This population growth has largely been due to the massive influx of foreigners in recent yeas. In the European Union (EU), Spain is the member country that has received the second largest number of immigrants over the past decade. While in 1998, only 630,000 people were of foreign origin, now 3,730,000 people have foreign passports.

There are 511,294 (13.7 percent) immigrants from Morocco, whose religion is Islam and whose mother tongue is Arabic. They constitute the largest group of foreigners living in Spain.

Close to half a million Spanish-speaking immigrants (13.3 percent) from Ecuador form the second largest group. The presence of significant immigrant communities from Romania, Bulgaria, Colombia, Argentina, and Bolivia was also highlighted in the report.

From an economic point of view, all these countries are considered as developing ones. There are several thousand Bangladeshi immigrants in Madrid and Barcelona. Many of them are either street vendors or run neighbourhood grocery stores. The wealthier ones own restaurants or are in the import-export business.

No wonder, the presence of so many foreigners with diverse ethnic, religious, linguistic and social backgrounds, particularly in areas like Balearic Islands, Madrid, Catalonia, Valencia, Murcia and Canary Islands, where there are heavy concentrations of them, has contributed to the perception among many Spaniards that there are too many immigrants in this country. According to the latest survey conducted by the Centre for Sociological Research, Spaniards consider immigration as the second-largest national problem after unemployment.

While the fears and anxieties of the average Spaniard about this sudden rise in the numbers of immigrants in their midst are understandable, it is fair to point out that from an economic point of view they are unfounded and are not sustained by research.

According to the latest OECD report, Spain's gross domestic product would grow by over 3 percent in 2006 and 2007. This growth would be significantly higher than that of Germany, France, and Italy. The International Monetary Fund has also forecasted a similar growth pattern for Spain. It has also forecasted a fall in the Spanish unemployment rate in 2006.

It is obvious that more and more workers will be needed to sustain this growing economic activity. If the Spaniards do not reproduce sufficiently and their senior members retire too early, only immigrants from the developing countries can fill the gap.

According to the United Nations (State of World Population 2004), population will grow at the rate of only 0.2 percent per year during the period from 2000 to 2050 in the most developed countries of the world -- Spain is one of them -- while the rate of growth will be significantly higher in the poorer countries.

It is estimated that the percentage of people over 65 will rise to nearly 30 percent of the total population in Spain by the year 2050. Low birth rate, greater longevity of the existing population and retirement before the mandatory age of 65 are already putting tremendous pressure on the social security system.

Leaving aside the foreseeable pensions crisis, in Spain and other EU countries, the cost of looking after growing numbers of older people has fallen on the shoulders of a dwindling number young people paying taxes and social security contributions.

The recent increase in the number of young immigrant workers has to some extent eased the situation in Spain. According to Eurostat, at present, Spain has the second lowest percentage of young people (14.5 percent) in the EU. (Italy, with 14.4 percent occupies the first place.) Since the immigrants have a greater fertility rate than the local population, it is expected that as their children grow and join the workforce, the demographic composition of Spain will gradually change for the better.

There is no doubt that immigration is a sensitive subject which arouses strong emotions among the local people because they fear that their incomes will fall and eventually the newcomers will take away their jobs thus increasing unemployment among them. This is only partially true. What really happens is that with the entry of new people in the job market some displacements and transfers among the different occupational categories take place.

There can even be a negative effect on a native's per person income for a short while. But in a buoyant economic environment as soon as the market adjusts to additional workers, the immigrants start creating new jobs indirectly by increasing the aggregate demand. They also create new jobs directly with fresh business ventures, which they are more likely to start than the local people.

Seven-day neighbourhood grocery stores, house cleaning, street sweeping, garbage collection, certain hazardous functions in construction industry etc., which either require long hours of dedication or great physical effort or considered unclean, unhealthy are only a few of the economic activities where the immigrants with fresh energy and a strong desire to survive first find their niches in the host country.

As pointed out by Professor Julian Simon in his scholarly work, The Economic Consequences of Immigration, this process causes the stock of human capital and physical capital in a given community to grow and to become more up-to-date. Thus in the long run the whole community becomes more energised and consequently wealthier.

Do the immigrants constitute a financial burden on the host country? True, there are individual cases of abuse but as a group, the immigrants contribute more to the economy than they receive in benefits.

A study by the British Institute for Public Policy Research found that contribution of immigrants to public finances went up from 8.8 percent of Britain's tax collections in 1999-2000 to 10.0 percent in 2003-2004. Another study by the International Labour Organisation found that in Germany an average immigrant worker makes a positive net contribution of over $60,000 dollars to the public treasury during his lifetime. Again, according to research conducted by the British Home Office, in fiscal 1999-2000, the immigrants made a positive net contribution of $4 billion to public finances. It is pertinent to mention here that their positive net contributions also help ameliorate the looming pensions crisis.

Does the presence of large numbers of immigrants with different religious, linguistic, and ethnic backgrounds create social and cultural tensions? Yes, it does as we have seen in several cases like El Ejido and others. But in general, the Spaniards do not have serious prejudices against the immigrants as borne out by the recent survey conducted by the Spanish Centre for Sociological Research. On the contrary, most Spaniards feel that immigrants should have same rights as themselves.

The authorities, however, should not sit on their laurels. Hidden xenophobic tendencies may suddenly erupt into anti-immigrant violence. Most immigrants, it seems, have found a reasonable niche in Spain, whose economy is growing faster than most economies in the EU. If the economic situation changes in future, Spanish attitude towards immigrants will most probably change. That is why the government has to remain constantly alert to the changing circumstances that may trigger anti-immigrant sentiments. Spain needs to implement a comprehensive immigration management policy covering training, health, housing, social benefits, common goals and values to maximise migration's benefits and minimise the host community's fears.

Chaklader Mahboob-ul Alam is a columnist of The Daily Star.