How many Spaniards have fled abroad since the start of the crisis? Many people may have a foggy idea that emigration has been outstripping immigration for a few years now, but the details are unclear.

Brain drain some say: these are the voyages of the lost generation, the educated jetsam of a exhausted economy washing up on Europe’s greener shores.

The United Kingdom, specifically London, is a preferred destination. Despite the precipitation, London has a loud and friendly Spanish community. But how big is it?

The exact quantity of young, or indeed older, Spaniards fleeing the crisis seems to be a pretty flexible bit of statistic indeed.

The figure depends, as they say, on the glass through which you view it, and the windows in the Spanish government seem somewhat rosier than their counterparts in the UK.

According to a recent study, La nueva emigración española (The new Spanish Emigration), by Amparo González-Ferrer, there has been some dextrous statistical gymnastics in play.

Start with the UK. Those with the checklists give a figure of 112,980 Spaniards living in the UK. Spain says 20,998. In Germany the figures are skewed too: 85,397 plays 17,074. Hmmmm.

So from whence the discrepancy?

González Ferrer says the Spanish government is looking at a narrow range of data. Rather than counting the number of Spanairds living in the UK, the Spanish authorities are counting only those who register at the embassy in London.

The problem is that for many registering is simply not a consideration. A visit to the embajada is not necessary to find a job or a place to live, and most people (perhaps 4/5) don’t bother.

All this leaves us fishing around for real figures as to the size of the worldwide Spanish diaspora, and González Ferrer’s report points us to 700,000 Spaniards since 2008, a conservative estimate by her count.

In the UK these data have Spain as the second biggest provider of immigrants, behind only Poland.

Anyone watching the heroic exploits of the English national team at Wembley last Tuesday will have heard the chanting of 25,000 Polish fans, making their voices heard in the country many of them call home.

As the crisis continues we’re sure to hear more Castellano in the streets and bars of London, Berlin and beyond.

Billy Ehrenberg is a freelance journalist who has written for several newspapers in England, including The Times and the Western Morning News. He tweets from @billyehrenberg.