Spain's Health Spending Exceeds Alcohol Consumption and Madrid's Budget

In 2024 Spanish households spent an average of €1,377 on health care, representing 4% of total household budgets, while spending on alcoholic drinks and tobacco totaled €447, or 1.3%. Health‑related spending rose 10.6% year‑on‑year, whereas alcohol‑and‑tobacco expenditures fell 5.4%.

The Community of Madrid, despite having the highest per‑capita income in Spain, allocated only €1,537 per resident to health in 2024 and €2,303 per person to both health and education combined. This is far below regions such as Extremadura, which spends €3,469 per resident on the same two sectors. Madrid's overall regional budget per capita stands at about €4,294, the lowest among Spain's autonomous communities, highlighting a sharp contrast between public health financing and private household health expenditures.