SPAIN: Migration Numbers & more – 31st Dec 2025

Buenos días from Gracia! This is the Rorshok Spain Update from the 31st of December twenty twenty-five. A quick summary of what's going down in Spain.

First up this week: migration statistics. According to the NGO Caminando Fronteras, more than 3,000 migrants died trying to reach Spain by sea in twenty twenty-five.

Their Right to Life Monitoring twenty twenty-five report recorded 3,090 deaths, including 192 women and 437 minors. While lower than the over 10,000 deaths in twenty twenty-four, the organization warns the toll remains alarmingly high.

Overall, migrant arrivals to Spain fell sharply in twenty twenty-five - down around 40% - with a nearly 60% drop in arrivals to the Canary Islands, Spain’s southernmost region and a key landing point. Despite the decrease in numbers, the Canary route remained the deadliest, accounting for most deaths.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday the 30th, news outlet El País reported that a real estate project owned by the noble family, La Casa de Alba, is pushing more than seventy families out of their long-term homes in central Madrid.

The new management company, Bala Investment, has told tenants their leases will not be renewed due to planned renovations, sparking fears the apartments will be turned into tourist flats. Even though the House of Alba has confirmed the non-renewals, it has not said what it plans to do with the properties, drawing criticism amid growing concern over housing displacement driven by urban tourism.

On related news, El País also published an insightful opinion piece on Thursday, the 25th, examining the cost-of-living crisis and the growing number of people turning to van life.

The article features Antonio Doménech, a public school teacher in Madrid, who lives in a motorhome not out of romantic idealism but as a practical response to soaring housing prices.

After years of renting small rooms, he decided to buy a second-hand camper van for 22,000 euros in twenty nineteen. Doménech parks discreetly near his workplace, commuting by electric scooter, and keeps his living situation private from colleagues.

The van gave him a professional edge, letting him take teaching posts in remote areas others avoided and helping him secure a permanent position. Even with a stable salary, he continues living in his motorhome to ease financial strain - a choice increasingly made worldwide.

Check the full article with the link in the show notes.

'Tis the season to be merry, so our next story is about wine. According to a recent report by the Spanish Wine Interprofessional Organisation, released on Monday, the 29th, the country’s twenty-two billion euro wine industry is facing a generational crisis, with an ageing workforce and fewer young people entering the sector.

The report says that over 22,000 younger workers will be needed in the coming years as nearly three-quarters of current wine-growers are over fifty-one.

This problem is closely connected to the depopulation of rural areas, as young people continue to move to cities. Industry leaders warn that without generational renewal, vineyards and rural communities face decline. They argue that the sector must modernize, adopt sustainable practices, build digital skills, and present winemaking as a viable and attractive entrepreneurial career.

Up next: at the end of twenty twenty-five, the government quietly approved more than two billion euros in new defence spending. Ministers made the decision at the final Council of Ministers meeting of the year to avoid internal tensions within the ruling coalition, where military funding remains a sensitive issue.

The government will spend over half of the money on new medium and heavy military transport trucks to improve the armed forces’ operations at home and abroad. It will also channel a significant portion into the long-delayed S-80 submarine program, including the purchase of new submarines scheduled for delivery between twenty twenty-six and twenty thirty.

The plan also allocates hundreds of millions of euros to strengthen cybersecurity, upgrade fuel storage and supply systems at the NATO-linked Rota naval base, and cover logistical support for naval arsenals.

In energy news, on Monday, the 29th, the energy and petrochemical company Repsol reached an important milestone in its move toward cleaner energy. The company now has more than 1,500 petrol stations in Spain and Portugal that sell Nexa Diesel, a fuel made entirely from renewable sources.

This renewable diesel works in normal diesel vehicles and can reduce carbon emissions by up to 90% compared with traditional diesel. It is made from renewable materials and does not require drivers to buy a new car or change how they refuel.

More than 40% of Repsol’s service stations now offer renewable fuels, showing that cleaner options are becoming widely available. This is important because most cars on European roads still use combustion engines despite the large-scale push towards electric vehicles.

In updates on pensions, twenty twenty-five ended with record-breaking figures as newly retired salaried workers began receiving average monthly pensions of over €1,700 - the first time in the history of Spain’s modern old-age pension system, which dates back to the early 20th century.

The Ministry of Inclusion reports this is roughly 200 euros higher than just three years ago. While the increase benefits retirees, it has pushed Social Security spending to historic levels. In twenty twenty-five, total pension expenditure exceeded 200 billion euros, and monthly pension payrolls hit a new peak of over 13 billion euros in December.

From the beginning of twenty twenty-six, community pharmacies across Andalucía in the south of Spain will begin offering screening for colon cancer. It has been prioritized as part of wider efforts to improve early detection protocols following delays in other screening programs.

The initiative stems from a twenty twenty-four agreement between the Andalucian public health service and the regional council of pharmacists to integrate pharmacies into prevention, screening, and health education programs, to help decongest major health centers. A pilot scheme is currently underway, with selected pharmacies being accredited and trained by the health quality agency ACSA.

Also in Andalucía, on Monday, the 29th, the town of Ibi was transformed into a flour-covered battleground during the annual Els Enfarinats festival, a tradition dating back more than 200 years and held on the Day of the Holy Innocents, Spain’s equivalent of April Fool’s Day.

Members of a group called Els Enfarinats, or the floured ones, wear military-style costumes and stage a mock coup, symbolically taking control of the town, inventing absurd laws and issuing fines that are later donated to charity.

Speaking of new laws, new driving rules take effect in January twenty twenty-six, introducing several major changes, the most controversial involving the V16 emergency beacon. The V16 replaces roadside warning triangles and, in its approved form, automatically transmits a vehicle’s location during breakdowns or accidents. Confusion arose when some previously approved models were withdrawn for failing updated standards, frustrating many drivers.

Other reforms will include modernizing theory tests with video scenarios, requiring emergency corridors in traffic jams, removing all seatbelt exemptions, and enforcing low-emission zones in cities with over 50,000 residents. The measures aim to improve road safety, emergency response, and air quality.

Turning to media: The new Spanish film Rondallas will premiere on the first of January, celebrating Galician tradition and community spirit. It was directed by Daniel Sánchez Arévalo and produced by Ramón Campos. The movie draws inspiration from rondallas - large amateur folk bands - and a viral video of a Galician group performing AC/DC’s Thunderstruck.

And finally, a recap of twenty twenty-five, a year full of memorable events in Spain. The most defining was the nationwide blackout on the 28th of April, which left around fifty million people without electricity. Despite the disruption, many Spaniards turned it into a moment of community, filling parks for picnics and fun, while investigations continue into the cause.

Extreme weather also made headlines, from the hottest summer in over a century to devastating forest fires in Galicia, alongside ongoing recovery from the deadly twenty twenty-four Valencian floods, which prompted the resignation of regional president Carlos Mazón.

Politically, President Pedro Sánchez stayed in power despite corruption cases involving senior party figures. Internationally, Spain clashed with the US over defense spending, boycotted much Israeli trade, and strengthened ties with the UK via a Gibraltar border agreement.

Aaand that’s it for this week! Thank you for joining us!

t want to wish you an awesome: 2026

¡Hasta la próxima!