The Minimum Basic Income has reached more than 1 million households and benefited more than 3 million people since its adoption 5 years ago

The Minimum Basic Income has reached more than one million households (1,010,565) since its launch in June 2020, at the height of the COVID pandemic. The number of protected beneficiaries since then has now since exceeded 3 million people (3,008,318), of whom 1.3 million are children and adolescents, 43.4% of the total.

Since this policy came into force, the Social Security has allocated 14.938 billion euros to paying this benefit.

"The Minimum Basic Income was designed as a policy aimed at preventing the risk of poverty and social exclusion of people living alone or as part of a household who lack basic economic resources", explains minister Elma Saiz. "More work needs to be done, but having helped 3 million people, more than a third of whom are children, is a big step forward".

April payroll

In April, the Minimum Basic Income was paid to 719,543 households and a total of 2,194,586 people, according to the latest statistics published by the National Institute of Social Security. The average amount of the benefit is 505.4 euros per month per household and, overall, this month amounted to 404 million euros.

In April, there were 129,595 more active claims than in the same period last year, an increase of 22%. There are 423,106 more beneficiaries living in these households than in the same month of 2024 (+23.9%).

Both in terms of the profile of the recipients and the beneficiaries, we can say that the Minimum Basic Income has a markedly female profile. In April, 67.6% of recipients (486,327) and 53.4% of beneficiaries were women, that is 1,172,606.

Children and the Minimum Basic Income

One of the main objectives of the Minimum Basic Income is to combat child poverty, and in this regard it is worth noting that 41.3% of the beneficiaries are children and adolescents, 905,371. "We must all stand together against child poverty. Working with them, bringing stability to their lives through minimum resources is investing in the future of everyone", said Elma Saiz.

In April, more than two thirds of the households covered by the Minimum Basic Income were living with children, 68.8%. In total, there are 495,003 households with children, including 123,974 single-parent households.

One of the main tools in the fight against the risk of child poverty is the child benefit supplement, which is part of the Minimum Basic Income. This month, the Minimum Basic Income with this supplement reached 498,899 households. This Minimum Basic Income supplement amounts to 115 euros per household per month for children aged 0-3; 80.5 euros per month for each child aged 3-6 and 57.5 euros per month for each child aged 6-18 years. The average amount of the supplement in April was 67.04 euros per child and 123.11 euros per household with children.

Non official translation