Poverty in Spain. Cartoon of 20/09/2025 in CTXT
Translation of the cartoon: 12.5 million people are still at risk of poverty and/or social exclusion "Don't be sad, this time we've been in the news for almost a minute and a half."
Poverty is rarely talked about because it is an "uncomfortable" subject that breaks with the triumphalist discourses of growth and because not everyone relates it directly to certain daily events that make the most lurid news. Poverty is also behind many other stories of which we know nothing, but which, in one way or another, we are all aware of their existence. Every now and then some report reminds us again of where we are.
Thus, the latest report by the European Anti-Poverty Network (EAPN-ES), drawn up with data from 2024, has left several headlines and conclusions that are no less worrying for being well known.
One of the most widespread statements has been that more than four million people in Spain live on less than 644 euros per month, but there are others that are even sadder.
Spain has the highest child poverty rate in the EU
Spain is above the European Union (EU) average in all indicators of poverty, exclusion and inequality, and is the fourth country with the highest percentage of people at risk of poverty and social exclusion, behind only Bulgaria, Romania and Greece. Of particular concern is the child poverty rate, the highest in the EU, with 2.3 million children and adolescents living in poverty.
Spain remains the EU country with the highest child poverty rate, at 29.2%. And for those who want to blame the current or the previous government, I have bad news. This situation has been stagnant for more than 15 years.
The housing problem as a perennial factor of poverty
Housing, a chronic problem that is so difficult to solve because it is a matter of will and because no government is really capable of doing so, continues to be one of the main concerns of the Spanish population, and is also an important factor in poverty that increases the existing inequalities in the Autonomous Regions.
The increase in prices is particularly evident in rents, whose average monthly expenditure has risen by 39.3 % at the national level between 2014 and 2024, almost double if compared with the mortgage payment (up 20.1 %). This increase was sharpened in the Balearic Islands (+77.6 %) and the Canary Islands (+68.1 %) which, together with the Community of Madrid, Catalonia and the Valencia Region, are the regions where the highest percentage of the population lives with high expenditure on housing (40 % or more of income), above the national average.
The last major proposal in this respect was the creation of a free telephone number, 047, to answer questions about available regulations and aid. For more fun, the number chosen is a nod to the article of the Constitution that recognises the right of all citizens to enjoy decent and adequate housing, which celebrates its 47th anniversary this year. I haven't seen a joke like this since those famous and infamous Keli Finder slippers or that other more recent campaign by the"Derrocholics" about the price gouging of electricity bills.
However, the risk of poverty and/or social exclusion (AROPE rate) fell in the last year from 26.5% to 25.8% of the population, some 12.5 million people (200,000 less), the lowest figure since 2014. For EAPN-ES this is a significant reduction, reflecting the commitment to social policies in recent years, but they warn that since 2014 the figures have not managed to fall below 25% of the population. In other words, at least 1 in 4 people in our country has remained at risk of poverty and/or social exclusion in the last decade.
