From the rural exodus to foreign immigration: the role of foreign immigration in the demographic recovery of Spanish rural zones (1996-2006)

Abstract

For some years now, and particularly in the period 1996 to 2006, Spanish municipalities have been undergoing two processes that, according to our hypothesis, are closely connected: increasingly widespread and intensive demographic growth, and a considerable increase in the resident foreign population. By using data from the population register, our study shows that growth varies considerably from region to region and that there is a close relationship between the increase in growth and the presence of the foreign population. It is shown that the increase in the foreign population is the main demographic growth factor in most of these municipalities and it also has a more modest rejuvenating effect. There is an important dichotomy between areas of high growth with a large foreign population (eastern half of the peninsula, the Madrid area and the Spanish islands) and other areas with negative growth rates and small foreign populations. It is shown that there is a direct relation between the two phenomena studied and the size of the municipalities, such that the largest are the ones that most benefit from the process.