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France and Spain

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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France

Spain

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
France
Spain

People

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

Money and work

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

Family and home

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

Health and daily life

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

Education

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

Public spending

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

Country and infrastructure

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

Environment

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

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.

France

Spain

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

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

Frequently asked: France and Spain

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    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. Eurostat · Children per woman & Age at first child · 2024. See the figure

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

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

  7. Where is unemployment higher: France or Spain?

    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. Eurostat · Out of work · 2025. See the figure

  8. Which has more forest: France or Spain?

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

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

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

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

    The gap is 20.0%: Spain 50.3, France 41.9. People in higher education, per 1,000 residents. Eurostat · University students & Students per 1,000 people · 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.