Living

Which nationalities live in Gibraltar, and where were its residents born?

Short answer

Most residents are Gibraltarian (76.6%), followed by British nationals from the UK and elsewhere (14.5%), other EU nationals (6.0%) and other nationalities (2.2%), with 92 nationalities recorded in the 2022 Census. Just under two thirds of residents (62.9%) were born in Gibraltar.

Detailed answer

Residents by nationality, 2022 Census

  • Gibraltarian: 29,072 (76.6%)
  • UK and other British: 5,511 (14.5%), up 29.7% since 2012
  • Other EU nationals: about 6.0% of the population, up from 4.5% in 2012
  • Other nationalities: about 2.2%, up from 1.6%
  • Moroccan: 252, down from 522 in 2012

The 2022 Census was the first to record detailed nationalities, and it found 92. The Statistics Office links the growth in British and other nationalities to record employment growth and to net migration after Brexit.

Where residents were born

23,877 residents (62.9%) were born in Gibraltar, down from 67.1% in 2012. The other 14,059 (37.1%) were born abroad:

  • United Kingdom: 6,704, almost half of those born abroad
  • Spain: 2,237
  • Other EU countries: 1,587, led by Portugal, Germany and Ireland
  • Morocco: 1,353
  • Other countries: 2,178, led by India, Israel and the Philippines

The number of Moroccan nationals has fallen at each recent census, partly because many have become British citizens. The number of residents born in Morocco rose from 954 in 2012 to 1,353 in 2022.

Over half of residents born abroad had lived in Gibraltar for ten years or more. Almost one in four had arrived within the previous five years, most of them aged 25 to 49 and moving for work.