The social perception of income directly influences the definition of the social class to which a person is considered to belong. In Spain, the middle class is a subjective concept that depends on multiple factors. Although criteria and scales developed by experts are used to try classify income within this groupthere is no universal standard that allows membership in a social class to be determined solely based on income.
Definition of social class according to the OECD
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) defines the middle class as all those who live in households with an income between 75% and 200% of the median family income. Among the 34 countries that belong to the organization (including Spain), the proportion of the middle class is 61%; However, the percentage varies from country to country. The organization explains this on its website, under the ‘Inclusion and Equality’ tab. The pooraccording to the OECD, are those that are below 50% of median income.
In our country, the proportion of middle class according to the OECD is at 58%; That is, almost six out of every ten people belong to this group. The percentage of lower class, for its part, is 14.5%.
According to the latest data published by the National Institute of Statistics (INE) in the Salary Structure Survey (EES) belonging to the year 2022, the median salary in Spain presented a value of 22,383.11 euros (while the average amounts to 26,948 .87 euros).
However, the median family income according to the latest data available from the INE Living Conditions Survey (2022) stands at 18,316 euros. The average, for its part, is 20,676 euros.
How much do you have to charge to belong to this percentage?
If the average salary and the proportion indicated by the OECD are taken into account, to belong to the middle class would have to charge between 16,787.33 and 44,766.22 euros. Furthermore, to be considered “poor” according to this organization, one would have to be below 11,191.56 gross euros per year.
However, to follow the OECD method to the letter, this same proportion would have to be calculated for the median family income. In this case, to belong to the middle class, the household income would have to be between 13,737 and 36,632 euros. Likewise, to consider a family as “poor”, it would have to receive an income of less than 9,158 euros per year. The amounts, however, vary according to the median income of each autonomous community.
From this data, it is possible to establish the following salary thresholds to classify social classes:
- lower class: less than 13,737 euros gross per year.
- Middle class: between 13,737 and 36,632 euros gross per year.
- upper class: more than 36,632 euros gross per year.
If these figures are extrapolated to a monthly salary (with 12 payments a year)the salary ranges would be defined as follows:
- lower class: less than 1,145 gross euros per month.
- Middle class: between 1,145 and 3,052 euros gross per month.
- upper class: more than 3,052 gross euros per month.
A middle class in danger
In addition to defining what the middle class is, the OECD expresses its concern about the situation in which this social group finds itself. The organization highlights that, in the last decade, average incomes have grown at a slower rate than high incomes, which has contributed to a relative reduction in this group.
“The middle classes are the backbone of democratic societies and strong economies, but they face pressures such as stagnant income, rising costs and job uncertainty,” explains the organization, and concludes that, for this reason, Reason, “countries must invest in the qualifications of their workforce, address the high cost of living and improve the equity of the tax and social benefits system.”