Current trends and projections point to the maintenance of population growth in the Canary Islands over the coming decades, mainly due to the effect of international migration, as a consequence of the economic dynamics and the continued residential appeal of the archipelago.
This was made clear this week at the meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Juan Miguel Sanjuán Chair, held at the University of La Laguna (ULL), where various matters of interest were discussed and the main results of the research funded during 2025 were presented. The research focused on the study of **international migrations and their effects in the Canary Islands**, as well as the main geodemographic trends that will shape the region's future.
The Juan Miguel Sanjuán Chair aims to produce valuable scientific knowledge about the possible geodemographic scenarios of the Canary Islands in the coming decades, as the ULL specified this Thursday in a statement.
According to current projections, the archipelago's population growth will be sustained mainly by international migration, in a context marked by the islands' economic activity and residential appeal
According to data from the National Statistics Institute (INE), in 2039 the Canary Islands will reach 2.5 million inhabitants, of whom one third will have been born in other countries
The studies presented highlight the structural nature of migration in the Canary Islands, both at the present time and in various future scenarios, as the main driver of the regional population's evolution and the maintenance of its growth, despite the forecast of a negative natural balance over the coming decades.
The increase in aging indicators, the maintenance of fertility at very low levels, the rise in life expectancy, and the growing diversification of the population are shaping demographic dynamics that will condition the future of the archipelago and will have relevant effects on its economic and social structures.
The presentation of the research papers concluded with a conference on the evolution of the Canary Islands population and its main future trends, focusing on the demographic challenge, given by the emeritus professor of the University of La Laguna José-León García Rodríguez.
Likewise, the exhibition "Immigration in Perspective: OBITen, 25 Years," curated by Professor Vicente Zapata Hernández, director of OBITen, was unveiled, with the aim of continuing to highlight the growing prominence that international migration will have in the future of the region and each of its islands.
The rectors of the two Canary Islands public universities, Francisco García Rodríguez and Lluís Serra Magem, patrons of the Chair, attended the session along with the other patrons, the managing directors of the university foundations, and Juan Miguel Sanjuán himself.
