Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

INSIDE SPAIN

Inside Spain: Why Spaniards are ‘unhappy’ and their adulation of the British press

In this week’s Inside Spain review, we explain why Spain’s mediocre World Happiness Report ranking should be taken with a pinch of salt and the stark differences in which the Spanish and British press report about each other’s countries.

Published: 23 March 2024 10:43 CET
Inside Spain: Why Spaniards are 'unhappy' and their adulation of the British press
Spaniards are not as happy many would have thought according to the World Happiness Report, and sometimes they seem to care more what the UK press has to say about them their own press. (Photo by Josep LAGO / AFP)

This week, the UN released its annual World Happiness Report for 2024 and Spain yet again came in at a very average 36th place out of 143 countries. It’s actually dropped four places compared to 2023’s report.

Finland, which until recently had one of the highest suicide rates in the world, claimed top spot. 

Israel, in the midst of war with Hamas in Gaza, took fifth place. The UAE and Saudi Arabia, which have questionable human rights records and where local women have fewer rights than men, came in 22nd and 28th place respectively. 

The US, with its ample share of polarisation, inequality, gun violence and concerns over who will be in the White House for the next four years, is the world’s 23rd ‘happiest’ place.

And yes, the UK, a nation renowned for taking pride in its own misery and relishing the unhappiness of others, ranked 20th globally. 

¿Qué está pasando aquí? (What’s going on here?). How is it possible that Spaniards – who seem fundamentally happy according to anyone who’s lived or visited Spain – have told scientists from the Gallup World Poll that their lives are a bit ‘meh’ at best?

Spain’s lowly ranking is even more surprising when looking at the categories used to rank a country’s quality of life: life expectancy, social support, freedom, generosity, income and perception of corruption, which apart from the last two Spain excels at. 

All is not well in Spain, that’s for sure. Bureaucratic labyrinths, low wages, few job opportunities, entrepreneurial obstacles, rising rents and house prices are all factors that can influence life satisfaction. However, many of you will agree that it doesn’t stop Spaniards from smiling, laughing and enjoying life with their friends and loved ones. 

Let’s get back to the ‘why the low ranking’ question. El País attempted to answer the question in 2023, without really getting to the bottom of it. 

They didn’t explore one theory, however. Whereas people from other nations will be quick to say “I’m fine” when they clearly aren’t, Spaniards love to complain about virtually everything, even the trivial stuff, but in the end through a combination of evasion and good company, they’re capable of finding what most would interpret to be happiness.

Which brings us to our other topic of this week’s Inside Spain newsletter: the differences between how the Spanish press reports on what the UK press says about Spain and how the British press writes about Spain. 

Spain’s media industry doesn’t have tabloid newspapers, even though its sports newspapers (the most read and sold in the country) and its gossip magazines certainly display similar traits to those of The Sun, The Daily Mail and company (with less of a propensity to nastiness however).

A stark difference is that Spanish newspapers will often report on British newspapers writing about Spain, which reflects that there’s more of an admiration for them and interest in knowing what the UK is saying about Spain. Often, it borders on adulation: “The best beach in Spain, according to The Times”, “The best city to visit, according to The Guardian”. Do they not know themselves what their prettiest beaches and towns are? Can they not trust their own rankings and experts? The Spanish press has nothing to envy about British newspapers, nor are the opinions of UK journalists any more valid than theirs.

On the flipside, you’ll struggle to ever find The Daily Mail or The Daily Telegraph write a story about what El Mundo or ABC had to say about the latest chapter in the Brexit saga, what they think of Rishi Sunak or where the best seaside town in Blighty is. 

One of the only times British tabloids will report on Spain is when something has happened that could cause offence to their readers and spur them to angrily write “we’ll take our money elsewhere” or “they need us more than we need them”.

Rather than quoting Spanish papers for less inflammatory articles, they’ll rely on the opinion of an “expat” for the inside scoop on the best place to visit in Spain this summer or where to buy a Spanish home, but hardly ever what Spanish newspapers or columnists have to say. 

There are of course serious and reliable British correspondents reporting on Spain for UK broadsheets, but the sad truth is that a sense of inferiority on the part of the Spanish press and superiority in some British news outlets is perceivable in their reporting. 

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.
For members

INSIDE SPAIN

Inside Spain: The truth about jobs and octogenarian’s eviction fight

In this week's Inside Spain we see why no amount of positive employment figures mean Spain's job market is any better, and how an 87-year-old's eviction for her home to become an Airbnb is the latest chapter in the mass tourism debate.

Published: 11 May 2024 13:09 CEST
Inside Spain: The truth about jobs and octogenarian's eviction fight

Spain is on the up economy speaking, it would seem. Its GDP is growing at faster rates than any other major European economy and according to the latest employment figures it has more people working than ever before: 21 million. 

Optimistic headlines about minimum wage rises and more job stability have become increasingly common, although often it’s Spanish newspapers’ political bias which determines whether to praise or criticise the country’s job market. 

Are these positive economic and employment changes palpable for the average person? In most cases, no.

The left-wing coalition government of Pedro Sánchez may have implemented measures to make job conditions and salaries somewhat better for those who are really struggling, but Spain’s job market remains chronically sick, as it has been for decades.

Although its general unemployment rate isn’t as alarming as during the economic crisis of the previous decade, its rate of paro of 11.7 percent in March 2024 is the highest of the eurozone. 

Spain also still claims top spot for youth joblessness in the EU at a more worrying 28 percent. 

Even though Spain’s Labour Minister Yolanda Díaz spearheaded a key reform which led to a huge reduction in temporary job contracts, which were in theory replaced by permanent positions, it’s since emerged that half of these fixed job contracts (contratos indefinidos) go up in smoke before a year has passed.

At best, Spain’s job market has gone from really bad to bad. It remains the most glaring drawback for many foreigners of a working age who know that they’ll probably have to sacrifice higher wages and job opportunities for a life here.  

It’s no wonder that Spain’s brain drain of local talent continues (379,000 in 2022), whilst foreign nationals who are willing to put up with the dire labour market occupy the vast majority of new jobs created. 

And from something that never changes about Spain to something that is – the gentrification of Spanish cities, and more specifically the so-called ‘touristification’ of central working-class neighbourhoods. 

We’ve been covering rising discontent against mass tourism in Spain, particularly with regards to rising rents, and no story better showcases how Airbnb-style holiday lets are forcing out locals than that of 87-year-old Cádiz resident María Muñoz. 

She’s lived for 57 years in a rented flat in El Pópulo neighbourhood where she raised her children, but on June 26th she will be evicted from her home, which will be turned into a tourist apartment.

The only option she’s been given is to buy the property, which she cannot afford.

The eviction has angered locals, reached the Andalusian Parliament and properly sparked the mass tourism debate in another corner of Spain, following similar popular outcries in the Canaries and Málaga in recent weeks. 

Valencia? Seville? Granada? Which will be next? It seems almost certain that it won’t be long before alienated and priced out neighbours in another barrio or city in Spain raise their voices against what’s happening.

SHOW COMMENTS