Immigrants with disabilities in Spain

The great worldwide increase in migration in the last half-century has given rise to many studies seeking to explain its causes, the various factors influencing its development or its effects on the host societies. But, to date, few studies have focused on migratory flows of people with disabilities, and there is little reliable data on the relationship between immigration and disability. In Spain, the Survey on Disability, Personal Autonomy and Dependency Situations (EDAD-2008) allows us to address in part the socioeconomic situation of immigrants with disabilities. Specifically, this paper seeks to analyze some of this groupʹs basic social and demographic features, such as regional distribution by country of origin, level of education or degree of integration into working life, a key aspect in overcoming the twin risk of social exclusion faced by immigrants with disabilities.