Multicultural Majorca

Staff Reporter LLUCMAJOR, the largest municipality in the Balearic Islands and the most densely populated outside Palma, after Calvia and Manacor, is expected to register 30'000 inhabitants on its census this year if current growth rate continues. According to local government figures, present records show the area supports 29'615 residents with an estimated further 50 every month. During the final third of this year therefore, Llucmajor's “electoral roll” will top the 30'000 mark. Of the 29'615 already listed on the census, 4'982 are of foreign origin (16.8 percent of the total), and 24'633 are Spanish (83.2 percent), of which 16'142 claim their birthright in the Balearics. In terms of the places of origin of the Spanish section of the population in Llucmajor, Andalucia is thrown into high relief, especially the cities of Granada, Sevilla and Córdoba. Nevertheless, nearly all other regions of the country can claim some representation in Llucmajor. With regard to the foreign population, 720 of them have taken Spanish nationality. Analysing the nationalities of the foreign community in the municipality, the German population is way ahead of other groups (1'811), with Argentina following some way down the list (419), and the United Kingdom (330) and Italy (287) making a lesser showing. Municipalities clustered around Palma contain the largest numbers of foreign residents on the Island. In fact, in Deia, Andratx, Calvia and Fornalutx, the level of immigrant population is the highest in relation to the total number of inhabitants in the district. Apart from Calvia where the British top the foreign resident list with 3'294, Germans predominate in the municipalites of the Serra de Tramuntana mountains. In the northern area of the Island, the British and Germans who have installed themselves on Majorca on a permanent basis, often in retirement, are most in evidence. Sa Pobla, however, was one of the first places on the Island to host a resident population of Moroccans. Today, 1'201 people from that part of the world go to make up 12 percent of the total population of the area which stands at 11'712. In contrast, the municipalities of the Raiguer, including Inca, Porreres, Vilafranca, Petra, Ariany, Sant Joan and Montuïri, are dominated by Moroccans who find their way of earning a living in agriculture and construction. Foreign residents living in the district's capital, Inca, go to make up 10 percent of the total town population. More than half the number of registered newcomers to Inca over the past few years have their origins outside Spain, with a notable level of immigrants from the Magreb. The German population would appear to be drawn more to the Eastern side of the Island including the area of Manacor, choosing coastal areas or inland rural fincas as a place to live. In terms of headcount, they are followed closely by the Moroccans and in some localities, they run neck and neck. Immigration in Manacor, the capital of Majorca's Llevant region, represents a little more than 11 percent of a population of 36'400 inhabitants. The most numerous foreign group comes from Morocco (1'043), a little higher than the German sector (966). There is an important difference however, in the Pla region where Moroccans predominate due to greater work opportunities.