STORY: Spain's population reaches highest ever level
DATELINE: Aug. 10, 2023
LENGTH: 00:02:11
LOCATION: Madrid
CATEGORY: SOCIETY
 
SHOTLIST:
1. various of street views in Madrid
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (Spanish): MIGUEL CARLOS GALAN, Technician of the National Institute of Statistics
3. various of people and traffic
4. SOUNDBITE 2 (Spanish): MIGUEL CARLOS GALAN, Technician of the National Institute of Statistics
5. various of people on streets
 
STORYLINE:
 
Spain's population rose to its highest ever level, with immigrants being the main contributor to the growth, a study published by the Spanish Statistical Office said on Tuesday.
 
The quarterly Continuous Population Statistics (ECP) showed that 48,345,223 people were living in Spain on July 1, hitting the highest level ever recorded, thanks to an increase of 135,186 people in the second quarter of 2023.
 
Among the added population were 100,394 people born abroad, lifting the total number of foreign-born residents to 8,457,886.
 
SOUNDBITE 1 (Spanish): MIGUEL CARLOS GALAN, Technician of the National Institute of Statistics
"This growth has not been due to births because the difference between births and deaths has been practically zero, but what has basically happened is that immigration has increased."
 
The majority of immigrants to Spain between April and June were Colombian and Moroccan.
 
There were also a significant number of Spani签发ards returning to their homeland after living abroad.
 
SOUNDBITE 2 (Spanish): MIGUEL CARLOS GALAN, Technician of the National Institute of Statistics
"The population in Spain tends to stagnate or slightly decrease in the future. In other words, a very large flow of immigrants is needed to ensure that the population does not decrease."
 
The population in all 17 of Spain's autonomous communities grew, with the Balearic Islands seeing the highest growth of 0.58 percent, followed by Catalonia (0.51 percent) and Madrid (0.45 percent).
 
Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Madrid.
(XHTV)