76 PERCENT OF NEW INHABITANTS ARE FOREIGN

PALMA
THE Balearic Islands recorded a 13.9 per cent increase in population between 2001 and 2006.
Of this percentage, only 3.2 percentage points were accounted for by Spanish citizens and the other 10.7 points were foreigners.
This means that 76.9 percent of the new residents on the islands were born in other countries.
During the same period, foreigners contributed to the variation in the total population of Spain with 2'773'517 inhabitants, which represents 77.3 percent of the total of new inhabitants in the country during this period, according to the 11th edition of La Caixa's Economic Report 2007.

The new edition of this report, published yesterday by La Caixa's Studies Service, explains that foreigners account for 2'773'517 inhabitants out of the total growth of the population in Spain, while the Spanish part of the population has grown by 817'029 residents.

According to these figures, some 77.3 percent of the new inhabitants of the country during 2001 to 2006 were foreigners and 22.7 percent were Spanish. In percentage terms, the absolute variation was 8.7 percent, which represents 3'590'546 new inhabitants during the period.

Of this percentage, 6.7 points represent foreigners and the other two represent Spaniards.
According to the study, which is trying to measure the effect of the foreign population on the total variation of the population of Spain, the figures are for foreigners who are registered at their local town hall.

It is worth highlighting that the percentage variation recorded during the last five years in Spain exceeds those recorded during the last two five year periods studied, as between 1996 and 2001 the percentage variation was three percent, and between 1991 and 1996, 2.1 percent.

The regions with the greatest variation in population in percentage terms are: Murcia, which had an increase of 15.1 percent of which 11.2 percentage points were foreign; Valencia, which had a percentage rise of 14.4 percent, and where foreigners accounted for 11.2 points of this; and the Balearics, with a growth of 13.9 per cent.

The provinces with the highest level of variation were: Guadalajara (24.5 per cent), Alicante (19.7 per cent), and Tarragona (19.3 per cent).
Other figures included in the report were: for every 1'000 inhabitants in Spain there are 454 cars, 401 fixed line telephones, one bank office, 18 industrial activities, 22 retail companies and eight restaurants.