10 Aug, 2024 @ 08:00
1 min read

Expats accounted for 98% of new residents in Spain’s Balearic Islands in the first half of 2024

NEW figures from the Spanish Statistics Institute (INE) have revealed that 98% of new residents in the Balearic Islands were foreign during the first six months of 2024. 

Some 4,424 people moved to the islands during this period, but only 75 were Spanish. 

The rate of new foreign residents was highest in Ibiza, at 97.6%, followed by Formentera at 71.4% and Menorca at 55%. 

The Balearic Islands have the highest percentage of foreign residents in Spain, at 28%.

READ MORE: Brits and other foreigners should be barred from buying property in Spain’s Mallorca unless they are residents, local groups propose

READ MORE: Carlos Alcaraz unwinds at English pub in Mallorca following Olympic final defeat to Novak Djokovic

The total population is currently at 1,238,812, up 6,312 from January 1. 

Even if this same growth continues in the second half of 2024, the population rise will still be slower than in 2022 and 2023, when it was around 22,000. 

In July, Mallorca’s population stood at 962,479. 

As the population nears one million, protests against mass tourism are ongoing, bringing into sharp focus a lack of housing and infrastructure for Spanish residents. 

In comparison, Ibiza, Menorca and Formentera have 162,776, 101,885 and 11,672 residents respectively.

READ MORE: ‘It’s a lack of respect’: Spanish tourist is left fuming after being spoken to in ‘foreign languages’ during holiday to Mallorca

Yzabelle Bostyn

Yzabelle Bostyn is an NCTJ trained journalist who started her journalistic career at the Olive Press in 2023.
Before moving to Spain, she studied for a BA in English Literature and Hispanic Studies at the University of Sheffield.
After graduating she moved to the university’s journalism department, one of the best in the UK.
Throughout the past few years, she has taken on many roles including social media marketing, copywriting and radio presenting.
She then took a year out to travel Latin America, scaling volcanoes in Guatemala and swimming with sharks in Belize.
Then, she came to the Olive Press last year where she has honed her travel writing skills and reported on many fantastic experiences such as the Al Andalus luxury train.
She has also undertaken many investigations, looking into complex issues like Spain’s rental crisis and rising cancer rates.
Always willing to help, she has exposed many frauds and scams, working alongside victims to achieve justice.
She is most proud of her work on Nolotil, a drug linked to the deaths of many Brits in Spain.
A campaign launched by Yzabelle has received considerable support and her coverage has been by the UK and Spanish media alike.
Her writing has featured on many UK news outlets from the Sun to the Mail Online, who contracted her to report for them in Tenerife on growing tourism issues.
Recently, she has appeared on Times Radio covering deadly flooding in Valencia.

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