Increasing numbers of Spaniards continue to leave their country despite recent improvements in the nation’s economy.
In the first half of 2015, the National Statistics Institute registered 50,844 Spaniards who relocated abroad. This was a 30% increase over the same period in 2014.
It marked the biggest flight since the start of the economic meltdown in 2008. Since then a total of 424,000 have departed, a figure which has no doubt helped to reduce the country’s unemployment statistics from 24% to 21% by the end of 2015.
The true figures are believed to be considerably higher as registration with the Spanish consulate is not a requirement.
Most Spanish people headed for the UK, driven largely by the quest for job opportunities.
Others went to France, Germany and even the USA and Switzerland.
Spain emerged in 2014 from a deep recession plaguing the land for five years.
While the jobless rate has dropped, it remains the second highest in the euro land only after Greece.
Many younger people have been left with little hope as unemployment among the under-25s has been persistently high. Despite a slight drop, it stood at 46% at the end of last year.
