Immigration gives Catalonia one of highest EU population growth rates in 21st century

Catalonia's population has grown by 1.7 million inhabitants in the first quarter of the 21st century, going from 6.2 million to more than 8 million.

Thanks to the newly arrived population, and despite the sustained decline in the birth rate, Catalonia's population has grown by almost 30% in this time.

Only four of the 27 EU member states have seen a higher growth rate during this period.

Of the 20 million new citizens that the bloc has gained in this time, one in ten is resident in Catalonia.

Immigration has been the main driver of this population growth, as foreign nationals now make up 25% of all Catalan residents. 

These new arrivals mostly live in the metropolitan area and coastal areas, and their arrival has not prevented depopulation in small microvillages, as nearly 200 have lost inhabitants since the turn of the century. 

The arrival of immigrants has also not prevented the population from aging. The average age has gone from 40.6 to 43.7 years in the past quarter-century. 

Projections from the Statistical Institute of Catalonia (Idescat) indicate that the population will continue to grow, with an expectation of reaching 8.55 million inhabitants in the next ten years.

Despite the fact that natural growth will continue to be negative, meaning there are more deaths than births in Catalonia, immigrants will ensure that the population will continue to increase in the coming decade.

Catalonia's demographic growth has been well above the EU average (4.9%) in the past 25 years.

The continental bloc's overall population rose from 430 to 450 million in this time.

Only four of the 27 member states of the European Union have a higher rate of population growth than Catalonia: Luxembourg (55.3%), Malta (47.2%), Cyprus (43.3%), and Ireland (41.4%).