averageperson.euOne statistical standard, 27 countries

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Spain and France

The same question asked of every column. Numbers that break down by age or sex follow the controls; the rest stay country-wide and say so.

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Spain

France

The widest gap is Public spending on them: France €24,346 against Spain €14,912, 63.3% apart.

Ageall ages
Sex

One question per row

The faint tick on each bar is the EU27 figure.

Figure
Spain
France

People

Median age3.0 years
45.8 years
42.8 years
Life expectancy at birth1.0 years
84.0 years
83.0 years
People40.2%
49.1m
68.9m
People per square kilometre11.3%
97.7 per km²
109 per km²
Women in the population0.5 points
51.0%
51.5%
Born abroad5.3 points
19.3%
14.0%
Born outside the EU4.9 points
16.0%
11.1%

Money and work

Disposable income per person29.9%
€20,367
€26,459
Average net income32.7%
€22,943
€30,438
Take-home pay, average-wage worker19.6%
€27,041
€32,346
Gross pay, average-wage worker26.6%
€35,076
€44,400
Minimum wage31.0%
€1,425
€1,867
In work, age 20 to 643.0 points
72.4%
75.4%
Out of work2.8 points
10.5%
7.7%
Hours worked a week0.4 hours
37.6 hours
37.2 hours
At risk of poverty3.2 points
19.5%
16.3%
Housing costs over 40% of income0.8 points
7.2%
6.4%
GDP per person26.7%
€34,210
€43,350

Family and home

People at home19.0%
2.5
2.1
Households with children2.7 points
31.9%
29.2%
Children per woman46.4%
1.1
1.61
Own their home12.2 points
73.6%
61.4%

Health and daily life

Hospital beds88.3%
284 per 100,000 people
534 per 100,000 people
Doctors18.2%
466 per 100,000 people
395 per 100,000 people

Education

With a degree2.4 points
42.4%
44.8%
Students per 1,000 people20.0%
50.3 per 1,000 people
41.9 per 1,000 people

Public spending

Public spending on them63.3%
€14,912
€24,346
Tax raised per person57.4%
€12,224
€19,244
Government debt14.9 points
100.7%
115.6%

Country and infrastructure

Land area26.2%
505,983 km²
638,475 km²
Railway density34.4%
32.3 per 1,000 km²
43.5 per 1,000 km²
Motorway density70.4%
31.6 per 1,000 km²
18.5 per 1,000 km²
Cars per 1,000 people5.1%
550 per 1,000 people
578 per 1,000 people
Households with internet3.0 points
97.4%
94.4%
Tourist nights per resident51.7%
10.39
6.85

Environment

Renewable energy2.1 points
26.0%
23.9%
Land under forest10.0 points
38.1%
28.1%

Where €100 of public spending goes

Every euro each general government spends, sorted into the ten functions all 27 countries report against. Open a row for the ranking of 27 and what sits inside it.

Spain

France

Function
Spain
France
12.8%
10.8%
2.0%
3.2%
4.0%
3.1%
11.2%
9.9%
2.1%
1.8%
1.1%
2.5%
14.2%
15.6%
2.7%
2.6%
9.1%
8.9%
41.0%
41.5%

Reference year 2024. Total public spending €100.00 in every column, so the ten shares always add up to one hundred.

Frequently asked: Spain and France

  1. Where are there more hospital beds per 100,000 people: Spain or France?

    The gap is 88.3%: France 534, Spain 284. Beds available in hospitals, per 100,000 residents. hlth_rs_bds1 · 2024. See the figure

  2. Which spends more on health per resident: Spain or France?

    The gap is 79.6%: France €3,803, Spain €2,117. Hospitals, doctors, medicines and medical equipment, and public health programmes. gov_10a_exp · 2024. See the figure

  3. Which government spends more per resident: Spain or France?

    The gap is 63.3%: France €24,346, Spain €14,912. Total general government expenditure divided by the population: all levels of government together. gov_10a_exp · 2024. See the figure

  4. Which spends a larger share of its budget on defence: Spain or France?

    The gap is 1.3 points: France 3.2%, Spain 2.0%. Armed forces, defence equipment, military aid abroad, and defence research. gov_10a_exp · 2024. See the figure

  5. Where are more children born per woman: Spain or France?

    The gap is 46.4%: France 1.61, Spain 1.1. Children a woman would bear over her life at today’s age-specific birth rates. demo_find · 2024. See the figure

  6. Where is unemployment higher: Spain or France?

    The gap is 2.8 points: Spain 10.5%, France 7.7%. Share of 15 to 74 year olds in the labour force who are without work and looking for it. une_rt_a · 2025. See the figure

  7. Which has more forest: Spain or France?

    The gap is 10.0 points: Spain 38.1%, France 28.1%. Share of the land area under forest. for_area · 2025. See the figure

  8. Where do more people live: Spain or France?

    The gap is 40.2%: France 68.9m, Spain 49.1m. People usually resident in the country on 1 January. demo_pjan · 2025. See the figure

  9. Where is there more railway per 1,000 km²: Spain or France?

    The gap is 34.4%: France 43.5, Spain 32.3. Railway line in use for every 1,000 square kilometres of the country. rail_if_line_tr · 2024. See the figure

  10. Where are there more university students per 1,000 people: Spain or France?

    The gap is 20.0%: Spain 50.3, France 41.9. People in higher education, per 1,000 residents. educ_uoe_enrt01 · 2024. See the figure

Medians where possible, per-capita averages for spending. This person is a composite of published statistics, not the most common person in the country.