DEMOGRAPHICS The districts of Girona are one of the most dynamic parts of Catalunya, leading to a constantly growing population. In the last 25 years, the number of inhabitants in the province of Girona has grown more than the half (51,3%), with sustained year on year increases, notably a 3,4% in 2006 with respect to the previous year. Population changes in the province of Girona Year Inhabitants 1986 488.247 1991 509.450 1996 531.520 2000 565.599 2001 579.650 2002 598.112 2003 619.692 2004 636.198 2005 664.506 2006 687.331 As regards the distribution across the region's administrative districts, all the districts show an increase although the differences between them are considerable. The district of la Selva shows the most dynamic demographics of all of Girona, with an increase of 66% respect the year 1986 and the highest increase (more than a 26%) during the last 5 years. Inhab/km 2 Population changes by district Inhabitants 2006/ 2006/ (2006) 2006 2001 1996 1991 1986 1986 2001 Alt Empordà 92,36 123.983 103.631 93.172 90.755 85.398 45,18% 19,64% Baix Empordà 177,09 124.055 105.726 95.986 89.930 83.911 47,84% 17,34% Cerdanya 31,37 17.141 14.516 12.757 12.396 12.200 40,50% 18,08% Garrotxa 71,96 52.834 47.940 46.708 46.060 45.368 16,46% 10,21% Gironès 288,58 166.079 138.659 129.044 125.875 122.350 35,74% 19,78% Pla de 108,71 28.557 25.577 23.833 21.416 21.072 35,52% 11,65% l Estany Ripollès 27,50 26.366 26.113 26.365 27.167 28.314-6,88% 0,97% Selva 152,16 151.477 119.906 104.833 98.255 91.238 66,02% 26,33% 112,90 690.492 582.068 532.698 511.854 489.851 40,96% 18,63% In general, the districts with most growth are those closely involved with tourism: the three coastal districts (La Selva, Baix Empordà and Alt Empordà), and la Cerdanya. El Pla de l Estany, with its strong industrial and agricultural 1 de 10
development, and el Gironès as a service centre has also grown significantly; meanwhile, la Garrotxa and el Ripollès, which, like la Cerdanya are typically mountainous, show a moderate increase- doubtless owing to the importance of the industrial sector and the profound crisis in traditional areas such as metalworking and textiles. 2 de 10
LABOUR MARKET As a result of the long industrial tradition in the Girona region, the number of workers occupied as a percentage of the total population is very high, one of the highest in Spain and the one that approaches more to the 25 States of the EU. It is also worthy of particular note that the labour market in Girona shows a high level of occupation among women, the highest in Catalunya and Spain, and closest to the European average. OCCUPATION RATES YEAR 2006 GIRONA CATALUNYA SPAIN EU15 Men 71,80 68,34 64,76 72,00 Women 52,08 48,14 42,46 57,30 Total 61,88 58,07 53,36 64,70 Another positive feature of the Girona s labour market is a relatively not bad unemployment rate of 6,63% of active population in 2005 year. This number is similar to the Catalan average (6,60%), but far below that of Spain (8,51%), and also below the average of the 25 States of EU UNEMPLOYMENT GIRONA CATALUNYA SPAIN EU25 RATE YEAR 2005 Total 6,63 6,60 8,51 7,90 3 de 10
QUALITY OF LIFE The districts of Girona, with a temperate Mediterranean climate, enjoy favourable weather, reflected in average winter temperatures of 7-8 o C, and 21-22 o C in summer. Average annual rainfall is around 786 mm. The sea has a significant moderating effect on the winters, and lowers the temperature in the hottest months. The physical relief of the region is also highly favourable. In fact, as the crow flies, in no more than 70 km you can go from Pyrenean peaks over 2500m to the beautiful bays of the Costa Brava. This diversity of landscape has been recognised in the inclusion of 30% of the territory in Parks of Special Natural Interest, as well as 6 specific areas of special protection being established: The Nature Parks of Montseny, the Volcanic Region of la Garrotxa, Aiguamolls de l Empordà and Cap de Creus, the Natural Area of National Interest of l Albera and the Protected Area of the Medes Islands. This diverse environmental distribution, as well as being home to a great variety of flora and fauna, also allows a whole range of leisure opportunities, both more relaxing and more active sports and pastimes. All these environmental aspects are complemented by economic and social factors (per capita income, hospital and medical services, leisure and sporting facilities, etc.) all of which puts the districts of Girona at the top of the table for quality of life in Spain. 4 de 10
INFRASTRUCTURE The districts of Girona are strategically situated where the north-south and eastwest axes of Europe meet. Any land traffic between North Africa and Europe must perforce cross the frontier at La Jonquera. On the other hand, the intermodal corridor between the Atlantic (Portugal) and the Northwest Mediterranean (Greece) also passes most directly through the border at La Jonquera. To this position as a crossroads we can also add the proximity of the major conurbation of Barcelona. The major market and service centre of Barcelona and its metropolitan area are one hour by car from most of the districts of Girona. Roads AP7 (E15 Motorway, European designation) A2 (old NII) C25 (Transverse axis) Railway Conventional Renfe line with freight station in Girona, and track interchange in Portbou. Future high-speed line from Seville to the French border, with passenger and freight depots Airport Girona-Costa Brava Airport 24 hour from May to October and 7am to 10pm the rest of the year 2400 metre runway. ILS Spacious, modern, comfortable passenger terminal Extensive free parking Port of Palamós The port of Palamós is located at a strategic point of the north-west Mediterranean, ideally connected by land to both Barcelona to the south and the south of France, ands by sea is the last port of Catalunya before the Gulf of Lyon, heading north to the ports of France and Italy. It has a commercial wharf (314 m.) and another for cruise ships (150 m.) Both the port of Palamós and Girona-Costa Brava airport will soon have a Border Inspection Point for perishable goods exported to Third Countries (outside the EU). 5 de 10
INDUSTRIAL PREMISES Economic activity in the districts of Girona is highly varied, both in terms of active manufacturing sectors and physical distribution. Industrial installations of significant economic importance are thus to be found throughout the region, in almost every district. The region of Girona currently has more than 1,600 hectares of available industrial property ready for occupation. The database compiled jointly by the Girona Regional Government, the Girona Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Maritime Transport and the Girona Federation of Commercial Organisations, available for consultation on the Girona Regional Government website (http://www.ddgi.es/solindustrial), provides detailed information on all the industrial estates, grouped by district and town. It should also be remembered that for some enterprises and some types of business there is financial assistance in the form of beneficial loans or nonrecoverable grants, which makes it an even more attractive proposition to set up a business in the Girona region (you can consult the CIDEM s (Business Information and Development Centre) Fisub (financial grants) database at the following address: http://www.cidem.com/cidem/cat/serveis/financament/index.jsp At an early date there will be ready the logistical Centre that is being built next to the Girona airport (Gironès district) and is also planned the construction of another logistical Centre in the industrial area of Vilamalla (Alt Empordà). 6 de 10
TRAINING Girona has a wide offering in terms of education, covering all stages of the academic process; from kindergartens to university studies. Every district has educational institutions covering compulsory phases, and increasingly, the majority also have intermediate and higher level professional training centres. The University of Girona (UdG) currently has approximately 14.000 students and a teaching staff of 1,000 lecturers and researchers, and 400 administration and service personnel. It has eight teaching centres: Faculty of Science Faculty of Economic and Business Science Faculty of Educational Science Faculty of Law Faculty of Humanities Polytechnic Higher Education College University College of Nursing University College of Tourism These centres dedicated to teaching, award 48 degrees, engineering qualifications, diplomas, architectural and technical engineering qualifications, post-graduate. The UdG also has six registered centres and one affiliated centre. In the field of professional training there are currently 32 centres distributed across the districts of Girona, with more than 4.000 registered students in total. There are 31 courses available in the higher cycle, and 28 at intermediate level. Of these specialities, those most in demand are: administration and finance, control and automatic control systems, management, and electronic equipment and systems. 7 de 10
RESEARCH (R+D) The University de Girona plays a leading role in research and technological innovation. In the research field, based around departments and institutions, the UdG has: - The following departments: Architecture and Construction Engineering; Biology; Environmental Science; Specific Education; Private Law; Public Law; Economics; Electronics, IT and Automation; Business; Industrial Engineering; Chemical Engineering, Agriculture and Food Science; Philology and Philosophy; Physics; Geography, History and Art History; Nursing; IT and Applied Mathematics; Education; Psychology; and Chemistry. - Institutions and other centres as follows: Institute of Education Science; Institute of Aquatic Ecology; Institute of IT and Applications; Institute of Catalan Language and Culture; Institute of the Environment; Institute of Cultural Heritage; Institute of Computational Chemistry; Quality of Life Research Institute; Institute of Technological Food Science; Chair of Contemporary Art and Culture; Ferrater Mora Chair of Contemporary Thought; Chair of Geography and Regional Theory; Lluís Santaló Chair of Applied Mathematics. - General Research Laboratories (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Microscopy) and the Information System Service for Geography and Remote Sensing (SIGTE). - Girona. Meeting point The Business Services Office (Oficina de Serveis a l Empresa, or OSE), a department of the Office of Research and Technology Transfer (Oficina d'investigació i Transferència Tecnològica, or OITT) serves as a meeting point for businesses and the institutions of the University of Girona. The body has the following functions: Promoting University-business collaboration in the field of R+D. Directing a range of specialist services for associated businesses: channelling needs of UdG research teams, evaluating the drawing up of agreements and contracts, defining the shape that collaborations take, providing information on aid both direct (grants and loans) and indirect (tax breaks) offered by the state to businesses collaborating with public research institutions, offering advice on industrial and intellectual property, providing access to different technology transfer databases, etc. Offering support to UdG researchers in commercial applications of the results of their research and study (patent licences). Promoting and channelling the spirit of enterprise among researchers at the UdG and establishing the necessary conditions for its development (spin-off creation). 8 de 10
Promoting self-employment among UdG students and facilitating their employment through the Employment Service. Universitat de Girona (www.udg.es) Office of Business Services / Office of Research and Technology Transfer Telephone: (972) 41 80 15 Fax: (972) 41 80 31 ose@udg.edu Scientifical & Technological Parc of the University of Girona Tel. 972 41 88 11 Fax 972 41 80 31 unigiparc@udg.edu http://www.udg.edu/parccientíficitecnològic/tabid/2878/default.aspx 9 de 10
LEISURE AND FREETIME Girona is characterised by its geographical diversity, stretching from the Mediterranean to the Pyrenees. The Costa Brava covers 200 kilometres of coastline from north to south, including such exceptional locations as the Natural Park of Cap de Creus, the marshes of the aiguamolls de l Empordà, the Greek and Roman ruins of Empúries, the medieval towns of Pals and Peratallada, the bays of Begur and the botanical gardens of Blanes and Lloret de Mar. Heading from the sea to the mountains, we reach the foothills of the Pyrenees, and the delights of the Nature Park of la Garrotxa and Guilleries-Collsacabra. Continuing along the Roman Road, other unmissable places to visit are the monasteries of Ripoll and Sant Joan de les Abadesses. Finally we reach the Pyrenees of Girona, snow-covered in the ski resorts of Vallter, Núria, la Molina, and la Masella. This geographical diversity means that the different districts of Girona offer all kind of leisure and freetime activities. In particular, these include: watersports, golf, hiking, climbing, skiing and a long list of others, making any holiday here an unforgettable experience. Tourist Board Costa Brava Pirineus de Girona http://www.costabrava.org/ 10 de 10