Foreign immigration keeps Balearic population growing

Emigration was largely because of the pandemic | Photo: Miquel À. Cañellas

Andrew EdePalma22/06/2022 08:51

Population census data from the National Statistics Institute (INE) indicate that there were 5,824 new foreign immigrants in the Balearics in 2021. By contrast, 2,279 people left the islands, while the balance between births and deaths was positive by 688. Overall growth in the population was therefore well down on what it has been in the past. Over 4,000 last year was around a fifth of maximum annual population growth this century.

For the whole of Spain, there were 148,677 foreign immigrants who compensated for the negative natural growth - 113,023 more people died than were born. In fourteen regions, the natural balance is starting to become alarming.

The Balearics was one of only a few regions of Spain to have registered a population growth, but the INE points out that, for the second consecutive year, more people left the Balearics for other regions of Spain than arrived. This is largely attributed to loss of employment because of the pandemic.