There are significant differences between the meeting of minors’ needs in Spain and in other EU member states. In general, these differences are more to do with financial and material wellbeing and the employment status of the adults in their household than with housing conditions and health.

Children in Spain suffer a higher degree of consistent poverty than the average among children living in the EU. Almost 13% of Spanish minors live in households with incomes below the poverty threshold and suffer from material deprivation. Spain is at the tail-end of a ranking of European countries, with only Lithuania, Greece, Romania and Bulgaria having worse results. The employment status of the adults living with minors is also worse in Spain than the average of EU countries.

Almost 22% of minors living in Spain are in households that suffer in-work poverty, whereas the European average is 15%. Spain is virtually last in a ranking of this aspect, only ahead of Romania, where the rate is much higher (28%).

Unlike the previous aspects, in the case of housing conditions, Spain is one of the eight EU countries with a lower percentage of minors living in poor housing: the average for EU countries is two out of ten children living in a home with these problems, whereas in Spain the figure is just 1.5 of every ten children.

Similarly, Spain is in a good position with regard to delays in medical care for minors who require it, with one in ten not seen (or seen late) due to waiting lists, a figure below average for EU countries.