A total of 500 million euros. This figure is the surplus brought by foreigners in Aragon to the net budget balanceas indicated in the report on immigration in Aragon, produced by the Basilio Paraíso Foundation.
He short-term net budget balance of immigrants would be around 2,000 euros for foreigners from the EU and 1,500 euros for foreigners from outside the European Union. Taking these figures into account and adopting the calculation of Christi et al, 2021, the total value of the surplus due to foreigners would be around 500 million euros in 2023.
The study by the Basilio Paraíso Foundation, presented today, also reflects that immigration has contributed to supporting the labor market of the Aragonese community, in addition to having a positive impact on the economy and public finances of Aragon.
According to the report, prepared in collaboration with ESI, immigrants in the community are mostly young people of working age and contribute significantly to the retirement system and tax collection. In this sense, it is indicated that, although they use social services, The net contribution is positive due to high labor market participation.
The study confirms that the short-term net impact is positive in Aragon and specifies that in the long term, the deficits are lower than those proposed in other reports in which the negative effects are overestimated. A conclusion which is explained by the fact that, Regarding contributory pensions, those over 65 represent 25.49% of Spaniards compared to 6.79% among DN foreigners and 5.74% among SDN foreigners.
Furthermore, the immigrant group, which represents 15.4% of the active population, has been “determining” since Fill vacancies in sectors such as agriculture, domestic employment, commerce and hospitality. In terms of salary, no major difference is observed. Nevertheless, non-European immigrants earn 13.27% less than the Spanish.
In some cases, immigrants choose to become entrepreneurs. Specifically, 8.47% of immigrants with dual nationality and 7.92% of immigrants without dual nationality are entrepreneurs with employees. These are lower figures than those of natives (15.02%), but significant because entrepreneurship is considered a reflection of integration and social progress.
Education, health and more
It is estimated that in the Aragonese community, for every 1% growth in the immigrant population compared to the total population of Aragon, there is a increase of 0.86% in education, 1% in unemployment spending and 0.12% in health. In 2023, social spending for immigrants from this community represented 2.10% of total health spending in Aragon, 12.87% for education and 17.50% for unemployment.
The report also includes the evolution of the population of Aragon in recent years. Since 2022, it has increased by 10.3%, with immigration being the main driver of this increase, given that The foreign population increased by 411% in this period. A fact that contrasts with the decline of the national population, which began to decrease from 2015 until today, with a drop of 5%.
Currently, heImmigrants represent 17.4% of the population compared to 3.8% in 2002. Over the last 20 years, its weight has quadrupled. And forecasts suggest that it will increase in the coming years, reaching 403,523 immigrants by 2039 for a population estimated at almost 1.5 million registered inhabitants in Aragon.
