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cccmedia wrote:

Since the 2010 census, Cuenca's population has grown by 62,000 and metro Cuenca now has a population of 585,000.

So says the EC census bureau, the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses.

The 2010-2015 increase is largely due to the return of Ecuadorians living overseas, especially in the U.S., Spain and Italy .. and to an increase in Expats immigrating to the popular retirement destination.

Expat numbers.

13,000 foreigners currently live in Cuenca, according to the census bureau, up more than double from 6,000 in 2010.  5,000 are from the U.S. and Canada, compared to about 1,500 five years ago.

Cuenca is Ecuador's third largest city, behind Guayaquil and Quito, both of which have populations of over 2.5 million.

Cuenca is the largest city in Azuay province.  The provincial population has risen from 760,000 to 815,000 since 2010, according to the census figures.  Gualaceo is the second-largest city in Azuay by population, now at 47,000.

The census bureau estimates Cuenca's population will grow to 1.3 million by the year 2050.

The census figures in this post were reported at ...

cccmedia in Quito

One would think that an 11% increase in 5 years would result in rising housing costs, especially if the population is projected to increase by more than 10% every 5 years the next 35 years. WOW

One would have to wonder, how the local population is reacting to this insurgence. I can assume it drives real estate, as well as other prices up. This removes the locals from the market, I can't see them being too happy about that fact.

I would not expect the Expats to become the majority, but as the numbers increase it must have a direct affect on the local economics.

The percentage of gringos is about 2%, so even if the population doubles the percentage is of little  consequence compared to home many Ecuadorans are returning from overseas.  Of course any negative changes will be blamed on the gringos, not the returning homeboys.