These population stats are useful if only because they represent the official version of what is otherwise unofficial - the guesswork that is made in arriving at a figure of UK residents. As I have mentioned previously, this figure is inflated. Hence, one is told that the Balearics have 50,000 UK residents, of which some forty odd thousand have to be in Mallorca. Why is there such a wide discrepancy between this guess, which is plainly wrong, and the figure that is arrived at from totting up the number of residents who are registered with their respective town halls?
One reason, or at least I suspect this to be the case, is that a higher figure can be used to justify certain things, whatever these things might be. The British Foreign Office, through the embassy in Madrid, adheres to the 50,000 Balearics figure, but where does it get its figure from? Local guesswork would be my guess. The Foreign Office hasn't the faintest idea how many Brits live in Mallorca. Or anywhere come to that. For its purposes, and apropos all the kerfuffle over the British Consul to the Balearics not being replaced, it would surely make sense for the FO to take notice of the locally produced statistics. 16,000 or so is far lower than the guesswork figure. As it is this low, and therefore considerably lower than in other parts of Spain, the FO could be said to have a case for not continuing with a regular Consul.
A further reason for the discrepancy is the widely held assumption that there are vast numbers of Brits knocking around who don't register. There are some. But vast numbers? I simply don't buy the argument. Registration at a town hall is vital for all sorts of reasons. Not only does failure make one a non-person it also denies one access to health cover and residency status. I can think of reasons of course why someone might not wish to register, but vast numbers? Nah.
This assumption, this perception that there are in fact more Brits and foreigners than the official figures indicate is not one that everyone shares. In the past, when I have mentioned in conversation the official number of Brits in Alcúdia (now 1,072), a reaction (a British one) is to ask where they all are. It is similar in Pollensa. Its official number of Brits is now 811. Oh, there must be more, say some, while others would find 811 rather high. The fact is that as percentages of the two towns' populations, these official figures are very similar and they are both higher than the percentage for the whole island (1.8% British population overall versus 5% or more in Alcúdia and Pollensa). I have no reason to question the figures. There may be more Brits, those few who don't register, but equally these figures comprise those who don't live in Mallorca all year round. Having a house and so registering with the town hall places someone on the "padron", regardless of the length of time spent on the island.
The statistics reveal what has been the case for a number of years, that Calvià has more Brits than anywhere else, twice as many as Palma, and that Alcúdia and Pollensa occupy positions three and four in the league table. One interesting aspect of these figures is that the British and foreign populations have helped to swell the size of towns to the point where they acquire a new status or might acquire a new status. Calvià has 51,114 people in total, and the 50,000 number is important. Once reached, it means a town hall takes on greater responsibilities. It also means it can have more councillors. If a downward trend in British residency were to continue and to be more pronounced, Calvià would lose this status, and while Calvià's population has shrunk since last year's figures were produced, the shrinkage in the past two years is quite startling - around 2,500 people, of which Brits make up roughly a quarter.
Likewise, Alcúdia is only 414 people away from reaching the 20,000 mark, at which point, it would assume more responsibilities and be allowed to have more councillors. Alcúdia might in fact, assuming it wants to keep its councillors, have a drive to try and get the figure up to 20,000, as the national government seems likely to cut the number of councillors and the responsibilities of towns with fewer than 20,000 people.
Population of Mallorca's towns with UK residents - in order of total populations (click to enlarge):
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
No comments:
Post a Comment