The year 2007 was key for Begur, as it concluded a period of intense demographic and urban growth. During that year, the municipality surpassed the 4,200 inhabitant mark, reaching 4,304 residents registered on January 1, 2008. This figure represented the highest peak achieved before the outbreak of the real estate crisis.
The growth was significant in a short time. If in the year 2000 Begur had 3,411 inhabitants, by 2003 it was 3,748, and by 2005 it was approaching 4,000. On January 1, 2007, the registry showed 4,086 residents, and twelve months later, the population had increased to 4,304. In eight years, the municipality gained almost 900 inhabitants.
This demographic increase coincided with strong construction activity. In 2004, 220 new homes were started, 295 in 2005, and 276 in 2006. Although in 2007 the pace of new developments began to slow down (114 homes initiated), 152 homes were completed that year, the highest figure since 1992.
2007 marked the end of an expansionary cycle. Many developments initiated in previous years were completed just as the real estate sector showed the first signs of a slowdown. The transformation was not only urban but also demographic, with a significant increase in the foreign population.
The break was immediate. If 114 homes were started in 2007, the figure dropped to 24 in 2008 and to 18 in 2009, a stark contrast to the 295 initiated just three years earlier. The population also began to decline, from 4,304 inhabitants in early 2008 to 4,258 in 2009 and 4,209 in 2010, with fluctuations throughout the following decade.
The lowest point was reached in 2020, with 3,891 inhabitants. Since then, Begur has begun a new growth phase: 4,055 residents in 2021, 4,200 in 2022, 4,229 in 2023, and 4,286 in 2025. This means that seventeen years after the 2008 peak, the population (4,286 inhabitants in 2025) is only 18 less than then.
Begur has needed almost two decades to return practically to its pre-crisis population level. 2007 stands as the year that closed a period marked by intensive construction and an expansion that was abruptly interrupted from 2008 onwards.
