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When the Guardian’s European community affairs correspondent, Ashifa Kassam, first moved to Spain 14 years ago, the country was still reeling from the 2008 financial crisis. “All they talked about was la crisis, la crisis. They couldn’t see a way out. There was just no light at the end of the tunnel.”
Today, things are very different – businesses are opening up, restaurants are packed, and in Madrid “there’s just a buzz to the city that wasn’t there before”.
Spain is now the fastest-growing economy in Europe and Ashifa tells Helen Pidd that while much of the continent is turning against immigration, Spain’s socialist government is moving in a different direction. She explains the policies put in place to encourage people to migrate, the types of people coming, and the jobs they are filling – as well as other factors at play that are driving Spain’s economic growth.
As many countries across Europe struggle to reconcile declining birth rates, ageing populations and faltering economies, can Spain make immigration a vote-winner?
To see what your European country will look like without immigration, head to ‘Visualised: Europe’s population crisis’ here.
