Editing Province of Teruel (section)

==Depopulation and neglect==
Most of the Teruel Province has undergone massive depopulation since the middle of the 20th century. This situation is shared with other areas in Spain, particularly with those near the [[Sistema Ibérico|Iberian mountain range]] (much of the provinces of [[Province of Soria|Soria]], [[Province of Guadalajara|Guadalajara]] and [[Province of Cuenca|Cuenca]]) and with other areas in [[Aragón]].

The exodus from the rural mountain areas in Teruel rose after [[General Franco]]'s ''Plan de Estabilización'' in 1959. The population declined steeply as people migrated towards the industrial areas and the large cities in Spain, leaving behind their small villages where living conditions were often harsh, with cold winters and very basic facilities.

As a consequence there are many [[ghost town]]s in different parts of the province.<ref>[http://lospueblosdeshabitados.blogspot.com/search/label/TERUEL%20%20-Collado%20de%20la%20Grulla- Pueblos deshabitados – Collado de la Grulla (Teruel)]</ref>

A great number of surviving towns in Teruel province have only a residual population, reviving somewhat during the summer when a few city-dwellers spend their holidays there. Other causes of the strong emigration have been the low productivity of traditional agricultural practices, like sheep and goat farming, the closing of mines, like the large [[Sierra Menera]] mine near [[Ojos Negros, Teruel|Ojos Negros]],<ref>[http://www.docutren.com/archivos/gijon/pdf/sb1.pdf La Compañía Minera de Sierra Menera. Breve historia] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120323004743/http://www.docutren.com/archivos/gijon/pdf/sb1.pdf |date=23 March 2012 }}</ref> as well as the lifestyle changes that swept over rural Spain during the second half of the 20th century.<ref>[http://despoblacion.blogia.com/temas/la-despoblacion-en-aragon.php Despoblación en Aragon] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120823033158/http://despoblacion.blogia.com/temas/la-despoblacion-en-aragon.php |date=23 August 2012 }}</ref>

The "[[Teruel Existe|Teruel Exists]]" ({{langx|es|link=no|Teruel existe}}) movement began at the turn of the 21st century. It is a platform of provincial authorities, institutions and sympathizers seeking to reverse the long-standing neglect of this province.<ref>[https://teruelexiste.info/ Teruel existe]</ref>

===Population development===
The historical population is given in the following chart:
<timeline>
Colors=
 id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9)
 id:darkgrey  value:gray(0.7)
 id:sfondo value:rgb(1,1,1)

ImageSize  = width:650 height:auto barincrement:30
PlotArea   = left:40 bottom:40 top:20 right:20
DateFormat = x.y
Period     = from:0 till:270
TimeAxis   = orientation:horizontal
AlignBars  = late
ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey  increment:50 start:0
ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:10 start:0
BackgroundColors = canvas:sfondo

PlotData=
  color:skyblue width:20 shift:(-50,-5) fontsize:M anchor:till
 bar:1877 from:0 till:249 text:248,765
 bar:1887 from:0 till:247 text:246,817
 bar:1900 from:0 till:252 text:251,994
 bar:1910 from:0 till:266 text:265,908
 bar:1920 from:0 till:264 text:264,062
 bar:1930 from:0 till:264 text:263,700
 bar:1940 from:0 till:246 text:245,960
 bar:1950 from:0 till:243 text:243,269
 bar:1960 from:0 till:224 text:223,758
 bar:1970 from:0 till:174 text:173,861
 bar:1980 from:0 till:153 text:153,457
 bar:1990 from:0 till:144 text:143,680
 bar:2000 from:0 till:136 text:135,858
 bar:2010 from:0 till:143 text:143,162
 bar:2020 from:0 till:134 text:134,176
TextData=
 pos:(35,20) fontsize:M
 text:"Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadística, INE"
</timeline>