Catalan citizens have a very distorted perception of the proportion of the migrant population by greatly overestimating the percentage of people born outside Spain who reside in Catalonia, according to the first wave of the Longitudinal Survey made public this Tuesday by the Center d’Estudis d’Opinió, the Catalan CIS.
According to the study, which indicates that the actual proportion of the migrant population in Catalonia, according to the 2022-23 population and housing census, is 17%, the average perception of those surveyed doubles the real figure: 34%. There are 16% of people surveyed who believe that more than half of the residents in Catalonia were born outside the Spanish State, and only the same percentage correctly states the real data by pointing to the 16-20% range. Two out of three respondents believe that the percentage of the migrant population in Catalonia is greater than 20%.
Despite this overestimation, the majority of Catalan society’s stated perception of the effects of immigration is neutral or positive. The middle position is that immigration is positive for the economy and for Catalan cultural life. As for whether immigration makes Catalonia a better or worse place to live, the majority response is neutral.
Regarding the levels of tolerance and acceptance of diversity, the survey asks to what extent the respondent would feel comfortable if one of their children had a relationship with people from different groups and significant differences are observed in the answers.
Thus, Maghrebi, gypsy and transsexual people are those who would generate the greatest discomfort with a rejection that would range between 32 and 36% and an acceptance that would not reach 50%. On the other hand, in the case of gay, lesbian or bisexual, Latin American, black or Asian people, acceptance is much greater: between 65 and 70% are above 5 on a scale of 1 to 10.
By party, Vox voters are those who express the greatest rejection of people of Maghreb or Arab origin or transsexual people, while PP voters are those who express the greatest rejection of gypsy people. In any case, the voters of these Cs and Junts parties are the ones who reject these groups the most.
