Youth navigating the challenging terrains of readiness and vulnerability, with limited avenues for self-reliance and autonomy.
In contemporary Spain, youngsters find themselves in a limbo sans end: neither all grown up nor completely carefree. Adulthood no longer arrives with a diploma or the first paycheck, but rather around a decade later.
According to the Youth in Spain 2024 Report, the average age for moving out of the nest is 30.4 years, among the highest in Europe. In countries like Sweden or Denmark, youngsters pack their bags and leave home years earlier. Over six out of ten young folks mingle within family walls, relying heavily on their kin for financial support. Work might provide income, but not the key to a place of one's own.
Having one's own abode often comes at a steep cost. In numerous cities, renting means forfeiting almost every luxury. Gastropubs and travel dreams evaporate when paying for a rented pad consumes more than 92% of one's salary. The leap to independence demands aboutsalary that's hard to come by.
However, renting proves the only path to emancipation (56.6% of young households rent) and fosters a "tenant generation", without savings or real estate.
Home Sweet Home, a distant dream for young Spaniards and families
The Spanish youth not only delay their release from the nest, but also from parenthood. The average age for having the first child hovers around 32 years, not by choice. According to the report, over seven out of ten yearn to have children, but scarcely one in five achieves it before the age of 34.
Despite the longing, the setting isn't supportive. Bringing up a child costs, on average, more than €750 per month. Leaving home is already tough, expanding the family is simply unaffordable.
It's not just about bucks. It's the structure. Life is put on hold, along with all its traditional milestones. Even the concept of a "life project" metamorphoses. Cohabitation in couples as an escape hatch from the family home skyrockets: more than half of emancipated youngsters aged 30 to 34 have found refuge this way, due to the impossible prospect of doing so independently.
Studying and working side-by-side becomes the norm
While they linger at the starting gate, young people grit their teeth and forge ahead. Over two out of ten juggle work and studies. They do so out of necessity, and the number has swelled compared to previous years.
They're well aware that education doesn't guarantee a smoother ride, but they still hold on to that ticket. Although the academic divide between young people has broadened, students of private institutions reach higher academic heights than those attending public schools. They study harder than previous generations. Yet, this doesn't translate into well-paying, meaningful jobs. More than half feel that their job is not relevant to what they studied. Not even those bearing master's or doctoral degrees escape the feeling of misalignment.
The hurdles young people encounter on their way to independence: wages, rents, and shaky careers
The labor market has seen moderate improvement following the 2022 reform, which has curtailed temporary contracts, but hasn't tackled the core issues. Youth employment remains fraught with involuntary part-time work, low wages, and stagnation.
"Young people aren't silent spectators; they protest injustice and construct, in many instances, alternatives," said Spain's Minister of Childhood and Youth, Sira Rego, during the presentation of the report.
Many young people enter their first job without a contract or meager compensation. In family businesses, the report observes, there are wage disparities of over €800 per month between men and women. Although the average wage has gone up, it has done so far below the cost of living: inflation has soared twice as much as young wages since 2020, 16.7% compared to 8.3%.
Inequalities etched from birth
Inequities don't begin at the paystub; they take root at birth. Offspring born into stable homes with property stand a better chance of gaining independence at a younger age and under favorable circumstances. Those stemming from vulnerable environments, such as young immigrants or those lacking family backup, must pave their own way. The lack of housing access weighs down personal endeavors, creates instability, and perpetuates dependence. In Spain, youth is becoming more and more a stage without takeoff.
Despite it all, this is not a generation that has capitulated. It's a generation that bides its time, combines work and study, places importance on mental health, demands equality, fights for climate justice, and fights for rights. Over four out of ten young people participate actively in social movements. Their interest has grown, while their faith in institutions has declined, as their political activism redirects through unorthodox means, like strikes, digital activism, or demonstrations.
The same young generation, however, is ideologically divided: approximately 68% of young women identify as feminists, compared to just 41% of men. In fact, 23.1% deny the existence of gender violence, a figure that grows as concern for this type of violence wanes among the youngest. The divide also deepens when it comes to LGBTIQ+ rights, immigration, or climate change.
- The Spanish youth struggle with a perpetual limbo, neither fully grown nor completely carefree, as adulthood comes around a decade later.
- The average age for moving out of the nest in Spain is 30.4 years, one of the highest in Europe.
- Over six out of ten young folks still reside with their families, relying heavily on them for financial support.
- Renting, the only path to emancipation for 56.6% of young households, often requires sacrificing all luxuries.
- Gastropubs and travel dreams evaporate when rent consumes over 92% of one's salary.
- The Spanish youth also delay parenthood, with the average age for having the first child hovering around 32 years.
- Bringing up a child, on average, costs more than €750 per month, making family expansion unaffordable.
- Life milestones are put on hold, including the traditional concept of a "life project".
- Cohabitation in couples as an escape hatch from the family home skyrockets, with more than half of emancipated youngsters aged 30 to 34 finding refuge this way.
- Over two out of ten young people juggle work and studies, a practice that has swelled compared to previous years.
- The labor market has seen moderate improvement, but youth employment remains fraught with involuntary part-time work, low wages, and stagnation.
- Spanish Minister of Childhood and Youth, Sira Rego, stated that young people aren't silent spectators; they actively fight injustice and construct alternatives.
- Many young people enter their first job without a contract or meager compensation, with family businesses showing wage disparities of over €800 per month between men and women.
- The average wage has gone up but remains far below the cost of living, with inflation soaring twice as much as young wages since 2020.
- Inequities begin at birth, with offspring born into stable homes with property having a better chance of gaining independence at a younger age.
- Lack of housing access weighs down personal endeavors, creates instability, and perpetuates dependence.
- This is not a generation that has capitulated; they bide their time, combine work and study, place importance on mental health, demand equality, fight for climate justice, and fight for rights.
- Over four out of ten young people participate actively in social movements.
- Their interest has grown, while their faith in institutions has declined, as their political activism redirects through unorthodox means.
- However, the young generation is ideologically divided: approximately 68% of young women identify as feminists, compared to just 41% of men.
- 23.1% of young people deny the existence of gender violence, a figure that grows as concern for this type of violence wanes among the youngest.
- The divide also deepens when it comes to LGBTIQ+ rights, immigration, or climate change.
