Orihuela’s cultural mosaic: Foreign residents surge

The demographic landscape of Orihuela in 2023 reflects a significant increase in the foreign population.

The foreign population now represents 33 per cent of the total population, making Orihuela the third municipality with the largest foreign population in the province of Alicante.

The overall population of Orihuela reached 84,054 in 2023, with a net increase of 1,900 individuals compared to the previous year.

While the Spanish population in Orihuela grew slightly to nearly 53,000 individuals, marking an increase of 94 people compared to 2022, its proportion relative to the total population decreased by 1.35 per cent.

Conversely, the foreign population saw a growth of 1.34 per cent during the same period.

The foreign population in Orihuela is primarily composed of individuals from the United Kingdom, although there was a slight reduction of 0.83 per cent compared to the previous year.

Other nationalities with significant populations (between 10,000 and 1,000 people) include Belgium, Bulgaria, Morocco, and Russia.

Most of these nationalities experienced growth in 2023, with notable increases observed in the Russian and Moroccan populations.

Nationalities with populations ranging from 1,000 to 500 people include Germany, Algeria, Colombia, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Sweden, and Ukraine.

The majority of these nationalities witnessed growth in 2023, particularly notable increases seen in the Ukrainian and Colombian populations, while Germany and the Netherlands experienced a decrease.