sentences:  The people of the Loyalty Islands are of mixed Melanesian and Polynesian ancestry, with a small European minority.The population numbered 17,436 in the 2009 census, a 7.9% reduction from the 22,080 in the preceding 2004 census.In 2014 the population grew to 18,297, an increase of 4.9% and in 2019 the population grew a further 0.1% to 18,353.