Surveys of households and individuals

The Banco de España's surveys of households and individuals are part of the National Statistics Plan.

They offer a comprehensive vision on the financial conditions of households and on the adult population's knowledge and understanding of financial concepts in Spain. They contribute to a better understanding of our economy and the proper design of public policies.

Spanish Survey of Household Finances (EFF)

The Spanish Survey of Household Finances (EFF) provides detailed information on the income, assets, debts and spending of Spanish households. It has been conducted since 2002 every three years, every two since 2020.

This information complements the aggregated data in the Financial Accounts of the Spanish Economy and allows the analysis of the heterogeneity and distribution in Spanish households’ investment and financing decisions and of their financial position.

The sample, randomly selected, is designed in collaboration with Spanish Statistics Institute, to ensure its representativeness.

The EFF is part of the Household Finance and Consumption Network, coordinated by the European Central Bank and the national central banks of the Eurosystem countries, which collects harmonized and comparable data on the financial decisions and wealth situation of families.

NOTE: There has been a change in the estimation of the EFF weights, as the National Statistics Institute (INE) has used the information from the 2011 Census. See file of data revisions in each EFF wave.

Survey of Financial Competences (ECF)

The Survey of Financial Competences measures the level of financial literacy of the Spanish population aged 18 to 79, including  their understanding of basic financial concepts, their familiarity with different savings, insurance and debt vehicles, and their holding, acquisition and use of such financial vehicles.

The study benefits from the cooperation of the National Statistics Institute, which has drawn up a large sample of randomly selected individuals, representative of the entire Spanish territory and of each of its regions (comunidades autónomas).

Information is collected both on the financial knowledge of the person chosen at random to reply to the interview and on the knowledge available in the interviewee's household.

The ECF is part of an international project coordinated by the International Financial Education Network of the OECD. This allows for comparison of the financial competences of the Spanish population with those of a large group of countries.