Balearics accepted 101´541 new immigrants between 2000 and 2005

THE Balearics recorded the highest population growth in the whole of Spain during the five year period 2000 to 2005, with the incorporation of 137'501 registered residents, of which 101'541 were foreigners, according to the Spain 2005 Annual Economic Report made public by the savings bank La Caixa. In relative terms, the Balearic Islands experienced a growth in population of 16.3 percent during this period.
This was the highest in Spain, above other autonomous regions such as Murcia, which had a 16.2 percent growth, the Canary Islands (14.7 percent), and Madrid (14.6 percent). Foreign citizens accounted for 12 percentage points of this growth and Spanish citizens made up the rest.
In absolute numbers, the Balearic Islands started the period, in the year 2000, with a total population of 790'901 citizens on the electoral register, and closed it, in 2005, with a total of 826'861 resident citizens. The Balearics also led the Spanish demographic growth in relative terms in all other periods analysed by the La Caixa report.
These also registered an acceleration in growth. The Balearic population increased by 7.2 percent during the period 1991 to 1996, and grew by 10.7 percent between the years of 1997 and 2001, and 16 percent in the five year period analysed, 2000 to 2005. Foreigners have contributed to the rise in total population which was 3'605'671 throughout the whole of Spain: 2'806'731 were foreign residents, and only 798'840 Spaniards.
UNEMPLOYMENT
The Annual Economic report of La Caixa was started in 1997 with the aim of contributing the production of statistical information for the benefit of town planning. Another of the figures which stands out from this report from La Caixa is the growth of unemployment during the period analysed.
The annual report of La Caixa says that the Balearics and Aragon are the two autonomous regions with the least unemployment.
They calculate this as the quotient between the number of unemployed people registered with the national unemployment service INEM on July 1 2005 and the total population registered at town halls on July 1. The report puts the unemployment figure for the whole of Spain at 4.5 percent.