Massive 171pc growth in population in last century

PALMA
THE Balearic population grew by 171.4 per cent during the 20th century, compared to a 120 per cent increase in the total population of Spain, according to a report released yesterday.

The report, Changes in the Spanish Population in the 20th Century by Provinces and Regions, was directed by Julio Alcaide Inchausti, under the auspices of the BBVA Foundation.

It also reveals that the population in the Balearics rose by 90 per cent between 1960 and 2000, an increase of more than double that in the first 60 years of the century, when the population rose by 40 per cent. “This spectacular increase is the result of the growth in tourism which caused significant immigration, both from abroad and other parts of Spain,” the report indicates.

The vegetative growth in the islands (the number of births) was actually lower than the Spanish average, confirming one of the conclusions of the report, which said that the higher the level of development, the bigger the drop in the birth rate.

But while the average birth rate in the Balearics was lower than the Spanish average between 1960 and 1985 (9.41 per cent, compared to 10.89 in Spain as a whole), the situation changed from 1980 and in the five year period 1995 to 2000 it was “slightly higher” than the average, with 4.91 per cent compared to 4.53 per cent in Spain.

Women outnumber men, with the female population standing at 51.63 per cent of the population in 1900, rising to 52.52 per cent in 1970, but dropping to 50.3 per cent in 2000. The population in the 0 to 15 age group has dropped from 22.81 per cent of the population in 1950 to 15.57 per cent in 2000.

The report underlines the growth in the foreign population, and while it was classified as “not very significant” in the 1960s, in 2000 there were 79'427 foreigners registered in the Balearics, 9.41 per cent of the total population.

Another revealing aspect in the growth in population in the Balearics is the return of Spaniards who had been living in other countries, which was 30'245. The report says that the “intense” immigration from other Spanish provinces was decisive in the growth in population in the Balearics. It had already been noted in the decade of the 1920s, but it boomed as tourism began to develop.

And it is also thanks to tourism that the Balearics have a better employment record than the average for Spain.
The report says that in the year 2000, unemployment was 6.12 per cent of the work force compared to a national average of 11.78 per cent.