One town in the Balearic Islands now has more foreigners living in it than locals, according to a shocking new survey.
Official figures released on Tuesday, October 8, in The Population Census revealed that there are 20,217 foreign-born people living in Calvia, Majorca, compared to the local population of 20,189.
The town is now one of the most cosmopolitan areas of the country, comprising mainly Germans and British people – the biggest tourist populations in Majorca.
Overall in the Balearic Islands, the new data found that nearly half of its current inhabitants were not born there.
Over the last 25 years, a combination of increased immigration and a declining birth rate amongst local residents has significantly altered the region’s identity, with almost half of the population now originating from outside the archipelago.
The latest figures from the National Statistics Institute (INE) via the 2023 Population Census reveal that 47 percent of Balearic residents were born in another autonomous community or country, including Germany, Italy, Morocco, Colombia, and Singapore.
The Majorca Daily Bulletin reports that the number of foreign residents on the islands now exceeds those from mainland Spain.
These non-native residents total 568,382 individuals – enough to populate a city larger than Calma, Calvia, and Manacar combined. The proportion of foreign-born residents is notably high compared to other autonomous communities in Spain.
For instance, Madrid, often viewed as Spain’s most multicultural region, only has 44 percent foreign-born residents, while Catalonia, another favoured destination for immigrants, stands at 37 percent.
The Balearics’ rate is 50 percent higher than the national average of 30 percent and triple that of regions like Extremadura and Galicia, where 85 percent of residents are locally born.
Data specific to each island shows that Formentera boasts the highest level of diversity, with only 37.6 percent of its inhabitants – just shy of 4,300 out of its nearly 11,400 population – being native to the island.
Ibiza is hot on its heels with 38.6 percent of its 159,180 residents. Out of its 940,322 residents, 518,210 were born on one of the four islands. In Menorca, 57 percent of its inhabitants are natives.
