Laurence Dollimore
NEW figures have revealed that Marbella’s foreign population has increased by 5.38%.
According to the latest statistics from January 1 2019, which have just been made available, it is the fifth consecutive year of growth, adding 1,923 foreign citizens from the previous year.
Of the now 143,386 foreign inhabitants, the Moroccans continue to be the largest group with 4,575.
They are followed by the British with at least 3,353 living in the Costa del Sol hotspot – although this number is believed to have risen in 2019 as many began registering ahead of Brexit.
The third and fourth biggest expat population is Ukraine (2,389) and Russia (1,997) respectively.
They are followed by Italy with 1,785 and Germany, who have decreased to 1,454.
One of the largest increases has been the amount of Colombians living in Marbella, jumping from 969 in 2018 to 1,234 in 2019.
More French are also choosing to make their home in Marbs, with their numbers increasing from 982 to 1,048.
Marbella now has 35,523 officially registered foreign citizens.
It means they represent 24.58% of the total population, making one in every four neighbour an expat.
The INE provided data from up to 28 different nationalities however Ireland, Belgium, Holland and the Nordics were not included despite their important presence.
