Today Ana Juan and Bartomeu Escandell, president and finance councillor, respectively, of the Consell de Formentera, met with Rafel Ballester Salvà, president of the Economic and Social Council (CES), to present the CES's 2021 report on the economy, employment and society of the Balearic Islands. After the meeting, Josep Valero González and Anna Grau, secretary general and head of studies, respectively, of the CES, joined in a presentation before representatives of the media.
President Juan described the CES's work as "essential", and "key to our having a more accurate picture of Formentera's social, economic and environmental situation." She also highlighted the entity's coordination with the Formentera Data Observatory, which "will help us make future decisions that our island needs".
Councillor Escandell hailed the increasingly disaggregated nature of data in the report, and the fact that information is presented in relation to Formentera and not to Pine Islands at large. "There is still work to be done", said Escandell, "but we value the improvement." The finance councillor also highlighted "the important role of the Formentera Data Observatory in supplying the CES with information".
In 2021 the regional GDP shrink 20.6% - more than any other autonomous community in Spain. However, the 10.4% expansion that followed was not only more impressive than rebounding growth in the other Spanish regions, it also far outpaced Spain's recovery as a whole (+5.4%) and that of the rest of Euro zone (+5.1 %).
From 2017 to 2019, the Pine Islands' GDP grew faster than in the rest of the islands, but in 2020 it shrank by more than a quarter (25.4%). Dependence on tourism and foreign tourism in particular laid bare a vulnerability to sectoral fluctuations, despite the fact that 2021 also came with strong signs of resilience and an 11.8% uptick in the GDP that outstripped recovery in the rest of the islands. At 15.6%, Eivissa and Formentera's projected GDP expansion in 2022 will continue to outstrip the growth witnessed by our neighbours.
However, in 2021, the Pine Islands continued to fall short of pre-pandemic figures, with rates of change in GVA that remained negative across the region: -12.4% in the Balearic Islands as a whole; -11.9% on Mallorca; -11.1% on Menorca and -16.6% in the Pine Islands.
In the Pine Islands, the market services sector represents a larger share of the total regional GVA (71.4%), slightly above the regional average (71%). While service sector activities vary widely, the predominance of tourism is near absolute.
In 2021, the region received 8.7 million tourists, almost triple the total recorded in 2020, but still half that of 2019. Of all the visitors to the Balearic Islands, 22%, of 1.91 million, came to Eivissa or Formentera. Two thirds of our visitors are foreigners, and one third are Spanish. Ninety-four per cent of travellers come to the Pine Islands in the medium-high season.
On average, visitors stay in the Pine Islands 6.6 days - below the Balearic average of 7.2 days. And yet, their daily expenditure is higher in the Pine Islands (€146) than elsewhere in the Balearics (€141). On average, each tourist in the Pine Islands spent €963.60 in 2021.
Environment
The hydrological drought index measures changes in the availability of drinking water from surface sources and groundwater (in a given management system and over an undetermined period of time) which may prevent demands on the system from being met. In this regard, Formentera was in a pre-alert situation for four months in 2021 (March, May, June and July).
In 2021, Formentera had five ABAQUA boats for posidonia patrols. Checks were carried out on 66,518 vessels (the highest figure for all the islands) and 824, or 1.2%, needed to be moved.
In 2020, the pandemic and litigation meant that waste removal operations were not carried out along the island's coasts. A year later, one of 21 vessels in the Balearic Islands was stationed at Formentera. In 2021, 2,551.28 kg of litter was collected from the coastline, a 30% increase.
Formentera has seven swimming areas. In 2021, 100% were rated excellent, the best figure of the entire archipelago.
As for the local job market, in 2021 the number of affiliated workers increased by 9.8% (elsewhere in the Balearics the figure was 2.4%). Formentera's rate on the seasonality index -which compares the number of affiliated workers in July and December- was 144.1% (elsewhere in the Balearics it was 26.1%). In July there were 2.4 more affiliated workers than in December, which highlights the high seasonality of the island. In 2021, 87.9% of all new contracts reported were in the services sector (the share in the Balearics as a whole was 82.8%), 10% were in construction (12.7%), 1.2 % in industry (3.4%) and 0.9% in agriculture (1.1%). After 2020, an atypical year in which lost-time workday accidents were halved, they increased by almost 44% the following year (exceeding those reported in 2019).
Population
In 2021 only four autonomous communities reported population gains, among them the Balearic Islands, with 1,465 more people. The year closed with a total of 1,173,008 residents. Among the characteristic features of the Balearic Islands is a high proportion (46%) of residents born outside the region. Specifically, 21.6% were born in another autonomous community and 24.4% -the highest rate in Spain- were born in another country. On Formentera, 64% of the population was born outside the Balearics -the highest figure in the archipelago. More specifically, 30.8% were born in another autonomous community and 33.2% were born abroad.
Individuals over the age of 65 account for 16% of the total population in the Balearics - for the first time, this group represents a larger portion of the total than individuals under 16 (15.6%). On Formentera, however, the share of under-16s (13.1%) is still comparatively larger than the share of over-65s (12.7 %). The average Formentera resident is 41.3 years old. In 2021 the average pension was €803, well below the Balearic average of €967.
At €107,711, the average of residential properties is 27% above the Balearic average, and the figure has increased by 402% since 2011. Since 2020, building permits in the Pine Islands increased 60%, the highest increase of all the islands.
24 November 2022
Communications Office
Consell de Formentera