02/04/2013 00:00
TW
0

BY the end of this year, the Balearics will be supporting more than one million inhabitants.
The figure will be reached in spite of a slowing down in population growth witnessed on the Islands since the census revision of 1 January 2003.
According to a study carried out by an ex Ministry of Economy director, Antoni Monserrat, projections specifically forecast that the Islands will be home to 978'624 inhabitants at the beginning of 2004 and 1'007'983 by 1 January, 2005. The basis for this assumption is the application of an annual 3 percent population increase, in contrast to 4.36 percent registered at the last census revision relating to 2002. The study by Antoni Monserrat attributes the deceleration of the population growth of the Islands to two fundamental causes. The first is the lessening numbers of foreigners who are living on the Islands “without papers” for fear of being detected by local authorities; while the second and principal cause is rooted in the downturn of economic growth registered in the Archipelago over the last three years. The study points out that the current levels of economic growth in the Balearics only take into account hypothetical population growth, circumstances which could, in the short term, lead to the development of pockets of poverty, said Monserrat. The concern is justified when the estimated population growth (31'263 inhabitants for 2003) is acknowledged in relation to the totally inadequate levels of legal job creation (only 1'884 jobs of work in the same year). The ex director general estimates that of the 30'000 inhabitants who arrive every year on the Islands, a half consist of groups which do not seek work (mostly women and children). The lack of work could affect above all the remaining 15'000, although he admits that a large part of them will be occupied in “illegal” jobs. The study considers that the Balearics needs to raise its levels of economic growth and apply preventative social policies to stop these pockets of poverty converting into a marginalised people which resorts to crime. This could be especially dangerous in a self-governing community such as the Balearics which depends on tourism as a major source of income. The report shows that over the last decade, 2003 was the year when the least number of legally recognised jobs were created (1'884). This is in stark contrast to the 6'276 registered in 2002, the 14'490 jobs created in 2001 or the 21'163 accounted for in 2000. Since the tourist boom, the Balearics has experienced the largest population growth in its history. With calculations using the hypothetical growth rate figure which take into account births and deaths, the Islands registered on 1 January 2003, a total of 569'491 inhabitants. This must be seen against the “real-life” figure of 947'361, which means that the remainder of 377'870 inhabitants came from outside the island. To all intents and purposes, the immigration “boom” in which the Islands are currently immersed, has resulted in the Balearic Archipelago experiencing its largest population growth for eight years. Records confirm 298'837 new inhabitants between the years 1996 and 2005, a spectacular rise when seen considering the sum total of population increase between the years 1900 and 1975 was only 286'065 new inhabitants.