Press Release 19/10/2022

SURVEY ON HOMELESS PEOPLE (EPSH) 2022

There are an estimated 4,456 homeless people in the Basque Country in 2022, of whom 72.4% are foreign nationals

The profile of a homeless person in the Basque Country is a young male foreign national aged between 18 and 44, single, with secondary education and who is unemployed

The homeless population attended to in accommodation centres and social dining halls in 2022 is estimated to be 4,456 people, i.e. 2 out of every 1000 people are homeless. 72.4% of homeless people who received assistance at these centres were foreign nationals, whereas in 2012 they represented 60.1%.

By province, 43.7% of the homeless population in the Basque Country was attended to in centres in Bizkaia. The capital Bilbao had the highest number of homeless individuals. In Gipuzkoa, 43% were in Donostia-San Sebastián and in Álava all individuals were attended to in the capital.

The increase in people attended to between 2012 and 2022 in Gipuzkoa (180.4%) and Álava (132.3%) is noteworthy, compared to Bizkaia (70.9%).

37.5% had been homeless for more than 3 years

If we consider the type of accommodation those surveyed were users of, 23.3% were lodged in collective accommodation, 54.9% in flats and lodgings provided by a public body or NGO, and the remaining 21.5% in places that are not destined to be lived in. 37.5% had been homeless for more than 3 years.

Other shortcomings were that 2% stated they had not eaten on the day of the interview, and 31.8% had no income. 22.6% did have an income from a social provision, including Guaranteed Basic Income (RGI), and 16.3% from donations from an NGO. Almost 60% of those interviewed stated that their main expense was food.

Men represented 78.2% of homeless people

By gender, 78.2% of homeless people were men, compared to 21.8% who were women. Likewise, in Spain as a whole, 76.7% of homeless people were men. Among homeless men, 23.3% had Spanish nationality and the remaining 76.7% were foreign nationals. In the case of women in this group, the percentages did not differ greatly, as 43.1% had Spanish nationality and the remaining 56.9% were foreign nationals. In terms of distribution by continent, the foreign nationals were mainly from Africa (81.2%), followed by America (11.4%) and Europe (5%). By country, most came from Morocco (47.9%) and Algeria (11.3%).

By age, among the population attended to, the group of young people aged 18 to 29 stands out, representing 37.4% of the total, followed by the 30 to 44 age group (32.7%), the 45 to 64 age group (27.6%) and over 65s, the smallest group (2.2%). In the autonomous regions as a whole, the largest group was people aged between 45 and 64, which accounted for 43.3%.

Emigration, the main cause of homelessness in 2022

Furthermore, if we look at the causes which led those surveyed to homelessness in 2012 and in 2022, differences are observed in the main reasons, since in 2022 this was mainly due to emigration (47.3%) and in 2012 it was loss of employment (25.6%).

Almost half of homeless people state they have secondary education

Another factor to take into account for the data collected is the level of education those surveyed have completed. 48.3% have secondary education, followed by 32.8% who have primary education, and 9.5% who state they have undertaken university education. 9.2% of homeless individuals report having no formal education. As regards the relationship with activity, only 4.4% state having an occupation.

66.4% of homeless people did not consume alcohol

With regards to health, it is noteworthy that 27.6% of this group were affected by severe or chronic illness, 15.5% had a disability and 19.6% had been hospitalised in the last year. In terms of addictions, 66.4% and 70.4% did not use drugs or alcohol, respectively, although 13% indicated that they were hashish or marijuana users.

Insecurity must be added to the health problems, as 10.9% of homeless people had been the victims of aggression and 16% victims of theft. On the other hand, 28.1% had been arrested on at least one occasion. Men represented 88.5% and women 11.5% of this group. Regarding social services, 84% of homeless individuals had been in contact with social service employees. Their evaluation of the assistance received was favourable in 59.6% of cases.

Homelessness trend in the Basque Country: men, young people and foreign nationals

The homeless population attended to in accommodation centres and social dining halls in 2022 is estimated to be 4,456 people, which represents an increase of 113% compared to 2012. The increase of women in this group is noteworthy, as is the increase in young people and foreign nationals.

The profile of a homeless person in the Basque Country, in terms of main characteristics, is a young male foreign national aged between 18 and 44, single, with secondary education and who is unemployed.

Note: The Survey on homeless people was developed by Eustat in collaboration with the Spanish National Statistics Institute (INE).

For further information:

Euskal Estatistika-Erakundea / Basque Statistics Institute C/ Donostia-San Sebastián, 1 01010 Vitoria-Gasteiz Press Service: servicioprensa@eustat.eus Tel.: 945 01 75 62