Brazil and Spain in the dynamics of international migrations: a brief description of the situation of Brazilian immigrants in Spain

Abstract

Brazil became an emigration country during the 1980s, at a time when Spain was going through a period of greater immigration. Spain was receiving great numbers of immigrants of many different geographic, cultural and ethnic origins. In fact, it is now one of the most important destinations of non-European foreigners who wish to move to the Continent. The aim of this investigation is to offer an approach to the social reality of Brazilian immigrants in Spain, based on secondary data from different official Spanish sources. We describe basic socio- demographic characteristics of the immigrant population in Spain (volume, geographic distribution, gender, age and others), with special focus on Brazilians. We also discuss the context of the economic and professional reception of immigrants in Spain in order to come to a better understanding of the presence of the non-European immigrant population in the Spanish labor market. We also present socioeconomic data regarding this population and compare it with the Brazilian population.