Although the population of Majorca is increasing, it is falling in almost a third of the island's 53 municipalities. The latest official population statistics from the National Statistics Institute show that there have been decreases in sixteen municipalities. These are Ariany, Banyalbufar, Buger, Bunyola, Calvia, Capdepera, Deya, Escorca, Esporles, Estellencs, Fornalutx, Montuiri, Pollensa, Puigpunyent, Ses Salines and Valldemossa.
The population figures correspond to people registered with town halls - the "padrón". There is a suggestion that it is surprising that there should be decreases because of economic improvement, but there are other factors that can explain the declines. One is an ageing population and a comparatively low birth rate, so therefore more deaths than births. Another is the departure of foreign residents, while a third may have to do with problems with finding accommodation.
In Calvia, where the population exceeded 50,000 for the first time in 2008, it dipped below 50,000 in the 2016 figures, and a downward trend has continued. The latest figure is 49,063, a drop from 49,580 last year. In Pollensa, where there was an increase of more than one hundred to 16,222 last year, there has been a decrease of 65. The island's smallest municipality in population terms, Escorca, has lost thirteen people; the population is now 217.
Palma's population has gone up by around 3,500 to 406,492. For Majorca as a whole, the population now stands at 868,693, an increase of close to 7,000 compared with 2016. The current population is almost 7,500 lower than the peak in 2012. There were decreases in 2013 and 2014, and these were attributed to the economy.
To give an idea of how the population of Majorca has grown, in 1996 it was 609,150. The population of the whole of the Balearics is 1,115,999; in 1996 it was 760,379.
No comments
To be able to write a comment, you have to be registered and logged in
Currently there are no comments.