More and more young Spaniards with higher education are packing their bags. Abroad, they find better salaries, more stability, a more favorable social and financial environment... and the real possibility to save.
In recent years, thousands of young Spaniards with university studies have decided to leave the country. They are not leaving on a whim. In 2022, more than 426,000 people left Spain, and almost half had higher or technical education. Many were under 35 years old, just when they should be starting to contribute their best to the country that educated them. The image of Spanish doctors, engineers, or scientists working in Berlin, Amsterdam, or Dublin is no longer surprising.
This is not only a loss of talent but also of investment: training a graduate costs public and private money, and if that professional develops their career in another country, the benefit also goes with them. According to data from the BBVA Foundation in collaboration with the Valencian Institute of Economic Research (Ivie), the economic value of the lost human capital that year was around 155,000 million euros.
But what do other countries have that Spain does not? What makes someone prefer to start from scratch in Germany, the Netherlands, or Ireland? To understand this, we have analyzed various comparative data: how much is worked, how much is earned, how much it costs to live, and how much is paid in taxes. And what they show is clear: in some aspects, Spain has an advantage. But in others, there is still much room for improvement.
In Spain, more hours are worked for less pay
Let's start with the time spent working. In Spain, an employed person works around 1,632 hours per year, according to OECD data, although Spanish legislation establishes a maximum working day of 40 hours per week, equivalent to 1,826 hours per year. The OECD figure translates to about 31 hours per week, spread over days of just over six hours each for five days a week. It sounds reasonable, but if we look at other European countries, we will see that they work considerably fewer hours.
In Germany, for example, 1,343 hours are worked per year. That is almost 300 hours less than in Spain. In the Netherlands, 1,413 hours. In Luxembourg, 1,462. In all these countries, the workweeks are shorter, and the daily hours worked are also fewer. Germany has an average of just over 25 hours worked.
"In Spain, it seems that the one who arrives earliest and leaves latest is considered better, even though that does not necessarily mean they work more," points out Santiago Martín, a Spanish executive with international experience. "In Germany, at 4 o'clock in the afternoon, the pen falls. Most people are already out of the office."
And now comes the most important part: despite working more hours, in Spain less is earned for each hour worked. The labor cost per hour worked in Spain is around 25 euros (including contributions). In Germany, that same hour costs 43.83 euros. In the Netherlands, 45.37 euros. In Luxembourg, over 53 euros. This means that not only is less work done abroad, but also significantly more is earned for each hour worked.
However, working more does not mean producing more. According to the latest comparable data on productivity per hour worked, Spain generates an average of 44.5 euros per hour, well below countries like Luxembourg (114), Ireland (110), or even the Eurozone average. This places Spain at the bottom of the EU in hourly efficiency, revealing a structural problem: a lot of time invested but low economic return. Thus, low productivity limits wage growth and makes each hour worked less profitable.
This difference is not just statistical: it translates into tangible well-being
"Thanks to that salary differential," explains Miguel González, a Spanish researcher in Mexico City, "I can save and invest more than half of my salary every month. And that does not mean living with restrictions: I live alone, have leisure, travel, and do not have to worry about money."
París de l'Etraz, director of the entrepreneurship laboratory at IE Business School, emphasizes the issue of the salary differential that Spain suffers from: "For reasons I do not understand, salaries in Spain for a graduate are very low," he laments. "Many are forced to go abroad. Companies punish a worker who graduates from a business school so much that they end up pushing them out. You graduate, and they make you an intern earning 2,000 euros a year, while in England they are paid 60,000 euros a year and in the USA 100,000."
This disillusionment is not exclusive to salaries. The type of available companies also influences. Martín agrees from another perspective: "Even if you go to a place where the cost of living is higher, what you have left at the end of the month in terms of savings is much greater. When you get used to that, it is very difficult to return to Spain."
A common response is: "Yes, but everything is more expensive in those countries." It is true that the cost of living is higher in places like Germany, Luxembourg, or the Netherlands. But the salary difference is so significant that, even with higher prices, money goes further.
And the cost of living? Rent is cheaper, and there is more availability
For example, if we look at the price index (which compares the cost of living in each country relative to a European average), Spain is at 80 points, below the average (100). Germany is at 96, and Sweden at 108. But this is offset by much higher hourly wages, meaning that workers have more economic leeway, even if they pay a little more at the supermarket or on the electricity bill.
"Rent in Mexico City is not cheap," admits González, "but it is cheaper than in Madrid or Barcelona, and there is more availability. The supermarket is similar, but leisure activities are generally cheaper. This significantly raises the standard of living."
Another factor that influences take-home pay is the amount of taxes and contributions deducted from the salary. In economics, this is called the tax wedge, and it measures what part of the total cost of a worker (what the company pays) does not end up in their pocket.
In Spain, the tax wedge for a single worker with no children is 40.6%. This means that if a company pays 100 euros for a worker, the employee only receives 59.4 euros net. The rest goes to income taxes and Social Security contributions.
There are countries with higher burdens: in Germany, the wedge reaches 47.9%; in France, 47.2%. But there are also countries where it is lower: the Netherlands (36.7%), Sweden (42.9%), Switzerland (22.5%). Additionally, in many of these countries, there are more tax deductions for children, rent, or transportation, reducing the final payment.
public services are deficient, private insurances have high deductibles, and if you have children, they go to private schools out of necessity."
González also lived in Austria, where the tax burden is higher, but with much more solid services: "In Austria, I also earned more than double what I earned in Spain. There, 60% of the rental housing stock is owned by the state, there are price limits, rules for selling, and access is guaranteed."
Given the data, it is understandable why so many young professionals educated in Spain decide to seek work abroad. It is not a matter of uprooting or lack of global opportunities, but a rational comparison: more hours are worked and less is earned here than in many neighboring countries. And although the cost of living is lower, it does not fully compensate for the income difference, but above all, the savings capacity derived from better conditions in the salary/cost of living relationship.
Spain has many strengths: good weather, good public health, security, education. But to compete for talent - and even more so, to retain its own - it needs to improve working conditions, reduce temporary employment, increase hourly wages, and facilitate stable career paths.
In this regard, París de l'Etraz warns: "It is very difficult to change the course of large companies that remain anchored in outdated business practices. Many professionals soon realize that they will be able to break those barriers and simply leave. And it is precisely those companies that lose that talent." Until that changes, talent drain will be a predictable response to a labor structure that rewards little and demands much.