Spanish population begins to drop, because foreigners are moving out

[Tender Branson]

Spain's population shrinks as immigrants flee economic crisis

Spain's population fell last year for the first time in decades, as immigrants left the country amid a major economic crisis, officials say.

The National Statistic Institute (NSI) says the number of residents dropped by almost 206,000 to 47.1m - the decline entirely accounted for by foreigners.

Immigrants from Ecuador and Colombia showed the biggest fall.

The figures do not take into account many Spaniards who have left in search of work but are still on the census.

The statistics agency recorded Spain's first population drop since the regular census began in the 1990s.

Although the number of native Spaniards grew in 2012 by some 10,000 - it only minimally offset the overall fall of nearly 216,000 among registered foreign residents.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-22251840

[Tender Branson]

On the other hand, Germany had an immigration surplus of ca. 400.000 people last year (but also a huge birth deficit of 200.000)

A lot of southern Europeans as well as Eastern Europeans have moved to Germany in the past year, because of the bad economies there.