Palma/Madrid.The number of Spaniards with registered addresses in the Balearics Islands who have left to go and live abroad has increased by 10.3 percent over the past year, a government watchdog monitoring Spanish expatriates (PERE) reported yesterday. Figures researched at the beginning of this year show that there are now 19'864 people originally living in the Balearics now domiciled overseas.
According to the National Institute of Statistics (INE), just 25 percent of people who once lived in the Balearics and now live abroad or elsewhere in Spain were born in the Islands. Data suggests that the majority of these people are those who chose to take Spanish nationality once they came to live in the Balearics, either because of Spanish ancestry or because they were immigrants who changed their nationality prior to returning to their country of origin.
Findings reveal that there are now 1'871 more people living overseas who were once domiciled in the Balearics than there were a year ago, especially in North and South America where 13'371 people from the Balearics are now settled.
The majority of this group of Balearic Islanders are located in Argentina (5'870), followed by Cuba (1'093), Venezuela (1'054) and the United States (1'051). The continent with the second highest presence of people from the Balearics is Europe where there are now 5'793 Island emigrés compared to 5'310 a year ago. Britain is a key haven for them, hosting 1'146 followed by France (1'128) and Germany (1'000).
There were 372 people from the Balearics living in Asian countries at the start of the year, said the INE, compared to 299 in 2011. There are 236 former Island residents now living in Africa, 36 more than a year ago. Most are concentrated in Morocco. Finally, there are 92 people now living in Pacific Ocean countries such as Australia and New Zealand, just 5 more than at the start of 2011. Data for the country as a whole show that there are now 1'816'835 Spaniards living overseas, 6.7% more than a year ago, mostly in Argentina, France, Venezuela and Germany.