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Grim economic times for 80 percent of Spaniards

Jessica Jones
Jessica Jones - [email protected]
Grim economic times for 80 percent of Spaniards
Photo of a Spanish piggy bank: Shutterstock"

The latest figures from Spain’s CIS research centre released on Wednesday, show that over 80 percent think that the country's economic situation is 'the same' as or 'worse' than last year.

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Spaniards don´t seem to agree with the government claims of recovery with a mere 17 percent of respondents noticing that there has been some economic improvement on last year..

The latest figures come in the wake of Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s state of the nation debate, in which he praised the belt-tightening measures put in place by his government.

"We have achieved what many believed was impossible," he said, during the February 24th speech.

But Spaniards expressed some optimism about the future of the Spanish economy, with more than a quarter (28 percent) responding that they believed the economic situation would be 'better' next year.

When it came to expressing their views on current politicians, there were few who were prepared to admit that they had faith in those in charge, a figure that will send alarm bells through the established parties of the PP and the PSOE.

Only 2.9 percent of Spaniards think the political situation in Spain is 'good' or 'very good', while a whopping three-quarters (75.9 percent) expressed a negative view, branding the political situation 'bad' or 'very bad'.

But again, Spaniards see a brighter political future on the horizon - 22.6 percent think that within a year the political situation in Spain will be 'better' - an indication that people expect a change in power following the general election later this year.

When it comes to the everyday preoccupations of the nation, the jobless rate preys most on people's minds.

Unemployment remains the biggest worry for Spaniards, according to the statistics, with 55 percent of people citing it as their number one problem.

Corruption and fraud were not too far behind, 19 percent of people cited it as their top problem. Spain has been hit by several high profile corruption cases recently, eroding many Spaniards’ faith in politicians even further.

The study revealed that when it comes to religion 69 percent of Spaniards would class themselves as 'Catholic' but almost the same amount (62 percent) admit to 'almost never' going to church.

The figures also shed light on Spanish relationships, with some surprising results. Over half of Spaniards are currently single (50.9 percent), while 21 percent have a partner but do not live together.

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