Roquetas de Mar is a municipality of Almería province, in the autonomous community of Andalucía, Spain. In 2016, the population was 91,965, the municipality with the second highest population in the province behind the capital, the 14th in Andalucía and the 69th in Spain. In 1981, in this town, three young men from Santander were murdered by various members of the Spanish Civil Guard, in what is known as Almería Case.

Geography and climate

Roquetas de Mar has a hot desert climate (Köppen: BWh) bordering on a hot semi-desert climate (Köppen: BSh) with very mild winters and very hot and dry summers. During July and August, Roquetas de Mar has often southern winds coming from Africa, thus increasing the temperatures. Dust storms coming from the Sahara desert are uncommon, but they might happen from time to time.

Tourism

The 'urbanización' (tourist area with hotels and restaurants and shops) of Roquetas is predominantly a Spanish holiday resort for the majority of the summer months, but it also receives many visitors from the United Kingdom, Ireland and Germany. It is one of the two major resorts in Costa de Almería, the other being Mojácar.

Demographics

Roquetas de Mar is the second most populous municipality in the province of Almería behind its capital. The 2018 padron data counted 94,956 inhabitants, 49,038 of which were men and 45,887 of which were women. The population density is 1600/km2.

Transport

Roquetas is served by the Autovía A-7 on its outskirts and is linked to the town itself by the A-1051. It is the second-largest town in Spain without a rail link behind Marbella; in 2020 a proposal was submitted to build a railway from Almería to Adra via Roquetas and El Ejido.

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