Moroccans were not required to have a visa to enter Spain until 1985. This however changed with Spain's growing economic development and its entry into the European Union, after which stricter immigration controls were imposed. Immigration to Spain exploded in the 1990s, with Moroccans of both sexes arriving in large numbers and becoming Spain's first important economic immigrant community. In the 2000s, migrants started arriving in some numbers from other Muslim-majority countries (and from Latin America and Eastern Europe). According to an estimation by the Union of Islamic Communities of Spain (UCIDE) the Muslim population in Spain represents the 4.45% of the total Spanish population as of 2019, consisting of 42% Spanish citizens (most of them with foreign family origins) and 38.8% Moroccans(see chapter 2).