Nearly one in five Spaniards struggles to pay the bills because of COVID-19

SPAIN has been struck so hard by the coronavirus pandemic that for 19% of Spaniards it is difficult just to pay the rent or mortgage.

In a survey carried out by the financial think tank Funcas, 31% of Spaniards said they had been forced to dip into their personal savings – a much higher figure than those for France (15%), Germany (14%) and the Netherlands (12%), for example – and 14% had asked family or friends for financial support.

The Funcas survey also reported other significant findings, including that 42% of the Spanish population has acknowledged a loss of income since the outbreak of COVID-19.

This is the second highest proportion in the EU (after Hungary at 44%) and over double that of its neighbour, France (20%), which has imposed similarly severe restriction measures this year.

Overall, 48% of EU citizens believe the economic impairment caused by the restrictions is greater than the health benefits.

Spain (46.9%) is one of only 10 EU countries with a percentage below the EU average.