Population and Demographics

Gibraltarians are often described as British or Spanish, but they are a distinctive racial and cultural fusion of the many European immigrants who came to the Rock over three hundred years. They are the descendants of economic migrants that came to Gibraltar after the majority of the Spanish population left in 1704; by 1753, 185 Spaniards remained. Genoese, Maltese, and Portuguese people formed the majority of this new population. Other groups include Minorcans (forced to leave their homes when Minorca was returned to Spain in 1802), Sardinians, Sicilians and other Italians, French, Germans, and the British. Immigration from Spain and intermarriage with Spaniards from the surrounding Spanish towns was a constant feature of Gibraltar's history until General Francisco Franco decided to close the border with Gibraltar, cutting off many Gibraltarians from their relatives on the Spanish side of the frontier. The Spanish socialist government reopened the land frontier, but other restrictions remain in place.

Gibraltar's main religion is Christianity, with the majority of Gibraltarians belonging to the Roman Catholic Church. Christian religious minorities include the Penticostals, Church of England, Church of Scotland, the Methodist Church, Plymouth Brethren, a ward of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and Jehovah's Witnesses. There are also a number of Hindu Indians, a Moroccan Muslim population, members of the Bahai faith and a long-established Jewish community.

Facts and Figures

• Population: 27,921
• Age Structure:
  • 0-14 years: 17.2% (male 2,460/female 2,343)
  • 15-64 years: 66.3% (male 9,470/female 9,070)
  • 65 years and over: 16.5% (male 2,090/female 2,534)
• Median Age:
  • Total: 40.1 years
  • Male: 39.6 years
  • Female: 40.4 years
• Population Growth Rate: 0.129%
• Birth Rate: 10.69 births/1,000 population
• Death Rate: 9.4 deaths/1,000 population
• Net Migration Rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population
• Sex Ratio:
  • At birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
  • Under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
  • 15-64 years: 1.044 male(s)/female
  • 65 years and over: 0.825 male(s)/female
  • Total population: 1.005 male(s)/female
• Infant Mortality Rate:
  • Total: 4.98 deaths/1,000 live births
  • Male: 5.54 deaths/1,000 live births
  • Female: 4.39 deaths/1,000 live births
• Life Expectancy at Birth:
  • Total population: 79.93 years
  • Male: 77.05 years
  • Female: 82.96 years
• Total Fertility Rate: 1.65 children born/woman
• Ethnic Groups:
  • Spanish
  • Italian
  • English
  • Maltese
  • Portuguese
  • German
  • North Africans
• Religions:
  • Roman Catholic 78.1%
  • Church of England 7%
  • Other Christian 3.2%
  • Muslim 4%
  • Jewish 2.1%
  • Hindu 1.8%
  • Other or unspecified 0.9%
  • None 2.9%
• Languages:
  • English (used in schools and for official purposes)
  • Spanish
  • Italian
  • Portuguese
• Literacy: above 80%