37.1% of Spanish households could not face unforeseen expenses in 2023

Europa Press Madrid

Madrid

Updated Monday, February 26, 2024-12:38

37.1% of Spanish households did not have the capacity to face unforeseen expenses last year, a percentage almost two points higher than in 2022 and the highest since 2016 (38.7%), according to the

Living Conditions Survey (ECV)

of 2023 published this Monday by the

National Institute of Statistics (INE)

.

The agency considers that households have the capacity to face unforeseen expenses when they have their own resources to do so, that is, without resorting to loans or installment purchases to pay for regular expenses that were previously settled in cash.

The survey, carried out between February and May 2023, a period in which inflation was between 6% and 3% and in which interest rates continued to rise, also reveals that 9.3% of households It reached the end of the month with "a lot of difficulty" in 2023, a percentage six tenths higher than in 2022 and the highest since 2020, when it reached 10%.

The INE also points out that the number of households that have not been able to afford

to go on vacation

for at least one week a year stood at 33.1% in 2023, a percentage four tenths lower than in 2022 and the lowest since 2021 (32 .7%).

According to the statistical agency, 10% of households admit that they are late in payments when paying expenses related to their main home (mortgage, rent, community, etc.).

This percentage has not changed compared to 2022.

RECORD OF HOUSEHOLDS THAT DO NOT HAVE THEIR HOUSE AT AN ADEQUATE TEMPERATURE

Likewise, 21% of families, one in five, claim that they cannot keep their home at an

adequate temperature,

a percentage that has increased by more than three points compared to 2022 (17.7%) and is the highest since 2004, beginning of the series.

At the same time, 6.4% of households declare that they cannot afford a meal of chicken, meat or fish at least every two days, a percentage one point higher than in 2022 and also the highest since the beginning of the series.

Statistics data also reflect that 6% of households cannot afford to have a car, two tenths more than in 2022, and that 29.9% cannot replace damaged or old furniture, the highest percentage since 2020.

ANDALUSIANS AND EXTREMEÑOS, THOSE WHO HAVE A HARDEST TIME TO REACH THE END OF THE MONTH

Andalusia (13.6%), Extremadura (11%) and the Canary Islands (9.9%) were the autonomous communities with the highest percentages of households making ends meet with "great difficulty" in 2023. In contrast, the lowest percentages They are presented by La Rioja (4.8%), the Balearic Islands (5.2%), Asturias (5.6%) and the Basque Country (6.3%).

Likewise, households in the Canary Islands (53.1%), Andalusia (46.5%) and Murcia (46.3%) are the ones with the least capacity in 2023 to face unforeseen expenses.

On the opposite side are the Basque Country (20.6%), Cantabria (25.8%) and Castilla y León (26.2%).

For their part, Andalusia (43.9%), the Canary Islands (42.2%) and Murcia (41.6%) recorded the highest percentages of households that could not afford to go on holiday away from home for at least one week a year in 2023. The lowest percentages occurred in the Basque Country (19.2%), Madrid (22.6%) and Navarra (24.8%).

THE AVERAGE INCOME PER HOUSEHOLD REACHES THE RECORD FIGURE OF 34,821 EUROS

The 2023 ECV also includes how the

average income per person

has evolved , although referring in this case to the year 2022. These stood at 14,082 euros, a figure 8.3% higher than that of 2021 and the highest in the series.

For its part, the average income per household reached 34,821 euros in 2022, 8.1% more than in 2022 and also the highest since the beginning of the series.

The highest average annual income per person in 2022 was in the Basque Country (18,189 euros), Madrid (16,817 euros) and Navarra (16,599), while the lowest corresponded to Murcia (11,314 euros per person), Extremadura (11,363). and Andalusia (11,719).

Taking into account income in 2022, the percentage of

the population at risk of poverty or social exclusion

rose half a point in 2023, to 26.5%, its highest figure since 2021 (27.8%), while the rate The risk of poverty stood at 20.2%, its lowest figure since 2008.

The percentage of the population with severe material and social deprivation climbed to 9% in 2023, a rate 1.3 points higher than in 2022 and the highest since 2014.