For the first time, Catalonia has a lower quality of life than the rest of Spain as a whole, falling to levels of more than a decade ago. A worrying situation, and even more so if one takes into account that with the government of Pedro Sánchez the national territory continues to plummet and registers a decline greater than that of the financial crisis of 2008.
These conclusions can be drawn from the latest Global Quality of Life Index, published by the INE at the end of October. Overall, the Multidimensional Quality of Life Indicator (MQLI) stood at 101.44 points, down slightly from 101.64 in 2021. Since 2008 when the INE began this measurement, the Catalan region had never had a quality of life below the Spanish average. In 2019, with the start of Sánchez’s term in office, the IMCV of Spain was at 102 points.
To compile the Index, countless statistics and surveys are taken into account in areas such as: education, health, environment, leisure, social relations and working conditions. Catalonia occupies 13th place in the ranking, the fifth worst autonomous community behind the Basque Country, with Navarre, La Rioja, Aragon, Cantabria and the Basque Country at the top of the table.
What is the reason for Catalonia’s fall?
The fall to levels of ten years ago removes Catalonia from the list of the best regions to live in Spain. This fall is mainly due to the drop in the indicators of education, safety, leisure and social relations, which have a direct influence on the coexistence of citizens. In addition, the population shows less confidence in public institutions, despite the fact that employment levels have been higher than in the rest of the country.
El INE ha actualizado su Índice de Calidad de Vida, basado en 60 indicadores.
Por primera vez desde que lo calculan (2008), Cataluña cae por debajo (y claramente) de la media española.
Hasta aquí poca sorpresa.
Pero espera: ¿En qué dimensiones se produce la caída?
[1/6] pic.twitter.com/NbxJRNCmsz
— 🚲 (@resd9) November 1, 2023Although the political discourse sold by the Generalitat and the government of Pere Aragonès invites optimism, the data show the opposite. Material, health and environmental conditions are at levels similar to those of the national average, above 100 points.
However, education, governance and basic rights are significantly below. Thus, in education Spain achieves 110 points, while Catalonia remains at around 107. In governance and public rights, although both Spain and Catalonia had been on a stable trajectory, in the case of Catalonia even five points above, the reality is that it has now fallen even below the sharp decline in Spain, with some 96 points compared to approximately 98 for the national average.
Security, a factor to be taken into account
Crime is soaring in Catalonia, being the region with the highest number of criminal offenses registered so far this year. In fact, during the first quarter of 2023, 120,516 were accumulated compared to 108,283 in the same period of 2022. Homicides, thefts and sexual assaults top the list of crimes in the region.
Coexistence in Catalonia continues to be undermined as a result of separatist movements, so that 51.6% of the hate crimes that occur, based on ideological concepts, are hispanophobic (80 out of 155 in 2022). Constitutionalists are criticized in the region, with this controversy extending since 2017 even to the schools.
In terms of physical and personal safety, a drop is seen in both Spain and Catalonia’s levels, although the national territory remains above 100 points, while the Catalan region barely exceeds 95 points in dimensional value.
What indicators can Catalonia boast?
It only remains above the national average, in an apparently outstanding way, in the areas of Work, Environment and general experience of life. In the area of Work, Spain barely exceeds 100 points, while Catalonia reaches almost 105 points.
With respect to Environment and surroundings, the figures are very even, above 102 points, although Catalonia is slightly higher. And with respect to General life experience, both decrease, remaining above 100 points, although Spain falls more than Catalonia in this respect.
Data for Spain as a whole
It should be noted that the country’s level of quality of life falls as a result of the decline in all the categories analyzed, except Work, Health, Material living conditions and Education, which improved their scores with respect to 2021.
In 2022, the regions of Navarre, La Rioja and Aragon presented the highest standards of living, as in the last edition, with the lowest scores in the Canary Islands, Andalusia and Galicia. In Leisure and social relations, Environment and general life experience, Navarre stood out.
In Material living conditions and Education, the Basque Country stood out, while Aragon stood out in Work, Madrid in Health, Cantabria in Physical and Personal Security and the Valencian Community in Governance and basic rights.