Demographics
| Historical population | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
| 1861 | 1,335,000 | — |
| 1871 | 1,440,000 | +7.9% |
| 1881 | 1,609,000 | +11.7% |
| 1901 | 1,987,000 | +23.5% |
| 1911 | 2,195,000 | +10.5% |
| 1921 | 2,365,000 | +7.7% |
| 1931 | 2,508,000 | +6.0% |
| 1936 | 2,642,000 | +5.3% |
| 1951 | 3,220,000 | +21.9% |
| 1961 | 3,421,000 | +6.2% |
| 1971 | 3,583,000 | +4.7% |
| 1981 | 3,872,000 | +8.1% |
| 1991 | 4,032,000 | +4.1% |
| 2001 | 4,021,000 | −0.3% |
| 2011 | 4,091,000 | +1.7% |
| Source: ISTAT 2001 | ||
The population density in Apulia is just above the national average. In 2008 it was equal to 211 inhabitants per km². Foggia is by far the least densely populated province (96 inhabitants per km² in 2008), whereas Bari is the most densely populated province (308 inhabitants per km² in 2008).
Emigration from the region's depressed areas to northern Italy and the rest of Europe was very intense in the years between 1956 and 1971. Subsequently the trend declined as economic conditions improved, to the point where there was net immigration in the years between 1982 and 1985. Since 1986 the stagnation in employment has led to a new inversion of the trend, caused not so much by an increase in the number of people leaving but by a fall in the number coming to live in the region, but in the 2000s (decade) net immigration has been positive again. As of 2008, the Italian national institute of statistics ISTAT estimated that 63,868 foreign-born immigrants live in Apulia, equal to 1.6% of the total regional population.
Read more about this topic: Apulia