The facts

Economic abuse, counted.

What the surveys show in Spain, across Europe and worldwide. Every figure is sourced, and every one is likely an undercount.

Last updated 28 October 2026

Across the EU

It happens everywhere. Some places just count it.

Women in each EU country who have experienced violence from a partner in their lifetime, including psychological and economic control.

Vatican: no comparable dataJersey: no comparable dataGuernsey: no comparable dataIsle of Man: no comparable dataUnited Kingdom: no comparable dataUkraine: no comparable dataTurkmenistan: no comparable dataTurkey: no comparable dataTunisia: no comparable dataSyria: no comparable dataSwitzerland: no comparable dataSweden: 48.2%Spain: 28.6%Slovakia: 50.8%Slovenia: 27.9%Serbia: no comparable dataSaudi Arabia: no comparable dataSan Marino: no comparable dataRussia: no comparable dataRomania: 48.9%Portugal: 22.5%Poland: 19.6%Norway: no comparable dataNetherlands: 33.4%Morocco: no comparable dataW. Sahara: no comparable dataMontenegro: no comparable dataMoldova: no comparable dataMonaco: no comparable dataMauritania: no comparable dataMalta: 26%Macedonia: no comparable dataLuxembourg: 47.4%Lithuania: 30.7%Liechtenstein: no comparable dataLibya: no comparable dataLebanon: no comparable dataLatvia: 30.1%Kuwait: no comparable dataKosovo: no comparable dataKazakhstan: no comparable dataJordan: no comparable dataItaly*: 25.9%Israel: no comparable dataPalestine: no comparable dataIreland: 35%Iraq: no comparable dataIceland: no comparable dataHungary: 54.6%Greece: 41.8%Germany: 31.9%Georgia: no comparable dataFrance: 30.2%Åland: no comparable dataFinland: 52.6%Estonia: 41.2%Egypt: no comparable dataGreenland: no comparable dataFaeroe Is.: no comparable dataDenmark: 45%Czechia: 33.5%N. Cyprus: no comparable dataCyprus: 44.5%Croatia: 28.1%Bulgaria: 20.5%Bosnia and Herz.: no comparable dataBelgium: 31.3%Belarus: no comparable dataAzerbaijan: no comparable dataAustria: 37.8%Armenia: no comparable dataAndorra: no comparable dataAlgeria: no comparable dataAlbania: no comparable data55%53%29%SpainUK
under 25%25–30%30–35%35–45%45% and overno comparable data

Highest, and closest to home

Hungary55%
Finland53%
Slovakia51%
EU average32%
Spain29%

A high figure can mean women feel freer to name it. Where figures are low, many still don't call it abuse.

840 million

women worldwide have faced partner or sexual violence. WHO, 2025

1 in 5

women have experienced economic violence from a partner, in the EU countries that asked in full. EU gender-based violence survey, 2026 report

Source: EU gender-based violence survey, key results, Table 2 (Eurostat, FRA and EIGE, 2024). Ever-partnered women, lifetime. *Italy: national survey with a different method. Hover over a country for its figure, or see the table below.

The figures, country by country

Share of ever-partnered women who have experienced psychological, physical or sexual violence from a partner in their lifetime. EU average: 31.8%.

CountryWomen
Hungary54.6%
Romania48.9%
Denmark45.0%
Estonia41.2%
Czechia33.5%
Belgium31.3%
Latvia30.1%
Slovenia27.9%
Portugal22.5%
CountryWomen
Finland52.6%
Sweden48.2%
Cyprus44.5%
Austria37.8%
Netherlands33.4%
Lithuania30.7%
Spain28.6%
Malta26.0%
Bulgaria20.5%
CountryWomen
Slovakia50.8%
Luxembourg47.4%
Greece41.8%
Ireland35.0%
Germany31.9%
France30.2%
Croatia28.1%
Italy*25.9%
Poland19.6%

Spain

Closer to home.

The government's own survey, 2024. Women aged 16 and over.

2.5 million

women (11.7%) have suffered economic violence from a partner in their lifetime.

13.5%

when unpaid child support is counted too: almost 2.9 million women.

11%

of mothers with an ex-partner say he has failed to pay agreed child support.

68%

of women victims of gender violence surveyed by Fundación Adecco had also suffered economic violence.

Macroencuesta de Violencia contra la Mujer 2024, Ministerio de Igualdad · Fundación Adecco, 2025

Europe

Ask in full, and the number more than doubles.

The EU survey asked every country a few short questions about economic control. Eight countries asked the full set. The difference is the point: much of it goes unrecognised until someone names it.

8.3%

of women in the EU reported economic violence from a partner, using the short questions asked in all 27 countries.

EU gender-based violence survey, 2026 report

1 in 5

women in the eight EU countries that asked the full set of questions (20.3%).

EU gender-based violence survey, 2026 report

29.9%

of ever-partnered women in the EU have experienced psychological violence from a partner, which includes economic control.

EU gender-based violence survey, 2026 report

The cost

Everyone pays for it.

In absence, lost careers, health and justice. And most of all, by the women who stay.

€151bn

a year: the cost of partner violence against women across the EU. EIGE, 2021

€354.8m

a year in lost work and productivity from gender violence in Spain. Universidad de Alcalá, costs of 2016

840 million

women worldwide have faced partner or sexual violence in their lifetime. WHO, 2025

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