Catalans already owe 10,880 euros at birth

BarcelonaCatalans are the second most indebted residents of any autonomous community, after Valencians. Specifically, from birth, they carry an average debt of €10,880 due to Catalan public sector debt, compared to €11,367.2 for residents of the Valencian Community. These figures are based on public administration debt for the third quarter, published by the Bank of Spain. The amount in Catalonia decreased by around 0.9% thanks to population growth over the past year, but it remains more than double that of the Community of Madrid (€5,277.9), where this figure grew by 1.3% in a year.

It so happens that Catalonia is usually the third largest contributor to the current regional financing system, although it expired in 2014. However, after the distribution of funds through investments and public spending, it falls to tenth place—it would be fourteenth if the price differential were taken into account. Madrid and the Balearic Islands are the first and second largest contributors to the system, while after the distribution they drop to eleventh or fifteenth place (taking the price differential into account) and ninth or thirteenth, respectively. Meanwhile, both the Valencian Community and Murcia, two of the regions with the highest debt burden along with Catalonia and Castile-La Mancha, are among the worst financed, according to experts.

From Andalusia to Madrid

Data from the Bank of Spain reveals that in Andalusia, the most populous region, the average debt is €4,642.6, while in the Community of Madrid, Spain's largest economy—which has surpassed Catalonia—the average debt per capita is around half that of Catalonia, according to the same Bank of Spain data. Catalonia is the fourth most indebted region, with debt representing 28.4% of its gross domestic product (GDP). It is surpassed by the Valencian Community, with a ratio of 40.5%, followed by Murcia (30.2%) and Castilla-La Mancha (28.5%). At the same time, Catalonia also receives the largest share of the Regional Liquidity Fund (FLA), with 37% of the total, meaning that almost 85 out of every 100 euros of its total debt is owed to the central government. The Valencian Community is second, with almost 87% of its debt held by the State.

In total, the autonomous communities had a combined debt of €339 billion as of September 30, representing 20.4% of GDP, with an annual increase of 1.7%. Five communities maintained a debt-to-GDP ratio below the 13% threshold, the benchmark established in the Stability Law: Navarre (9.9%), the Canary Islands (10.8%), the Community of Madrid (11.5%), the Basque Country (11.8%), and Asturias (12.6%). According to data from the Bank of Spain, the public sector debt ratio under the Excessive Deficit Procedure (EDP) to nominal gross domestic product (GDP) stood at 103.2% in the third quarter of 2025, one percentage point lower than in the same period of the previous year. In absolute terms, it reached a balance of €1.7 trillion, with a year-on-year growth rate of 4.5%. Central government debt stood at €1.57 trillion in the third quarter, representing 94.8% of GDP. Year-on-year, it increased by 4.5%, while social security debt, at €126 billion, grew by 8.6% compared to the previous year, and by 7.6% in terms of GDP. Local government debt stood at €22 billion (1.4% of GDP), 2.8% lower than in the same period of the previous year. Within this subsector, provincial capital municipalities accounted for 8 billion euros, while those that are not provincial capitals accumulated 10 billion euros, and provincial councils, island councils, and island governments totaled 4 billion euros.