The Canary Islands government reported improvements in social services and living conditions at a plenary session of parliament. Social affairs minister Candelaria Delgado referred to the official household budget survey by the statistics office ISTAC for 2025, as well as the independent Índice DEC 2025 from the Asociación de Directoras y Gerentes de Servicios Sociales.
According to ISTAC, the proportion of the population at risk of poverty fell from 20.5 per cent in 2022 to 17.6 per cent in 2025. Average monthly household income rose by 19 per cent over the same period, from €2,321 to €2,755. Average per-capita income also increased by 19 per cent, from €891 to €1,061. Average social benefits rose from €842 to €989, while the Gini index, a measure of income inequality, edged down from 0.33 to 0.32. Delgado also warned that 12.7 per cent of the population continued to experience severe material and social deprivation, and that certain households, such as single-parent families, remained particularly vulnerable.
The Índice DEC 2025 ranks the Canary Islands fourth among the Autonomous Communities. The reported score for the Canary Islands is 6.35 points. The index highlights the high level of spending: consolidated expenditure by the Autonomous Community, Cabildos and municipalities stands at €724.3 per resident, above the Spanish average of €575.1. Social spending accounts for 2.79 per cent of Canary Islands GDP, compared with 1.75 per cent nationally; it makes up 13.45 per cent of the islands’ total public budget, compared with 10.40 per cent for the state.
According to the government, administrative procedures have been simplified, teams decentralised and digital processes expanded. The average processing time for dependency services has fallen from 782 days (July 2023) to 214 days (September 2026). Teleassistance now reaches 17,589 users, considerably more than at the start of the legislative term. For the Renta Canaria de Ciudadanía the number of pending cases has fallen from 7,537 (2023) to around 1,400; the current average processing time is about seven months, compared with up to 24 months previously.
Delgado stressed that the DEC index uses data from different periods and is not a snapshot. Recent measures, such as further expansion of teleassistance, multi-year agreements on dependency and disability with the seven Cabildos, and expanded specialised home support, will gradually become visible in future surveys. She identified further reductions in processing times and stronger support for particularly vulnerable households, in cooperation with municipalities and the third sector, as the next steps.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).