Building Families in a Migration Context. Romanians in Spain 2000-2011

Abstract

This article presents an analytical approach to the reality of couples with children born in Spain who descend from at least one Romanian parent. It was carried out with the official data included in the Childbirth Statistical Bulletin of the National Statistics Institute. The Romanian community represents the largest contingent of foreign residents in Spain, showing a steady growth since 2000 to the present. For this reason, it is important to learn about the processes of settlement and integration of this population. Romanian immigrants in Spain are usually young people who also marry young people (especially if it’s between people of the same nationality) and who reside mainly in Madrid, Valencia, Andalusia and Catalonia. The results show that Romanian-only couples reveal different patterns from couples with only one Romanian member.