El incremento de la población extranjera en la provincia de Alicante. Los contrastes en su distribución espacial

Abstract

Of all the Spanish provinces, Alicante had the highest foreign population in 2005. Before analysing the most recent evolution and distribution of this population, it is necessary to consider the different reasons why foreigners choose the province of Alicante, whether it be to live, as is the case for many citizens of the more developed parts of Europe, or to work, as is often the case when groups arrive from Latin America, Africa or Eastern Europe. Compared with the coastal areas where most foreigners, particularly residential tourists, decide to settle, the interior of the province has a low foreign population density. As a case study, we have analysed the distribution of the foreign population in the Elda-Petrer conurbation, as this is the province's most populated inland urban nucleus and seems to have different migratory characteristics to those of Alicante's coastal towns.