The Canary Islands,

Beach in Grand Canary

The Canary islands, off the North African coast, are a perfect sun spot for northern Europeans. They claim to be in "eternal spring" and indeed, while the winter maximum temperatures barely drop below 20º celcius, the summer maximums rarely reach 30º.

The economy centres around tourism, with shipping/ fisheries support a close second and bananas and tomatoes losing the importance they had decades ago. With many visitors year round, water is a scarce resource and there are often shortages.

Cayuco reaching the Canaries (El Mundo)

With their proximity to the Morroccan coast, it is not surprising that many Africans attempt to illegally cross the water to gain, they hope, easy access to Europe. Sadly, the crossing in open boats is far from easy and many die in the attempt. Once on the islands, they are usually discovered and shipped home. Yet even this takes time and, according to a recent BBC article, (Oct '06) village life in the Canaries is changing as a result. More about the immigration crisis.

Sunbather aids immigrant (EFE)

Population (1/2008): 2,070,465 of whom 282,004 (13.6%) are foreigners

Tourist info: All islands
Tenerife
Lanzarote
The rest of the universe from the Teide observatory

The Churches

Membership: (PTL 1997) 3,608
Churches: 75
Towns over 5,000 inhabitants with no evangelical church: 28 (Decisión 2008)
List of major unevangelised towns in the province of Tenerife. Click on lower left hand map for other provinces.
Evangelical Council (Spanish)

Open Air on the Maritime Parade in Las Palmas

The evangelical population is in percentage terms among the highest of any Spanish region and there are also good youth groups in many of the churches. Most churches, however, are to be found on Gran Canaria and Tenerife.

Anglican services are held in various places on the islands. More info. from the Diocesan web. (This list is of all Spain, but includes a good number of Canary locations including www.tenerifechurch.com/Tenerife.

Logos 2 berths in Las Palmas

| The Canary Islands, | The Churches |