Figures released by the National Statistics Institute on Wednesday indicate that the registered populations of two municipalities - Ses Salines and Valldemossa - fell over the twelve-month period from January 1, 2022 to January 1, 2023.
These declines were only minimal - seven in Ses Salines and 32 in Valldemossa - and were in the context of a general population increase of over 25,000.
There were more deaths than births over the period, the increase in population having largely been because of immigration. Twenty-six per cent of Mallorca's population as of the first of January this year was foreign. The Balearics as a whole have the highest percentage of foreign residents in Spain.
In certain municipalities, the foreign populations exceed 30% - Santanyi 30.7%, Andratx 33.3%, Alcudia 34.8% and topping the list Calvia with 37.8% and Deya with 37.9%. Purely in terms of total population, the percentage in Deya is particularly noticeable as there were only 688 registered inhabitants of the municipality.
Calvia is Mallorca's second largest municipality with 53,496, and this figure represented an increase of over one thousand in the course of the year. The population growths in Alcudia (1,008) and Manacor (1,262) are also quite striking.
The population of Mallorca at the start of this year, according to these updated statistics, was 940,332. If the trend in population growth continues, it is conceivable that it will top the one million mark within three years.