MADRID - Population
A steadily increasing population
The total population of the region was 5.5 million at the first of January 2002. The average annual population growth, higher than the national average since over the 1990?s, is mainly due to an impressive natural increase, combined with an increasing net migration. The repartition of the age group in the population shows that there are fewer over-65s than in Spain as a whole. The birth rate registered five consecutive increase between 1995 and 2001 and was for this last year of 11.0 births per 1 000 residents persons. The infant mortality rate of the region, 5.2 deaths per 1 000 live births, is under the national average.
The drop in the fertility rate, which was amongst the lowest in the EU, and the fall in immigration meant small rises in numbers and the relative ageing of the population in the beginning of the 1990?s. In the late 1990?s, the immigration has progressed and the total population has increased significantly. In 2001, 7.1% of the resident had a foreign nationality, the third highest share of all the regions in the country. In the medium term, there will be a geographical redistribution of the population rather than any significant increases. As a result, the pressure on today's labour market, a consequence of the 'baby boom' of the 1960s, will be reduced; in fact, there is already a spectacular decline in the numbers of children of pre-school age, which is a portent of things to come in this respect. It should be added that an increasing number of the region's inhabitants work in neighbouring regions, mainly in Castile-La Mancha, where businesses are setting up due to lower land prices.
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