Four million Spaniards face severe poverty. Of all regions, the Canary Islands is the area with the highest percentage of people falling into this target group. The Social Service comes up with more figures and exposes one common problem.
The Canary Islands is the area in Spain where no less than 15% of the inhabitants live in severe poverty and struggle to make ends meet every day. Andalucia is in second place with 10.3% of the population and Murcia follows closely with a percentage of 10.2%.
The Social Services in Spain recently published these figures. In addition to these three regions in Spain, Catalonia and Madrid also count, where a large part of the population suffers from severe poverty. In Catalonia this applies to almost 9% and in Madrid to 7.4% of the inhabitants. Navarre and the Basque Country, with percentages of 3.4% and 4.6% respectively, occupy the best positions as the regions of Spain with the fewest inhabitants experiencing this form of poverty.
Four million Spaniards live in severe poverty
The Social Services report is about the four million Spaniards who are in a situation of severe poverty and who want to receive support. Either in the form of receiving the minimum wage from the government, regional support or support that is offered per municipality or province to people who find themselves in this situation.
A common problem among local authorities
The report therefore points to one common problem that many of these people encounter when it comes to local support from the municipality. This is mainly due to the slowness of the system. The bureaucracy is typical for applying for and receiving grants and, according to Social Services, this should take several weeks instead of the current months after which people may receive aid.
Very large differences per Spanish region
Something that makes the system even more complex is the fact that budgets and needs differ per area in Spain. In Murcia, for example, only 0.1% of the population experiencing severe poverty receives support from local authorities, while in Galicia this figure is 1.8%. In the Canary Islands, 39% of this target group receives help from local authorities. In that case, the aid amounts to only €127 per year, while in Madrid it amounts to €87 annually.
