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> Spain also has the lowest fertility rate in Europe at 1.28. Not sure how much apartment living is cause or effect on that but it's a grim number. Spain's eco
by rewmie 3y ago
> Spain also has the lowest fertility rate in Europe at 1.28. Not sure how much apartment living is cause or effect on that but it's a grim number.
Spain's economy is very screwed up. Unemployment rate tends to hover above 20% and I think it has the highest rate of students dropping out of basic education.
To top things off, cost of living in urban centers is way way above the median income, specially nowadays. Young families have to make do with either sharing apartments/renting rooms or living way outside city centers in small apartments. In some cases the only affordable option is renting rooms way outside the urban centers.
So the average Spanish couple has to make very hard decisions on if/when to start a family. Quite often the decision tends towards "not right now, we can't afford it."
Marketing brochures tend to emphasize Spain's "terraza" lifestyle, as in people hanging out in cafes/bars/restaurants in the afternoon, evening, and even night, and brag about the fantastic social life that sprouts from there, but the ugly truth is that one important factor of that pattern is the fact that housing is very expensive and very low-quality to the point that staying indoors in one of those flats can have a huge detrimental impact on your mental health, and the only way to avoid that is to minimize the amount of time you spend indoors.
- jvican 3y ago> Unemployment rate tends to hover above 20% and I think it has the highest rate of students dropping out of basic education. The first claim is true, but there's a lot of under-reported economic activity, and a lot of fraud (people claiming they don't work when they actually do), so the unemployment rate figure can't be trusted. Your second claim around the highest rate of students dropping out of basic education needs a citation.
- rewmie 3y ago> but there's a lot of under-reported economic activity, I'm sorry, but that's just hand-waving over the problem to pretend it isn't there. > Your second claim around the highest rate of students dropping out of basic education needs a citation. I learned that fact because the Spanish Government posts tv ad campaigns on how Spain has the highest rate if students dropping out of basic education, and how they should instead explore options such as pursuing trade education. If you really are interested on the topic, you could start by checking what OECD has to say about Spain's education problem, including how 27% of its 25-34 yo cohort (i.e., the latest generation entering the workforce) did not complete basic studies and does not have postsecondary education. Spain also boasts a NEET rate of 17%. https://www.oecd.org/education/education-at-a-glance/ https://www.oecd.org/education/education-at-a-glance/ Spain's astronomical dropout rate is not a secret. The issue was even reported in Swedish news outlets. https://www.thelocal.es/20221003/spain-has-the-eus-highest-rate-of-high-school-dropouts https://www.thelocal.es/20221003/spain-has-the-eus-highest-r... It's also noteworthy that Spain's horeca industry started to rely on heavy influxes of immigrants from South America to meet their demand, in spite of Spain having one of the highest unemployment rates in Europe.