Population figures released by the National Statistics Institute (INE) on Thursday indicate that the population of Mallorca is now greater than the population of the whole of the Balearics was twenty years ago.
The INE's reference date is April 1, 2024. On that day the population of Mallorca was 959,801. The Balearic population in 2004 was 912,964. Over the twenty-year period, Mallorca's population has risen by more than 200,000; it was 727,147 in 2004. The total population of the region is now 1,234,106.
Given the rate of population growth, the one million mark in Mallorca will be reached within three years. The Balearic growth has consistently outstripped that of other Spanish regions since the start of the century, and this has largely been because of immigration.
In 2004 there were 139,737 non-Spaniards in the Balearics. In 2024 this figure is 341,150. Over the same period the Spanish population has increased from 773,227 to 892,956. The foreign percentage of the total population has therefore risen from 15.3% to 27.6%. This is growth that has been in spite of the financial crisis and the pandemic, both of which had a moderating effect.
The nationality profile has changed over the years. Whereas Germans and British used to form the largest foreign groups, they are now behind Moroccans, Argentines, Colombians and Italians.
The population growth is why Balearic governments have been pressing for improved state financing arrangements. Infrastructure, health, education, the water cycle; these are just some issues for which there are stresses, on top of which there are the demands of the floating population. And perhaps above all, there is housing in what, along with La Rioja, is the smallest region of Spain by land area. The population of La Rioja, by contrast, is roughly a quarter of the Balearic population.
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Worrying figures indeed especially for Formentera where the population has risen 5198 and consequently has almost doubled. And Ibiza 61,337 , a rise of half as much again on what was there. Here the rise in percentage terms is less at 28% given our much higher population but the really worrying thing is the increase in migrants from North Africa. Why ? Because being muslim their integration into a western christian society is zero and their places of origin mean an economic and educational level far below the country they wish to inhabit. You would have to live in a cave not to know the problems being caused in many north European countries, including the UK by people of similar races and religion. The lower the population of the receiving countries the greater the effect on the local populations. Many of our northern neighbours have populations in the tens of millions. We are a small island heading increasingly quickly towards one million, a figure I would have said was not credible when I arrived here in 1975. On that note and to counter the inevitable naysayers yes I am an immigrant. An immigrant that has learnt the language, been employed and had a business creating employment. Paid my taxes, made local friends and fitted in as much as possible with my local neighbours. If only all newcomers were similar there would be far less problem with immigration and I would not be writing this.