Ibiza once again stands out as the island that contributes most to the population growth of the Balearic Islands in a context in which Mallorca and Menorca are already registering more deaths than births, a trend that experts describe as “demographic winter” and which has been consolidating for more than a decade. The latest data published by the National Statistics Institute (INE) confirm that 41 municipalities of the archipelago have negative vegetative growth.
Ibiza and Formentera support population growth
While Mallorca and Menorca lose population of local origin, Ibiza and Formentera continue to gain inhabitants thanks to the fact that more people are still being born than die and to the constant flow of new residents from other communities and from abroad.
In 2024, the vegetative growth left Ibiza with 326 new inhabitants born on the islands, a figure that contrasts with the negative balance of Menorca, which recorded 128 more deaths than births, and Mallorca, with 156. In the case of Formentera, the balance was also positive, with 24 new residents born on the island.
The overall result is that the Balearic Islands barely gained 66 residents born in the archipelago during the last year. Without the contribution of Ibiza and Formentera, the vegetative growth of the islands as a whole would have been practically nil, according to Ultima Hora.
Immigration, key to avoiding stagnation
The demographic map published by the INE reflects great territorial contrasts: while the north and the Llevant of Mallorca still maintain a positive balance of births, many inland municipalities register more deaths than births. Particularly striking are the cases of Palma and Calvià, where the differential is markedly negative due to their higher population concentration and progressive aging.
In parallel, immigration has established itself as the main engine of growth in the Balearic Islands. On September 1, the archipelago reached
Without the arrival of foreign population or from other Spanish regions, the Balearic Islands would have closed the year practically at a standstill.
A demographic model that requires new policies
Experts in human geography insist that this trend is not new: the birth rate continues to fall while mortality increases due to the aging of the population. In addition, a good part of the new births correspond to families that immigrated years ago, which reinforces the idea that the demographic future of the Balearic Islands will depend, to a large extent, on its capacity to attract residents.
The advance of the demographic winter in Mallorca and Menorca and the compensatory role of Ibiza and Formentera force, according to specialists, to rethink far-reaching public policies in areas such as housing, social integration, education and care for dependency.
In this scenario, Ibiza consolidates its position as one of the few areas of the archipelago that maintains a positive demographic pulse, although it also faces the challenges of absorbing new residents in a limited territory subject to strong urban and social pressure.
