Twenty-one years ago there were 313,261 adults, of whom 269,196 were Spanish. The foreign share of the adult population was 14%. By 2024, this percentage had doubled. There were 406,530 adults, and 113,328 were foreign. The actual number of foreign adults had gone up by more than 150%.
Pere Salvà, emeritus professor of human geography at the University of the Balearic Islands, has coined the term 'residential distress' in saying that growth in Palma, as in the rest of the Balearics, is not due to a difference between birth and death rates but to immigration. And contrary to what happened until the mid-90s, a large part is not from elsewhere in Spain but is foreign.
Salvà makes a distinction between immigration for economic or work reasons - predominantly Latin Americans, Moroccans and Asians - and immigration from the north (e.g. British, German, Swedish) for work with tourist companies or just for residential purposes. He argues that that Palma and the Balearics are imitating a Californian model. "There is labour immigration, that of Latin Americans, plus qualified immigration in Silicon Valley, while a third is American retirees."
"Europeans have bought entire neighbourhoods. The children of immigrants attend schools in the Nou Llevant district, but there you can see the contrast - luxury buildings bought by northern Europeans that none of the working immigrants or teachers can buy. The largest foreign nationalities in Palma are Moroccan and Colombian, and they work in construction and hospitality."
Sergio García teaches Spanish to foreign residents while conducting walks around the city. "Most of the students are between 45 and 65 years old and come from Sweden, Germany, Denmark, the UK, Poland and France. They come here because they have bought an apartment or rented one. It is their escape for when it is cold in their countries. They are here in spring and autumn. In summer, when it is hot, they go back to their countries. Most live in Santa Catalina, Blanquerna or in the centre. They are about to retire or they work at a slower pace, which allows them to come to the city thanks to the air connections. We are only two and a half hours away."
“Immigration is necessary for employment, we depend on it," says Salvà. "So the question we must ask ourselves is how many foreigners do we need." And what type, as "there is an immigration we need for work but which we refuse".
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Palma's internationalism is what makes it special from other cities.