Some measure of the drastic change to the society and culture of Ibiza over the last few years can be gleaned from its population statistics. The Balearic Institute of Statistics has just released the figures from 2005 which show that for the first time, people who were born in Ibiza are now outnumbered by immigrants to the island.
The hard facts are that 53,000 residents of Ibiza were born here, that is 44.7% of the population, and 55.3%, or 65,500 were born elsewhere. The majority of these immigrants arrived from mainland Spain, but the largest increase has been in non-Spanish immigration. In 2000 twelve thousand foreigners called Ibiza their home, by 2005 this figure had increased by a massive 118% to almost 27,000!
Is it any wonder that Ibiza is known as a cosmopolitan island the world over?