From the mid-1980s to the mid-2000s, Spain housed huge amounts of immigrants, largely from its former Latin American colonies and, to a lesser extent, from Morocco and Eastern Europe. Not coincidentally, Spain's economy grew by 3.1 percent annually during this time, making it the fastest growing economy in Western Europe. When the financial crisis left a quarter of Spain's population without a job, many former immigrants sought work in other countries. So far, most emigrants are low-skilled foreign workers; unemployment is almost twice as high among foreign workers with only a primary education (or less) than among foreign workers with university degrees. However, two out of every 10 emigrants from Spain are Spanish nationals. Reports suggest that most of the Spanish emigrants are college-educated, with many making below 1,000 euros ($1,300) per month.
