Terraferida's latest analysis has confirmed the trend: overcrowding in the Balearic Islands is no longer a phenomenon exclusive to the summer months. Based on data from the Balearic Institute of Statistics (Ibestat), the organization indicates that the winter months of 2025 already register more people—residents and tourists alike—than the peak tourist seasons of 25 years ago, demonstrating a sustained increase in population density throughout the year.

Menorca has gained almost 7,000 inhabitants since the pandemic. The island now has 102,477 registered residents, and an increasing number of those born elsewhere are now living there. The tranquility and quality of life outweigh the drawbacks of seasonality and transportation due to the island's double insularity, and this is ultimately convincing many foreigners and mainlanders to settle there.

The Balearic Islands have registered a slightly downward trend during the summer of 2025 in the demographic loadThe first decrease since the start of the Covid pandemic during the peak season months, according to preliminary data from the Human Pressure Indicator (HPI) compiled by the Balearic Islands Statistics Institute (IBESTAT). Despite this decrease, mobility and the influx of people in the region remain very high during the summer period. During the month of August, the average daily number of people in the Balearic Islands was approximately 2,005,000, with a maximum of 2,062,787 people on August 6—the highest number of the month—and a minimum of 1,861,821 people on August 31. These figures represent a slight decrease compared to last year's values, since the maximum accumulated load for the period January-August 2024 was 2,076,276 people, while in 2025 it has stood at 2,062,787, that is, there is a decrease of 0. For the second time since records have been kept —the historical series begins in 1997—, and except for 2020, the maximum IPH decreases consecutively in the peak season months: June, July and August. This had only occurred once before, in 2009. Furthermore, the maximum IPH in August has only decreased on four occasions—excluding 2020: 2009, 2013, 2018, and 2025. The ratio of maximum values to minimum values over the analyzed period is up to 2.2 times higher. This data is particularly relevant for resource and service planning in areas such as transportation, hospitality, health, and environmental management. Differences by island

On the other hand, the analysis by island shows differences in the behavior of human pressure. In Ibiza and Formentera, the peak figures for August as a whole showed a slight reduction, with a 4.6% decrease in Ibiza and a 3.8% decrease in Formentera compared to the previous year. Conversely, in Mallorca and Menorca, the figures show stability or very slight variations: in Mallorca, there was a very slight increase of 0.1% in the peak and 0.3% in the minimum, while in Menorca, there was a slight decrease in both variables compared to the previous year. The data also indicate that, from the beginning of the year until August, the ratio between the peak and minimum visitor numbers remained around 1.7 in the Islands, demonstrating that the periods of peak and minimum visitor numbers are relatively uniform, although with occasional changes. To varying degrees, this same indicator has remained relatively stable or changed little across the islands, with a value of 2.2 in Ibiza and Formentera and 2.3 in Menorca. Statistical officials emphasize that, despite the slight decrease compared to last year, the tourist impact across the islands remains very high and affects multiple areas, including the quality of life of residents and the sustainability of natural resources. The ongoing recovery of the minimum number of residents and visitors indicates that the tourist season is showing signs of consolidation, but that continued regulation and proper planning are necessary to ensure a more sustainable future.

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The Balearic Islands cannot continue to absorb the population increase they have experienced in recent years. This is the view of Prime Minister Marga Prohens, who, during the general policy debate, sought to highlight a fact that no islander ignores: the flood of new population arriving in the islands in recent decades. If the Government's proposal is to reduce the arrival of migrants, the first thing to do is analyze where this phenomenon comes from. According to data from the 2022 population register, half of the foreign residents of the Balearic Islands (108,585) were European.

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Although the mantra of containment has reached even the most reluctant sectors to impose limitations, such as the business sector, the Balearic Islands continue to break records for tourist arrivals, population growth and human pressure - the paradox this year is that the increase in tourists does not translate into in increasing income in some sectors, such as restaurants. Beyond cashing in, this is the third tourist season since the beginning of the legislature in which containment measures have not been applied while problems continue to fester—the main one being access to housing, but overcrowding is reaching even the smallest aspects of residents' lives.

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The Balearic Islands recorded the presence of 1,816,629 people on May 30, which represents an increase of 1.27% compared to the previous year and breaks a new record for human pressure for the fifth month of the year, according to data published this Wednesday by the Balearic Institute of Statistics (Ibestat).

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