(This is an unofficial, annotated translation of part of the Dossier on Local Background information about Xàbia prepared by IMEDES. 2006)
DEMOGRAPHICS
· At the present time Xàbia has a population of 28,242 inhabitatants (Eds note: These data are from the Padron 2003), a population which has evolved as can be seen in the following graph:
· The population increased gradually from the beginning of the 20th Century until the 70's when from 7150 inhabitants in 1970 it went up to 10,177 in 1975.
· In the last 10 years the population has increased by more than 10,000 people due in the main to the dynamic tourism of Xàbia and therefore activities related to the service sector.
· The population pyramid of Xàbia is of a regressive type, resulting from an increase in older people and the fact that the rate of population growth tends to level off. In consistency with this, the index of ageing in Xàbia is 158.6%, which signifies that for each 100 people younger than 14 years of age there are 158.6 people older than 65 years. This figure is above the Provincial average (111.4%) and that of the Comunidad (116.9%).
(Editor’s Note: A Regressive Pyramid : a columnar form indicating that almost all of those born survive to the age of at least seventy, hence the perpendicular sides. With a relatively low birth rate, the base appears to be relatively narrow).
· The factor most influential in the ageing of the population is a stagnation of vegetative growth, which would respond to a lower birth index, increased life expectancy of the inhabitants and increase in older foreign residents.
· According to the distribution of the population based on nationality, it is notable that for each 100 inhabitants on the Padrón of Xàbia, 33 are from overseas (in comparison to 6 for the Comunidad Valenciana or 10 for the Province of Alicante). The foreign inhabitants are distributed among the different continents according to the following percentages:
