a notable tendency among the Latin American community to participate in local organizations - whether they be cultural, social, athletic, religious, political, or other. Many of the Fiestas Patrias of various Latin American countries are celebrated each year, and Barcelona also hosts the largest Mexican celebration in all of Europe.

There is a strong presence of Hispanic small businesses throughout the city, and Latino music and dance styles (salsa, bachata, and so many more) are enjoyed across Spain. You can find many Latin American restaurant recommendations on our staff restaurant recommendations page. :) 

Organizations & Resources:

• Mujeres Pa'lante is an organization that defends the working rights and creates care spaces for female immigrants in Catalonia

• FEDELATINA works to support Latin American immigrants by promoting the building of community and institutional support

• La Asociación de Ecuatorianos en Cataluña in Barcelona features many events & community building opportunities for Ecuadorians in BCN. There's even an Asociación Ecuatoriana de Ecuavolley in Barcelona (a variant of volleyball invented in Ecuador!).

• The A Lo Dominican Festival celebrates Dominican culture, music, dance, and so much more. You can find more events and community building opportunities for Dominicans in BCN on the Asociación Socio-Cultural Dominicana en Barcelona website.

• Every year, the Fiestas Patrias of Peru are celebrated in Barcelona with lots of music, gastronomy, workshops, film screenings, and more. Check out the Asociación Cultural Alma Peruana en Barcelona website for more recommendations of Peruvian events and community building opportunities.

• The Fiesta Nacional de Colombia is celebrated annually in BCN with tons of music, gastronomy, and cultural events. Check out the Federación de Asociaciones de Colombianos en Cataluña website for more recommendations of Colombian events and community building opportunities.

In 1972, the first Pakistani immigrants arrived in Catalonia, coming mainly from the Punjab region, which spans the border between Pakistan and India. This is why most Pakistanis in Barcelona speak Punjabi rather than Urdu. The Pakistani community makes up more than 11% of Barcelona's immigrant population, and they're also the primary Muslim community in Barcelona.

Mainly based in the Raval neighborhood, there is an extensive network of Punjabi small businesses, and they have a very strong sense of community. You can find some of our favorite Pakistani restaurants on our staff restaurant recommendations page. :) 

On the Asociació Cultural Educativa i Social Operativa de Dones Pakistaneses (ACESOP) website, you can find many events and opportunities for community building with the Pakistani community in Barcelona. 

The Din Tak Academy is a dance studio with regular classes for both beginners and seasoned dancers specializing in Bollywood, Bhangra, and other traditionally South Asian dances.

The Holi Festival of Barcelona is a great opportunity to get involved in Pakistani culture. It's an adaptation of a well-known Hindu festival that celebrates the arrival of spring. It's filled with culture, music, gastronomy, and it's a unique experience in which you get covered with vibrantly colored powder.

As of 2022 data, the Chinese community makes up just under 9% of the immigrant population in Barcelona. At one point, it was actually the second largest immigrant community in the city. The vast majority of Chinese residents started arriving in the 1980s, with more than 80% of them coming from Zhejiang's Qingtian County. Since then, they have established themselves as a strong commercial component of the city, with 40% of all Chinese investments in Spain being based in Catalonia.

Did you know that the Barcelona SAE Office and School for International Studies (SIS) Center are actually located in what is often referred to as Barcelona's China Town? The Fort Pienc area is known for having a large concentration of Chinese residents and small businesses. It's also where the Lunar New Year is celebrated each year in Barcelona, with the main festivities taking place at the Arc de Triomf. 

The Casa Asia website is a fantastic resource for cultural events and exhibitions happening within the Asian community, with many featuring the Chinese community.

The Institut Confuci de Barcelona is an organization formed in partnership with various universities in Barcelona with the goal of promoting Chinese language and culture in Catalonia. They host a variety of events, workshops, seminars, and Chinese language classes.

You can find some of our favorite Chinese restaurants on our staff restaurant recommendations page - many of them very close to our office and SIS!

According to recent data, the Moroccan community makes up just under 9% of the immigrant population in Barcelona. Significant Moroccan immigration to Catalonia began in 1967. As of recent years, it's estimated that around 15,000 Moroccan citizens live in Barcelona, with most of them living in the Ciutat Vella, Sants-Montjuïc, and Sant Marti districts. These estimates do not include those who have obtained Spanish nationality over the years (50,000 have done so since 2004)!

The majority of Moroccans in Barcelona are Muslims, so they have a significant presence in Islamic celebrations like the Iftar (an open dinner to celebrate the end of Ramadan).

La Asociación Marroquí para la Integración de los Inmigrantes works to ensure inclusion for Moroccan immigrants in Spain by providing social, professional, educational, legal, and health support.

The Associació d'Estudiants Marroquins de Barcelona is a non-profit organization of university students, created in 2008. They have more than 600 members, most being university students, who cooperate on various social, educational, and cultural volunteer programs.

For thousands of years, people have crossed the Strait of Gibraltar between Spain and Africa to create the unique fusion of cultures that we know today in Spain. The first people from Africa (other than Morocco - see above) to reside in Spain came in the 1960s from Equatorial Guinea, a former Spanish colony. It wasn't until the 1970s that people from other African countries like Algeria, Nigeria, Gambia, Senegal, Ghana, and Sierra Leone started to arrive.

As Spain borders the Mediterranean Sea, it receives more than half of the European Union's total immigration from Africa, but not all of these people remain in Spain - many of them choose to move on to other countries in Europe.

According to the Alto Consejo de las Comunidades Negras (High Council of Black Communities), just over 10% of immigrants in Spain are of African descent. Catalonia is the region that receives most of the African immigration in Spain.

Organizations and Resources:

• Ser Mujer Negra en España (Being a Black Woman in Spain) is a book by Afro-Spanish activist Desirée Dela·lobedde, in which she explains her personal experiences living in Spain as a Black woman with the purpose of improving inclusion in Spanish society. You can also read an interesting article about Desirée's experience as a Black woman in Catalonia here.

• Espai Àfrica-Catalunya works to promote knowledge of African culture and provide a link between Catalonia and Africa.

• Black Barcelona hosts an annual event dedicated to African and Afrodescent culture and art. You can follow them on Instagram or Facebook for meet-ups throughout the year as well.

• Abarka is a non-profit cooperative born from the need to self-organize as immigrants and people of color. It uses gastronomy as a tool to generate job opportunities and empowerment for Barcelona's African community. They also have a full service restaurant (which we highly recommend!) - you can find more info here.

• Foni Bar & African Restaurant is a hidden gem in Barcelona's Raval neighborhood featuring authentic African food.

• Afro Glam is a female-owned clothing retailer focused on bringing African inspired prints and designs to Barcelona. Check them out on Instagram - @afroglamspain or stop by the store, located at Carrer del Portal Nou, 6.

• Top Manta is an innovative clothing retailer that was created by a union of street vendors (called manteros) to provide economic and social mobility to African immigrants in Catalonia.