It can depend on what actually is measured, as figures from Palma Town Hall's own population service give a city population of 484,039 as of the first of January last year. The annual population census published by Spain's National Statistics Institute (INE) last month gave 443,196 residents.
Either way, the population of Palma is increasing, the higher of these two figures indicating growth of almost 5,000 in one year. Since 2005, the population density has increased from roughly 2,000 people per square kilometre to 2,300.
In certain areas of the city, the population has more than doubled since 2005; Es Pil-lari and Son Vida are two examples. Five areas account for 20% of the growth - Pere Garau, Son Gotleu, Son Ferriol, Foners and Les Meravelles.
With more than 32,000 people in 2025, Pere Garau has the highest population of any Palma area, the increase getting on for 7,000 since 2005. Increasingly a district of contrasts, working people from Asia, Latin America, and Africa continue to arrive, but now there are also people from "wealthy countries". There has been recent talk about a gradual gentrification of Pere Garau and of house prices rising steeply.
In Son Gotleu, where the population has risen by more than 3,500 over the past 20 years, the president of the residents association, Mohamed Boutoil, says the actual population is greater because there are unregistered people. He highlights problems with overcrowding, squats and substandard dwellings.
In areas where there have been decreases, the figures are not great. La Calatrava is one of these areas; down 157. In the historic centre, the feeling is that more residents have left than the statistics show. Edita Navarro, president of the La Calatrava residents association, says: "Many Mallorcan houses have been sold, remain closed for a few years, and are then sold again. We see a very clear phenomenon of speculation. Some have been converted into hotels. There are practically no shops or businesses."
A separate INE survey points to an ageing population, the average age having risen from 37.7 years in 2010 to almost 43 in 2024. In 2010, more 'young' people than old lived in the city, but the proportion of these population groups reversed from 2015 onwards, and the gap is becoming increasingly wider. Also in 2024, a third of the population had been born abroad. The arrival of foreign residents has more than offset a declining birth rate; this fell by three points between 2010 and 2024.