28.2% of the population is in this situation, a third of the children are at risk of poverty, and there are 700,000 families without incomes.

In Spain, 28.2% of the population is at risk of social exclusion, a total of 11.7 million people are affected by this situation, one in three children lives at risk of poverty, and there are 700,000 families without incomes. This is some of the latest data provided by four organizations at European level which shows that Spain tops the list of countries from the European Union with more risk of social exclusion among its inhabitants. Besides, this figure increases exponentially due to a lack of investment in policies aimed to the social protection of those disfavoured people and collectives.

A study from Eurostat, the European statistical office, warns that 28.2% of the Spanish population is at risk of social exclusion. This means that almost three out of ten people are affected by this problem. Eurostat states that the social action policies from the European Union countries should protect those people who suffer from chronic diseases or some kind of disability; they should assist the collective made up by elderly women and men; and they should provide aids for basic survival, occupation, dignity household, and the social inclusion of their citizens. The Spanish percentage is at a higher level in reference to the average of all the European countries.

Another report, in this case from Cáritas Europe, shows that in Spain there are 11.7 million people affected by some kind of social exclusion and that there are 700,000 families that do not receive any income. In many other homes, the sole income received is the benefits for the elderly. This situation affects the minors, one of the most vulnerable segments of the population in delicate socio-economic contexts. A study from the NGO Save the children alerts that more than a third of the Spanish children live at risk of poverty or social exclusion. Specifically, there are 2,826,549 minors who suffer problems to achieve satisfying basic needs of nutrition, hygiene or household. Also, the Quality of Life Survey from the European Union carried out by the Eurofound (European Foundation for the improvement of life and work conditions) reveals that in Spain 29% of population under 18 years old is poor, a figure that places the country as the second one of the EU with the highest rate of child poverty.

The percentage of GDP aimed to social protection policies in Spain is of 25.19%, almost four points under the average of the EU countries. Also, our country is the second European one that has less capacity when it comes to reduce child poverty because of the increasingly shortened social assistance. The data provided by four organizations prove that the increased poverty and social exclusion in Spain is reaching levels that were unknown for decades. The Spanish poverty rate stands at 22.2% and besides, 12% of the population employed does not earn enough money to avoid this situation.