Malaga beats downward trend

DESPITE the falling population in Spain, the number of registered residents in Malaga has risen by 0.5 per cent from last year. Data for January this year, shows there are currently 1,649,608 registered residents in Malaga province, 8,510 more than in January 2012. 

Meanwhile, the Spanish population has fallen for the first time since 1996.

On January 1, 2013, there were 47,059,533 registered as residents in Spain, which is 205,788 fewer than the same time last year. 

The number of foreign residents registered in Spain has fallen by 216,125 people, throughout 2012, to a total of 5.52 million, while the number of Spanish residents has increased by 10,337, according to the National Institute of Statistics.

According to their report, 11.7 per cent of registered residents in Spain are foreigners, of which 2.4 million are EU citizens.

Most of the foreigners who have left Spain, mainly non-EU citizens, do so because they cannot find work. Almost 86 per cent of the registered residents of Spain were born here. 

Malaga and Sevilla are the only provinces in Andalucia where population has risen amongst both foreigners and Spanish residents.

Malaga is the fourth province in Spain for the number of registered foreign residents, who account for 17 per cent of the total population, and is home to 40 per cent of the foreigners living in Andalucia. 

The most numerous groups in the province are British and Moroccan, both of which have continued to increase. The number of Finns, French, Argentineans, North Americans and Russians has also increased, while the number of Germans fell by 700 people.