Anoia records low recent migration inflow

A new census from the Institut d’Estadística de Catalunya (Idescat) shows that only 7.8% of people living in Anoia had arrived in Catalonia between 2020 and 2024, placing the comarca among the least-recently settled areas in the country. This figure is significantly below the Catalan average of 13.3% and reflects a broader trend of uneven population arrival across regions.

Urban-rural divide within Anoia

Igualada, the capital of Anoia, reports a higher proportion: 10.5% of its residents arrived in Catalonia during the same five-year period, nearly three percentage points above the comarcal average. Other municipalities with notable shares include Montmaneu (10.4%), la Llacuna (10.3%) and Carme (9%). In contrast, smaller towns show much lower levels: Orpí (2.3%), Sant Martí de Tous (2.4%) and Argençola (2.5%). Vilanova del Camí and Òdena report 5.9% and 5.5% respectively.

National context and foreign-born residents

Across Catalonia, 13.3% of the 8.12 million residents in 2025 had arrived between 2020 and 2024. In Barcelona comarca, the figure reaches 19.7%, while in Val d’Aran it is 17.5% and Alt Urgell 15.1%. The data specifically measures individuals who established residence in Catalonia during that window, not internal movers already living in the region. Among the 2.04 million foreign-born residents in Catalonia, 45.2% arrived between 2020 and 2024, according to Idescat’s migration analysis. Approximately two out of every three foreign-born residents moved to Catalonia after 2010.

These figures highlight territorial imbalances in settlement patterns, with Anoia remaining one of the comarques where recently arrived populations represent a small share of total residents.

Primary sources: idescat.cat. Reported by Igualada News.