The population of the Canary Islands grows by 13,368 people due to the arrival of immigrants - La Provincia

The population resident in the Canary Islands increased by 13,368 people during the first half of the year 2019 and reached 2,220,270 million inhabitants. This 0.61% growth - the third highest in the national territory, only behind the Balearic Islands (0.87%) and the Community of Madrid (0.66%), is mainly due to the positive migration balance of 12,213 foreigners who It offset the negative vegetative balance of 1,429, according to population figures published by the National Institute of Statistics (INE).

91.35% of the population growth of the Archipelago occurred thanks to the settlement of migrants, mostly from countries of the European Union (5,344), followed by arrivals from South American nations (4,401) and Central America (1,601). From the African continent only 604 people arrived and from Asia 372. The number of citizens from countries that do not belong to the European Union that reside in the Islands was reduced by 219 people.

In the whole of the national territory the population increased by 163,336 people and stood at 47,100,396 inhabitants, this being the first time that they exceeded 47 million. The increase follows the same trend as in the Islands and is due to the fact that the positive migratory balance of 209,097 people compensated for the negative vegetative balance of 45,002. The resident population in Spain has been growing since 2016 and continues to increase. On January 1, 2019 there were 46,937,060 million residents, while six months later more than 47 million were counted.

The migratory balance - difference between immigration and emigration - of the Canary Islands abroad was positive in 14,898 people in the first half of 2019, making it the fifth Autonomous Community that attracted more migrants. Of these people, 1,297 were Spaniards returning from abroad.

The groups of foreigners who most established their residence in the Canary Islands in the first half of 2019 were Venezuelans (2,466) and Italians (2,431 people), followed by Colombians (1,743), Cubans (1,651), British ( 1,134) and Moroccans (670).

The doctor and researcher of Human Geography and professor of the University of La Laguna (ULL), Vicente Zapata, points out that it is not strange that people of European and American origin continue to be our main sources of growth, because they have been historically so. Along these lines, in recent years, the Venezuelan, Cuban and Colombian communities have been the main protagonists of the migration to the Islands due to the socio-political situation of their countries of origin.

The number of people who moved to the Peninsula or the Balearic Islands from the Canary Islands - inland migration - was 53 people more than those who made the trip in reverse. The preferred destinations of the islanders to migrate within the country are Andalusia, where 1,732 canaries went, and the Community of Madrid, which received 1,332. On the contrary, the peninsular people who prefer the Archipelago to establish their residence are the locals (1,434) and the Catalans (918).

"If the population grows at an acceptable rate, this is good news," says Zapata, who says that there are European countries that are putting in place measures to attract migration in a moderate way to alleviate the difficulties involved in the aging of citizens. At present, the average age of the population in the Archipelago is 42.49 years and is among the least aged communities. The average age of citizens residing in Spain is at a historical level and exceeds, for the first time, 44 years.

The residential appeal of the Mediterranean basin and the economic dynamism of communities such as Madrid or Catalonia motivate the arrival of foreigners who want to fix their homes in warm areas and who seek to develop professionally, Zapata details.

The Doctor in Human Geography argues that the majority of migrants who arrive in the Archipelago are adults, of working age and within a family context, so "they come to refresh our sociodemographic base." Zapata explains that the arrival of foreigners is positive if they do not concentrate the same island, there is a balance between the sexes and they have an adequate distribution by age. In that sense, "we are fortunate that in the Archipelago we have a fairly diversified immigration and it grows in all the Islands," adds Zapata, who concludes that it is the public administrations that must generate stimuli so that migrants can distribute themselves balanced way, launching actions through the housing and labor markets.