Family patterns and living arrangements of Moroccans in Spain

Chia Liu, Centre d’Estudis Demogràfics (CED), UAB
Rocio Treviño-Maruri, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Albert Esteve, Centre d’Estudis Demogràfics (CED), UAB

This study examines the family characteristics and living arrangements of Moroccans in Spain compared to the populations of Morocco and Spain. Moreover, within the group of Moroccans in Spain, we examine the coresidential behaviors among first, 1.5, and second generation immigrants. We use the Integrated Public-Use Microdata Series International (IPUMS-I) and Spain 2011 data provided by the National Statistics Institute of Spain (INE) which contain person records organized into households. Preliminary findings show that the living arrangements of Moroccans in Spain are unique compared to both populations in Morocco and Spain. Second generation Moroccans, particularly females, marry and have children significantly earlier than the general Spanish population. Those with both parents born in Morocco tend to exhibit more traditional Moroccan family plans compared to those who have one non-Moroccan parent. To uncover the underlying factors to marital and childbearing patterns, we also explore the composition of first generation migrants from Morocco.