Foreign residents in Canary Islands up 343% in 25 years
The number of foreign residents in the Canary Islands has grown by 343% in the first quarter of the 21st century, rising from 77,196 to 342,612 people. Since the pandemic, this growth has been driven by a surge in Italians and Colombians registering on the municipal padrones, while the British community continues to abandon the archipelago, posting a sustained demographic decline across all islands.
British community falls from second to fifth largest
Between 2021 and 2025, the United Kingdom is the only major nationality to record a demographic decline in the Canary Islands, with more than 3,200 residents leaving. The British population fell from 28,995 to 25,740, a drop of 11.23%. Nearly 40% of those who remain are over 65, a pattern only mirrored by the Germans, with one in three in retirement age – a stark contrast to the 15% of Italians or the 4.3% of Colombians in that age bracket, according to demographic data from the Canary Islands Statistics Institute (Istac) analysed by EFE.
The British colony has slipped from being the second largest foreign community in the Canary Islands to the fifth, now trailing Italians, Colombians, Venezuelans and Germans.
Foreign nationals account for two-thirds of population growth
Over those five years, the total Canary Islands population grew by 79,942 to 2,258,866. Foreign nationals accounted for 67% of that increase, with 53,629 new overseas residents registering. As a result, 15.17% of the Canary Islands’ population was foreign in 2025, up from 13.26% in 2021.
Italy is now the country with the most foreign residents in the Canary Islands, with 55,553 – 10.26% more than in 2021. But the demographic boom has been led by Colombians, who have almost doubled their presence to become the second largest community, with 32,381 residents, a 98.56% increase since 2021. They have overtaken the Venezuelans, who despite a notable rise of nearly 40% to 28,200 residents, now rank third. Germans follow with 27,631 residents (up 10%), while the British number 25,740, down 11.23%.
Morocco is the next largest community, with 20,382 people in 2025, almost 10% more than four years earlier. Cuba is also gaining prominence, with a 22.66% increase (17,499 people), China is up 3.25% (10,656), and France has risen 11.82% (7,226). Romania, meanwhile, has declined 1.97% to 8,281 residents.
Grouped by geographical region, Europe (excluding Spain) contributes 182,871 residents; the Americas 105,199; Africa 34,425; and Asia 19,901.
Where the new arrivals are settling
The largest increases are among Colombians, and their growth is spread evenly across all islands, with rises of over 85% everywhere since 2021. Italians are particularly drawn to Tenerife, where half of them are based, though they also favour Gran Canaria and Fuerteventura. Tenerife also attracts 60% of Venezuelans and 50% of Britons, while the Germans show more diverse preferences, with a particular fondness for La Palma and La Gomera.
But it is not only the nationality mix that is changing – where foreigners choose to live is also diversifying. The traditional international tourist strongholds, such as Adeje, Arona, San Bartolomé de Tirajana and Pájara, are growing little in relative terms, stagnating, or even losing British and German residents. Indeed, Pájara is the only large Canary Islands municipality with fewer foreign residents in 2025 than four years ago, down 3.18%.
In other southern towns on the two capital islands, overall growth is being dampened by the departure of British and German citizens. In Adeje, the UK population fell by 578; in Arona by 445; in San Miguel de Abona by 307; and San Bartolomé de Tirajana recorded 60 fewer Germans and 54 fewer Britons.
Despite these specific declines, the southern region of Tenerife remains the area with the highest absolute volume of foreigners in the Canary Islands (98,035 people), followed by the metropolitan area of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Telde (41,348).
Towns with the highest and lowest foreign proportions
Adeje, where 48% of residents are foreign, is the municipality with the highest proportion of foreigners, followed by La Oliva, Antigua, Santiago del Teide, Arona, Yaiza, Tías, San Miguel de Abona, Mogán and Valle Gran Rey – all above 34%. At the other end of the scale, Firgas has the lowest proportion of foreign residents at just 2.60%, while Valleseco, Tejeda, Arucas, Tegueste, Gáldar, Moya, Teror, Artenara and Vega de San Mateo all fail to reach 5%.
Despite the dominance of tourist towns in absolute numbers, the greatest dynamism in foreign arrivals is now shifting towards other municipalities with agricultural traditions or a local residential profile. Gáldar has seen its foreign population surge by nearly 70% since 2021, Icod de los Vinos by 55%, Arico by 48%, Telde by 47%, Santa Brígida by 40%, Frontera by 39% and Los Realejos by 36%.
In terms of absolute numbers of new foreign registrations between 2021 and 2025, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria leads with an increase of 7,804, followed by Arrecife (3,838), Arona (3,146), Granadilla de Abona (3,075) and Santa Cruz de Tenerife (3,011).
Island-by-island breakdown
Fuerteventura has the highest proportion of foreign residents relative to its total population (31.30%, with 40,402 foreigners), followed by Lanzarote (24.58%, with 41,020). Next come La Gomera (18.42%, 4,155 residents), El Hierro (16.43%, 1,971), Tenerife (15.90%, 153,696), La Palma (13.39%, 11,555) and Gran Canaria (10.26%, 89,813).
El Hierro recorded the highest rate of change (up 41.7%), statistically linked to the arrival of Venezuelan citizens, followed by La Palma (up 26.3%) and La Gomera (24.3%). Gran Canaria and Tenerife saw foreign population increases of 23.1% and 17% respectively, while Fuerteventura rose 15% and Lanzarote 14.9%.
Age and gender profile of foreign residents
Recent immigration has been primarily work-related: 75% of foreign residents in the Canary Islands are aged between 15 and 64 (257,774 people), more than five percentage points higher than for Spanish nationals. Morocco and Colombia concentrate 85.66% and 83.78% of their residents respectively in this age bracket.
In terms of gender distribution, Latin American communities such as Colombia and Venezuela are more feminised (over 54% are women), while the Moroccan community is predominantly male, with only 36% women.
The foreign population aged 65 or over stands at 49,038, representing 14.31% of the total, but with notable differences by country: for the UK it is 38%, Germany 32%, while for Colombia and Morocco it is around 4%. By island, La Gomera (23.80%) and La Palma (21.19%) have the highest proportions of foreign pensioners relative to their total foreign population.
For the 0–14 age bracket, foreign minors make up 14% of the regional total, with 35,800 children out of an overall census of 252,609. Fuerteventura has the highest proportion of foreign school-age population (23.59%), followed by Lanzarote (18.13%), El Hierro (17.86%) and La Gomera (16.55%), where Valle Gran Rey stands out with foreign minors aged 0–14 accounting for 31.3% of the total.
The most aged populations in the Canary Islands (measured as the number of people aged 65 or over for every child under 14) are Vallehermoso (with a ratio of 5.61), Agulo (5.32) and Tejeda (5.21).
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