The Canary Islands has the lowest debt per capita in all of Spain

The latest Debt of Autonomous Communities report, published yesterday (Monday) by BBVA Research, ranks Catalonia as the region with the highest per capita debt until the end of 2022, of €10,981 per inhabitant, and the Canary Islands as the lowest, with €2,874.

Regarding the GDP, the Valencian Community (44.5%) is the most indebted, followed by Castilla-La Mancha (33.7%) and Catalonia (33.5%). This is revealed in a study that has been released amidst the ongoing debate over regional debt, following the proposal by Catalan separatist parties to forgive it as a condition for supporting the Socialist candidate, Pedro Sánchez.

In this context, BBVA Research concludes that Catalonia is the region with the highest per capita debt at the close of the previous year and the third region with the highest debt relative to the GDP.

Regarding per capita debt, after Catalonia, we find the Valencian Community (€10,810), Castilla-La Mancha (€7,528), the Region of Murcia (€7,450), the Balearic Islands (€7,529), Aragon (€6,890), Cantabria (€5,745), Castilla y León (€5,605), Madrid (€5,170), La Rioja (€5,107), the Basque Country (€4,987), Extremadura (€4,876), Navarre (€4,796), Galicia (€4,446), Andalusia (€4,432), Asturias (€4,199), and the Canary Islands (€2,874).

In terms of regional GDP, the Valencian Community (44%), Castilla-La Mancha, Catalonia (33%), and the Region of Murcia (32%) are the most indebted. On the contrary, the regions with the lowest ratio are Navarre, the Canary Islands, the Basque Country, and Madrid; the latter three having a debt of less than 14% of their regional GDP.

BBVA highlights that the instruments used by autonomous communities for financing have evolved based on market conditions. Between 1995 and 2011, the issuance of bonds gained prominence, accounting for 47% compared to 53% for loans.

However, the closure of the markets in 2012, triggered by the financial crisis and the implementation of liquidity mechanisms such as the Autonomous Liquidity Fund (FLA), deflated this trend.