Moroccan immigrants show strongest intra-community marriage pattern among Spain's ten largest foreign groups

A review of INE birth statistics from 2000 to 2024 shows that Moroccan immigrants in Spain have the highest proportion of children born to two Moroccan parents among the ten largest immigrant communities. Mixed marriages with Spaniards are less common for Moroccans than for many other groups, and partnerships with a partner from a third nationality are also minimal, with Algeria and Romania being the most frequent non-Spanish, non-Moroccan matches.

While Chinese, Bangladeshi, Indian and Pakistani immigrants exhibit even stronger endogamy, Morocco still leads its peer group of the ten biggest communities. The data also reveal a gender asymmetry: Moroccan women are more likely to marry Spanish men than Spanish women are to marry Moroccan men. Immigrant groups such as Cubans, Argentines, Venezuelans and Britons display the opposite trend, with far lower rates of intra-community unions.