Spain: for the first time, the police arrest more foreigners than Spaniards

A report consulted by The Objective details the results of a typical day, set on Wednesday, March 18, 2026. Out of a total of 1,033 people arrested across the country, 527 had a foreign nationality, or a proportion exceeding 51%.

On Bladi.net: The Moroccan prison population dominates in Spain

This trend is mainly concentrated along the Mediterranean corridor, the Balearic Islands, and the capital. The Madrid region records the largest volume with 160 foreigners arrested out of 250 daily arrests, while Catalonia displays the highest proportion, reaching 72%. A marked overrepresentation in prisons

The authorities also note a strong recidivism rate for property offenses. In Navarre, recent statistics attribute the majority of sexual offenses, homicides, and thefts recorded in 2025 to foreigners, particularly from Morocco and Algeria.

This dynamic is directly reflected in the national prison population, where one in three inmates does not have Spanish nationality, for a total exceeding 20,500 individuals. In Catalonia, foreigners have even constituted the absolute majority of inmates since 2023.

On Bladi.net: Spanish prisons: a quarter of foreign inmates are Moroccan

The situation is even more pronounced among the younger generations currently incarcerated. Across the territory, among the 1,207 offenders under the age of 22 serving a prison sentence, nearly 56% were born outside the Spanish borders.