According to the latest survey of household spending by Spain's National Statistics Institute (INE), the highest spending in the country is in the Balearics.
The survey, which relates to 2023, indicates that the national average spend per household was 32,616 euros. In the Balearics it was 39,081 euros, 20% more than the national average. The region with the lowest spend, 26,253 euros, was Extremadura.
The residents of the Balearics spent a total of 17,903 million euros in 2023, the highest relative figure in Spain when the total is divided by the number of households. This was 11.1% more than in 2022 and almost three times higher than the national average of 3.8%.
While average spending per household was the highest in the country, the Balearics ranked second in terms of average spending per person - 14,769 euros. This was higher in the Basque Country (15,572 euros). Madrid was third with 14,650 euros.
The INE lists 12 categories of spending. The one that requires most outlay, unsurprisingly, is payment for mortgage/rent plus energy and water bills. The national average for this was 10,367 euros. In the Balearics it was 13,410 euros, 29% higher than for the rest of Spain.
The second category demanding most spend is food and non-alcoholic drink. The Spanish average was 5,333 euros per household. In the Balearics it was 5,639 euros.