Manilva's population doubles in ten years

THE number of people living in Manilva has doubled in the last 10 years.

In December 2002, the town had 7,518 registered inhabitants, municipal sources revealed.

By April this year the official population had increased to 14,839.

Men outnumber woman by a narrow margin, with 7,681 males and 7,158 females, but nationalities are less evenly balanced.

Manilva is out of the ordinary because 6,713 of its registered population are foreign.

Of the 45.24 per cent of non-Spanish Manilveños, the majority are British.

The 2,957 Britons on the electoral rolls comprise Manilva’s largest foreign community, well ahead of Moroccans, the next-most numerous group.

There are now 639 Moroccans on the Manilva #i#padron#i#(municipal register) and 520 Romanians.

They are followed by Italians and Argentineans – 246 and 179 respectively – and Germans, who number 166. At last count there were also 152 Bulgarian residents.

Manilva’s population has increased each year since 2002. The only exception was 2010 when registered residents fell to 13,832 from the previous year’s 14,178. Approximately one thousand people come to live in the town each year, according to the padron.

The population is continually rising because the majority of residents who register in Manilva remain there, the town hall source explained.