First Baby of 2023 in Tarragona, Spain: Moroccan Parents Welcome Daughter Yasmine

Yasmine was born in Valls, in the Camp de Tarragona. She is the daughter of Slimane, who came from Morocco two decades ago. Youssef, on the other hand, was born in Tortosa. He is the first child of 2023 in the Terres de l’Ebre. Jana, daughter of Sabah and Mohamed, residents of Segur de Calafell, is the first baby of 2023 in Baix Penedès.

As in previous years, the trend has been confirmed in 2023. The first newborns of each year are children of foreigners or naturalized immigrants. In Tarragona, 40% of babies have a foreign-born father or mother, according to the latest 2021 data published by the National Institute of Statistics (INE). It is the third Spanish province with a high percentage of births, behind Lleida (41%) and Girona (45%), not counting the autonomous cities, reports Diari de Tarragona.

Between 2015 and 2021, births of babies with Spanish-born parents fell by 29.4% in Tarragona, while births of babies with one foreign-born parent increased by 3%. "The migrant population is younger," explains Pau Miret, associate professor at the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at the UOC. "The natives do not become parents until they have stability. They need more security," adds the expert.

"In a way, migrants are used to a certain precariousness. Households with children are in social exclusion, because they do not expect public aid," Miret develops. The expert notes, however, a decrease in births compared to the pre-Covid-19 period. In October 2022, 431 births were recorded in Tarragona, 20% less than in September (541) and 26% less than in October 2021 (586).