Relative poverty: Share of population below 50% of the median in Spain
Spain: Relative poverty: Share of population below 50% of the median was 14.9% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Relative poverty: Share of population below 50% of the median in Spain, 1980–2023
Source: World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for relative poverty: share of population below 50% of the median in Spain is 14.9%, measured in 2023.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.0% on the previous year and down 16.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, relative poverty: share of population below 50% of the median in Spain peaked at 17.8% in 2013 and was at its lowest, 11.1%, in 1990.
That places Spain 30th out of 120 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 32 years of available data.
Relative poverty: Share of population below 50% of the median in Spain, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 13.2% | — |
| 1985 | 12.0% | -9.1% |
| 1990 | 11.1% | -7.5% |
| 1993 | 14.1% | +27.0% |
| 1994 | 14.9% | +5.7% |
| 1995 | 13.9% | -6.7% |
| 1996 | 15.5% | +11.5% |
| 1997 | 14.0% | -9.7% |
| 1998 | 14.4% | +2.9% |
| 1999 | 12.5% | -13.2% |
| 2000 | 13.2% | +5.6% |
| 2003 | 13.2% | +0.1% |
| 2004 | 13.1% | -0.7% |
| 2005 | 13.0% | -0.5% |
| 2006 | 14.0% | +7.5% |
| 2007 | 13.9% | -1.2% |
| 2008 | 14.8% | +6.5% |
| 2009 | 15.0% | +1.7% |
| 2010 | 14.7% | -1.8% |
| 2011 | 15.8% | +7.5% |
| 2012 | 15.9% | +0.4% |
| 2013 | 17.8% | +11.7% |
| 2014 | 17.3% | -2.6% |
| 2015 | 17.4% | +0.7% |
| 2016 | 16.9% | -3.0% |
| 2017 | 16.1% | -4.9% |
| 2018 | 15.7% | -2.3% |
| 2019 | 15.9% | +1.1% |
| 2020 | 16.5% | +4.1% |
| 2021 | 15.4% | -7.2% |
| 2022 | 14.6% | -5.1% |
| 2023 | 14.9% | +2.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 12.6% | 12.0% | 13.2% | 2 |
| 1990s | 13.8% | 11.1% | 15.5% | 8 |
| 2000s | 13.8% | 13.0% | 15.0% | 8 |
| 2010s | 16.4% | 14.7% | 17.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 15.3% | 14.6% | 16.5% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Spain
- 27 Montenegro 15.9% compare
- 28 Mexico 15.7% compare
- 29 Dominican Republic 15.3% compare
- 31 Romania 14.7% compare
- 32 Palestine, State of 14.7% compare
- 33 Bulgaria 14.6% compare
More poverty & inequality data for Spain
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 8 surveys (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per person (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Fertility rate vs. share living in extreme poverty 1.21 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 3,786 kg per hectare (2024)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, annual growth rate 72.8 % change on previous year (2024)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 36.42 (2023)
- Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality 36.4% (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is relative poverty: share of population below 50% of the median in Spain?
- Relative poverty: share of population below 50% of the median in Spain was 14.9% in 2023, according to World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest relative poverty: share of population below 50% of the median recorded in Spain?
- The highest recorded value was 17.8% in 2013.
- What is the lowest relative poverty: share of population below 50% of the median recorded in Spain?
- The lowest recorded value was 11.1% in 1990.
- How does Spain rank for relative poverty: share of population below 50% of the median?
- Spain ranks 30th out of 120 countries with data for 2023.
- Is relative poverty: share of population below 50% of the median rising or falling in Spain?
- Over the last ten years it is down 16.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Spain data come from?
- The figures come from World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Relative poverty: Share of population below 50% of the median. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 32 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Percentage of population living in households with an income or consumption below 50% of the median.