On the increase

The town in the Alicante province with the largest number of registered expat residents is San Fulgencio with 73.9 per cent non Spanish residents.

Next on the list is Rojales, with 69.4 per cent of the population being foreign nationals, followed by San Miguel de Salinas (60.1 per cent).

In Algorfa, Benijófar, Hondón de los Frailes and Torrevieja, the number of expats represents between 50 and 57 per cent of the local population.

Orihuela, where 40 per cent of the population is foreign, now boasts residents from 100 countries; and again Britons are at the top of the list.

European statistics office Eurostat has estimated that by 2030, there will be over a million more residents in the Valencia Region than today.

The increase, which would represent a 7.3 per cent increase on the current population, will be due mainly to immigration from both EU and non-EU states.

The provinces of Madrid, Barcelona and Alicante account for almost half the number of foreign residents in Spain.

Hopefully these increases in ex-pat populations will not adversely affect the Spanish character of these towns.