The number of people living in Spain (46,704,314) has fallen for the first time since 1971, which was the year that the National Statistics Institute started to publish yearly census data. In the decade leading up to our current financial crisis, a massive wave of immigrants helped the country post positive population growth despite its exceptionally low birth rate.
The crisis also caused foreign workers to retreat back to their native countries and a new trend tied closely to rampant unemployment: young Spaniards are emigrating in order to find better job opportunities elsewhere.
This trend is affecting the level of social security contributions as well the nation's ability to recover economically. The government should make it a priority to find jobs for young skilled workers and, with the EU's help, slow down immigration and try to get Spanish expats to return from abroad.
