“Private consumption and public investment are the factors with the greatest momentum (…) and it is possible that a modest expansion will begin in the coming months and imbalances will reduce.” These are two considerations that appeared on Thursday, November 20, 1975 in an article on the development of the Spanish economy in a newspaper of the time. At that time, the cost of a newspaper was 8 pesetas, or four cents for it.
When Franco’s death was announced. Spain was still suffering from the effects of the 1973 oil crisis. It was mired in stagflation, with weak growth and runaway inflation, in addition to high unemployment rates. Waiting for industrial reconversion, the country was more vulnerable to an energy crisis than it is today.
A large portion of the population was employed in Agriculture, livestock or fishing Tourism, which was not yet developed, barely contributed to the activity. The production structure has changed 180 degrees since then and opening up to the outside has become essential. “We are in a more open economy, integrated in Europe, integrated in the world and very interconnected,” he points out. Economic information Raymond Torres, Director of International Situation and Analysis at Funcas.
In 1975, for example, exports of goods and services were represented Between 12 and 13% of GDPWhile today they represent just under 40%. “The economy lives in harmony with the rest of the world,” Torres adds, “and, moreover, for the first time in the last ten years we have an external surplus. For decades, and especially then, recurring external deficits in exchanges with the world have constrained economic policy.”
Using figures used by the World Bank, GDP rose by 0.5% during that entire year, the year the dictator died. This is very modest growth when compared to the 3.5% expansion at which it expanded last year, according to the latest revision of the National Institute of Statistics. In terms of size, it’s a giant leap: GDP rose from 39,819 million euros in 1975 to more than 1.59 trillion euros last year.
But it’s not just a matter of growth…or numbers. “We had no market for public debt, and we could not finance the public deficit“We were a very inflationary economy, and now we are within the eurozone, with price stability and low interest rates – especially on mortgages – that entails,” economist José Carlos Diez tells this newspaper. The differences between the two major European locomotives, Germany and France, were noticeable. In 1975, our neighbors were exporting powers with more modern, industrialized economies.
Women’s employment and the services revolution
In terms of employment, the country has also witnessed a radical change in the past fifty years, especially with the integration of women into the labor market after generations resorted to working at home. Shortly after Franco’s death. In Spain, there were 12.8 million people working, of whom only 28.4% were women. There are currently 22.4 million workers in the country, 46.5% of whom are women. “Thanks to the increase in their participation rate, today we have a much broader production base, apart from the social benefits brought by the integration of women,” says Raymond Torres.
Half a century after the dictator’s death, jobs have also changed radically. In 1975, one in five Spaniards worked in the countryside and 38.5% of them worked in industry. Only 40.3% of workers were allocated to services. Spain’s shift towards a service economy has become clear after fifty years. In 2025, 76% of Spaniards work in this sector, while only 3.3% work in the countryside. The country’s industrial reconversion in the 1980s and 1990s reduced employment in this sector to 13.7%, while another 7% of the workforce was allocated to construction.
In 1975, the unemployment rate reflected in the Active Population Survey (EPA) was 4%. However, these data hide a more serious business reality than the data suggests. The Spanish economy was operating with high rates of underemployment, with jobs taking very few hours, and migration abroad in search of opportunities was frequent.
The oil crisis of the 1970s, in addition to industrial reconversion processes, the liberalization of protected sectors, or the integration of women into the labor market The unemployment rate ended up rising to more than 20% in the 1980s. Since then, it has rarely dropped below 10% (currently 10.4%).
The eternal housing problem
Regarding the economic situation of families, the average per capita income in 1975 was 153,888 pesetas, according to data from the Economic Report of the Bank of Bilbao (now BBVA) for 1979. Translated into euros, we are talking about 1,616 euros, which, after adjusting for the inflation accumulated over these 50 years (1,348%), would be approximately equivalent to 25,260 euros today.
The minimum wage in 1975 was set at approximately €50.2 per month Which, discounting cumulative inflation over fifty years, would be about 785 today. A figure that contrasts with the 1,184 euros per month in 14 SME payments applicable in 2025. Working and training conditions for Spaniards were even harsher. In 1975, 63% of workers did not take vacation Only 2.9% of household heads have university studies.
In the mid-1970s, housing was already a major concern for Spaniards. As stated in the article The 1970s crisis in the housing sectorpublished in the magazine Papeles de Economía Española in 1980, Between 1965 and 1974 apartment prices tripled. The approximate average housing price was about 900,000 pesetas in 1974, which equates to €83,553 once the conversion is made and inflation is adjusted. With just under six years of income per person, it was possible to obtain housing.
In areas such as the urban belt of Madrid, the price per square meter of housing was around 12,400 pesetas. That’s equivalent to about 1,150 euros today. The latest data from Idealista puts the square meter of housing in the capital at €4,395.
but, Housing conditions at that time were more dangerous than they are today. According to the National Institute of Equipment and Cultural Level Survey of Households, in 1975, 13% of properties had no running water and only half had hot water. Furthermore, only 51% had a full bathroom. Likewise, 45% of homes had no heating, only 74% had a refrigerator, 60% had a washing machine, and only 9% had a vacuum cleaner. That year, only 34% of households owned a car.
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