Palma celebrates diversity and immigration with a week of activites

Some 9,000 Palma residents moved out of the diverse city in 2016.

According to the councillor for equality and civic rights, 35 percent of those who left the capital moved out of Spain, while 65 percent moved to a new area.

A third of those who relocated are Brits and other foreigners, while two thirds are Spanish.

Councillor Aligi Molina announced the statistics in honour of International Day of Migrants, celebrated on December 18. Palma will celebrate the day with activities, workshops, discussions, films and performances from December 13 through 20.

Molina considers it ‘very important’ to promote the values represented by “the multiculturalism of our city, where people from152 nationalities live, who come from174 different countries,” he said.

The population of Palma as of January 1, 2017 is 434,516 people, 222,301 women, 51.2 percent and 212,215 men, 48.8 percent. Palma is also 80 percent Spanish nationality with 20 percent foreign residents.

Perhaps surprisingly, the largest expat community is Palma belongs to the Italians who make up 19 percent. Germans make up 18 percent while the British take fifth place with 8.5 percent behind Bulgarians and Romanians.