population of marbella
We all know that Marbella’s real population is much bigger than the figure on the municipal census. Here’s how the Town Hall reached 390,000...
05.03.09 - 20:01 -
POPULATION. The local authority believes that there are around 390,000 people living in Marbella. / J-L
When Marbella Town Hall applied to be considered by the Junta de Andalucía for ‘Municipio de Gran Población’ status (a municipality with a large population), it produced its official population and economy figures. However the council was well aware that the number on the official census falls far short of reality when it comes to Marbella residents, and set out to prove just that.
In the end they produced a report that concluded that the 130,549 names on the census multiply in real life to become some 390,000 inhabitants, and that is outside the main tourism season. The problem is that the Town Hall receives funds from other authorities to help it provide services for 130,549 when really these are required by 390,000, according to the local authority's calculations.
But how was the Town Hall going to prove this hardly minor discrepancy? They set about analysing different figures, such as the average number of inhabitants per property, the floating and visiting population (hotel guests and workers from other municipalities), demand for electricity or the number of large commercial premises.
The first figure the council looked at, however, was the number of IBI (property tax) bills issued in 2007: a total of 159,241 according to the report. The same document reveals that in 2007 there were 139,241 homes in Marbella. If this is multiplied by the average number of occupants living in each property (3.1, according to the Town Hall’s calculations), we get 431,647 inhabitants. To this they then applied a fudge factor of 20 per cent (used by all towns to take into account empty properties and those used for residential tourism). This left 345,318 inhabitants.
The council then decided to add the floating population: some 5,831 hotel guests and 3,000 people who work in Marbella but sleep elsewhere. “This is another 8,831 people we have to provide services for on a day to day basis”, pointed out Javier García, director of the Management and Quality Unit (Ugescal) at the Town Hall.
Then another 44,000 inhabitants were added, corresponding to the 18,000 properties that are to be legalised in the new PGOU, to reach the final total of 389,958. “And all this without considering the increase0e in the peak summer season”, added García.
The report also mentions a figure from the National Statistics Institute (INE) regarding the power consumption for December 31st 2006. “It turns out that Marbella has the highest demand for electricity per (official) inhabitant in the whole of Andalucía, ahead even of Huelva which has the greatest concentration of chemical industry in the region”, explains the report.
In other words, Marbella uses three times more electricity per inhabitant than any other town, city or village. The population census for December 2006 contains 124,000 names; multiply this by three and you get 372,000 inhabitants, not far off the 345,318 estimate reached using the IBI bills.
Finally the study looks to the large commercial centres for added support. It states that El Corte Inglés in Puerto Banús requires a population of between 200,000 and 250,000 in order to survive and La Cañada needs between 150,000 and 200,000 local residents.
