As the Bulletin has been reporting, young people in the Balearics are finding it increasingly tough to find well paid work and access to affordable housing. And now, The 2025 Balearic Islands Youth Yearbook reveals that while 30% of young people aged between 15 and 29 living on the islands were not born in the community, but abroad, around 28% of islanders aged between 15 and 34 have moved away, but are still registered in the Balearics.
Compared to the previous year, this latter figure has grown by 8% (13,330 people aged between 15 and 24 in 2025). Compared to around two decades ago, the increase is huge: since 2009, the number of young people who have left has grown by almost 300%.
Across the islands as a whole, the young population now accounts for 17.4%, or 24.4% if we take the 15-34 age group as a reference. The yearbook points to annual growth in this section of Balearic society. There are 23,210 more young people aged between 15 and 29 and 28,714 aged between 29 and 34 than in 2022, which represents an increase in the weight of this group and a break with the stagnation or decline of recent years.
By island, Mallorca continues to concentrate the bulk of the young population, with nearly all of them residing in Palma (47.25%). Ibiza is home to 12.26% of young people, Menorca to 8.35%, and Formentera to 0.8%. The same is true on all the islands: young people mostly reside in the capitals.
As for the foreign population residing in the Balearics, the distribution is not homogeneous. While at the regional level the distinction between young people born outside and within the islands is approximately the same, in Ibiza and Formentera the division is not equal, as 34.6% of young people residing in Formentera are foreigners and 45% are non-residents. In Ibiza, 36.6% were born abroad and 50.1% were born in the Balearics.
The labour market in Mallorca is heavily seasonal and dominated by tourism, which tends to keep average wages below the Spanish national average. Average annual gross salary in Mallorca is approximately €23,126 to €27,058 (roughly £19,000 – £22,000). Average monthly tet (Take-home)is between €1,100 and €1,800 for service sector roles. Tourism, hospitality, and real estate are the three key sectors with and real estate agents can earn significantly more, averaging around €70,000 including commissions.