To understand what is the real impact that the population has on the territory, first we must know how much population is pressuring the limits of the island. In 21 years, Lanzarote has grown demographically by 39.4%, reaching 156,112 inhabitants and the population density has increased by 51.6% compared to 2001.
However, births are still lower than deaths, accounting for a decrease of 54.2%. So how has the population increased so much?
The foreign population
The answer lies in migratory movements. Lanzarote is a multicultural island. The foreign population already accounts for 22.8% of the total. According to data presented by the Canary Islands Institute of Statistics (ISTAC), this represents a growth of 15.8% in the last 22 years.
By origin, people born in up to four continents live together on the island. From highest to lowest representation, British, Colombians, Moroccans and Germans are the most represented nationalities. After them Chinese and Romanians.
Residents born in Lanzarote represent "only 45.9%" of the population registered on the island. So, 54.1% of current residents have immigrated, from abroad, from the peninsula or from the rest of the Canary Islands, to the land of rabbits.
The tourist population
To the resident population we must add the millions of tourists who spend short periods of time on the island. For this there are several indicators that study its impact.
The Equivalent Tourist Population (ETP) studies the overnight stays of tourists and relates them to the number of people who would reside all year round in the place. In 2017 this index reached its historical maximum with an average of 57,471 people and decreased to 46,005 in 2022. However, these data do not include holiday homes.
The Human Pressure Indicator (HPI) tries to point out the real population to which the island is subjected, thus analyzing the resident and tourist population. In 2022, an average of 202,087 people are registered in Lanzarote, only surpassed by the 2017 data (204,474 people).
On the other hand, unemployment rates indicate that Lanzarote has reached the minimum unemployment level in the last decade, with a figure of 8,973 unemployed people. Unemployment rates stood at 14.7 in 2022.
Precariousness and tourism
"Despite the positive evolution of this indicator, these are high rates for an economy that is supposedly based on booming tourism", says the Study of the Carrying Capacity of Lanzarote. "On the other hand, an increase in job insecurity is detected in practically all branches of the tourism sector".
5 jobs for every 100 travelers and the lowest rates in the Canary Islands
The employment rate generated for every 100 travelers arriving on the island was 5 out of 100 in 2019. According to this research, the result is "lower" than the average for the Canary Islands, which in that same year stood at 5.57. Pending data derived from holiday homes.
The number of jobs in relation to the number of overnight stays reaches 6.95 in 2022, also below the average for the Archipelago. While the jobs generated for every 10,000 euros of income in the accommodation sector has decreased compared to the last decade. In 2009, 2.98 jobs were generated for every 10,000 euros, currently 1.78.
18.4% of the population below the poverty line
The Canary Islands Institute of Statistics (ISTAC) reveals that the percentage of the population below the poverty line "has been increasing progressively, going from representing 9.4% in 2001 to 18.4% in 2018". Although it is below the average for the Canary Islands, "this indicator is the trend of a progressive deterioration of the living conditions of the local population when it comes to satisfying their basic needs with dignity".
"All this regardless of considering that this situation is not only the product of an unequal redistribution of the benefits of tourist activity, but also of excessive population growth that exceeds economic capacities", concludes the aforementioned study.
