The maximum population has topped the two million mark for two consecutive years. | Miquel À. Cañellas

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The day this summer when the population of the Balearics was at its maximum was once again 9 August. The Human Pressure Index compiled by the Balearics Statistics Institute reveals that the total number of people on the islands on that day was 2,060,526. This was a new record, breaking the 2,057,244 on 9 August 2016, but the increase was low in comparison with a leap of almost 64,000 from the maximum on 10 August 2015 to last year's figure, which was the first time that the two million barrier had been breached.

A slowing-down in this human pressure is also evident from the average number of people for an August day. This was 1,996,370, which was an increase of 8,861 over 2016. From 2015 to 2016 this went up over 56,000.

The index was first created in 1997. In that year on 7 August the maximum was 1,423,380 at a time when the official residential population of the islands was 767,952. Both these figures have risen year on year with only one exception. In 2009 on 6 August the maximum for the summer was 1,780,448, which was a decrease of almost 20,000 compared with 2008.