Spain remains among top five European countries with highest levels of severe material and social deprivation

First, despite economic growth in recent years, the rate has not yet recovered to the pre-pandemic level (7.7% in 2019) and does not even show a clear downward trend since 2020. In fact, its evolution since 2015 could be described as stable, in contrast to the EU as a whole, which shows a downward trajectory until 2021.

Second, according to Eurostat data published this summer, Spain’s relative position has not changed: in 2023, it ranked fifth among the 27 EU countries with the highest percentage of severe material and social deprivation, a position that has not changed due to the 2024 improvement. The Spanish rate is only behind Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, and Hungary and is almost two percentage points above the EU average of 6.4%, as well as nearly four points higher than our neighbors Italy (4.6%) and Portugal (4.3%). The best results are presented by Slovenia (1.8%), Croatia (2.0%), Luxembourg and Poland (2.3%), and Czechia (2.6%).

Of the almost four million people in a situation of severe material and social deprivation in Spain—the indicator reflects the percentage of individuals who cannot afford at least seven of thirteen items considered essential, such as keeping their home adequately heated, facing unexpected expenses, going on a vacation for at least one week a year, or participating in basic social activities—the difficulties are concentrated in households with minors and in the foreign-born population.

Disparities by Household Type and Origin

By household type, it is observed that the greatest difficulties occur in households with dependent children or young people, whose rate is higher than that of most European countries. In Spain, the percentage of individuals residing in single-parent households in a situation of severe material and social deprivation (16.4%) is almost double the EU average (8.3%).

The percentage is reduced considerably for a household with dependent children or young people and at least two adults (9.4%), but it is still three percentage points higher than the European average (6.3%). Furthermore, the fact that the percentage of the population in severe material and social deprivation is almost double in households of two adults with dependent children or young people than among individuals aged 65 or older who live alone (5.2%) is quite anomalous in the European context. This only occurred in seven of the 27 EU countries in 2024, and in none of them did the difference reach the Spanish magnitude. Among those living in households composed of two adults, at least one of whom is 65 or older, the Spanish rate is practically identical to the European average (4.1% versus 4%), while among those over 64 who live alone, the Spanish rate is even lower than the EU average (5.2% versus 2%).

Second, severe material and social deprivation affects the native and foreign-born populations very unevenly, a common pattern in almost all European countries, but especially marked in Spain. The percentage of immigrants (population aged 16 or older) in this situation is almost three times that of natives (16.6% versus 5.6%). In fact, while the Spanish rate among natives barely differs from the EU average (5.6% versus 5.2%), among the immigrant population the difference with Europe is noticeable (16.6% in Spain versus 11.4% in the European average). This gap is probably not only explained by the demographic structure of the foreign-born population—fewer older people and more dependent children—but also by a labor market integration with lower employment rates, higher unemployment rates, and precarious, temporary, and low-paying jobs.