At a time when the process of regularizing immigrants continues to pit the Government and most of the parties that support it against the PP and, above all, Vox, a report on youth reveals that young people between 15 and 29 years old believe that “Spain needs immigrants to sustain its life” (50%) and the number of those who think that immigrants take jobs from Spaniards is decreasing (43% in 2025, compared to 78% 20 years ago). However, the idea launched, especially by the far-right, that “we give immigrants too many facilities” (59%) has taken hold, and 61% link their presence to an increase in crime and public insecurity.
This is indicated by the report Spanish Youth, 2026, from the SM Foundation, presented this Tuesday, which shows the profound transformation of Spanish youth in their values, perceptions, and living conditions. This work reveals that the 15 to 29 age group is, predominantly, more individualistic, spiritual, authoritarian, and sexist than young people before the pandemic.
“Illegal migration is among the main problems that young people identify as affecting them and they demand priority action from the Government,” explained the study coordinator, Ariadna Pérez, to Efe, who highlighted that the research shows an advance in the discourse of perceived threat from migration.
Health (75%), family (71.8%), earning money (59.7%), and free time and leisure (56.2%) are currently the most important aspects for the young people surveyed (5,000). Compared to previous editions of the study, a clear decrease in idealistic values, such as commitment to the environment, social equality, or gender equality, is observed, notes Juan González-Anleo. “Earning money is becoming more relevant and obsessive, while ideals of social and gender equality, and environmental concerns are being abandoned.”
This shift towards priorities more focused on the individual sphere is also accompanied by a notable decrease in the valuation of work and education, the study highlights.
Setback in equality
Several indicators show distrust towards feminism and advances in equality: 66% believe that some women seek privileges in the name of equality, 60% believe they use their attractiveness to manipulate men, and 54% believe they exaggerate sexism in innocent comments.
According to the study, in the context of relationships, beliefs linked to control and the traditional model persist: Four out of ten justify controlling their partner, believe that men should prioritize economic support, and that women need male protection.
The report indicates that although young people do not show disinterest in politics, they do express growing distrust towards the functioning of the democratic system. Almost seven out of ten declare little or no satisfaction with the functioning of democracy, while support for the system has dropped from over 80% in 2019 (according to CIS data) to around 60% in the current report.
At the same time, sympathy for more authoritarian solutions is growing, according to the youth survey, with half sometimes advocating for a tougher stance, even if freedoms are sacrificed to maintain social peace. This idea is more present among young people who identify with the far-right ideological spectrum. According to Javier Lorente, another of the authors, the ideological shift towards more conservative positions is consolidating.
“Young people have problems accessing housing and a lot of unresolved demands,” he pointed out, but above all they are exposed “to messages that were not present before and that are more radical, of ideological extremism, and that makes them shift to the right and support democracy less.”
In the last five years, young people who define themselves as left-wing or center-left have decreased by about 12 percentage points, while those who identify as center-right or right-wing have increased by almost 14 points. This trend is observed especially among those who identify as Catholic.
The report detects an increase in the importance attributed to religious and spiritual beliefs, although it does not imply a return to the traditional model: 38.4% consider religion “quite or very important” in their lives. Young people who identify as Catholic —practicing or not— increased from 31.6% in 2020 to 45% in 2025, while non-religious positions (agnostics and non-believers) decreased.
Religious identities become more flexible and combine elements from different spiritual traditions. Thus, among practicing Catholics, 60% also claim to believe in karma, almost half in reincarnation, 44% in magical arts, 40% in healing energies, and 37% in future prediction.
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