"Foreign and Spanish-nationality migratory flows in the Catalan rural areas: Depopulation or new territorial patterns?" This paper analyses the impact of migration on Catalan municipalities which had less than 1.000 inhabitants during the period 1996-2006, within a context of an accelerated foreign-nationality population growth. Padron Continuo and Movimiento Natural de la Población data is used to build a municipalities' typology. Results show that, even though practically all these small municipalities have received foreign immigrants, around 80% of them are still loosing population or have a poor increase. Therefore, the arrival of international immigrants, reinforced or counteracted by Spanish internal flows, has emphasized the territorial dichotomy between a few dynamic rural areas and regressive ones, the latter still occupying most of inland Catalonia.

demography Rural areas Migratory flows Foreign population Catalonia

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