The public perception of general health in Spain has worsened slightly compared to last year, according to data from the first wave of the 2026 Health Barometer. The report, compiled by the Ministry of Health and the Centre for Sociological Research (CIS), was based on an initial survey of 2,602 people conducted in March 2026.
According to the findings, 67.5 per cent of citizens consider their health to be good or very good. This represents a decline of 2.6 percentage points compared to the 70.1 per cent recorded during the same period in 2025.
Concurrently, the percentage of individuals who rate their health as fair, poor, or very poor has increased from 29.8 per cent to 32.3 per cent, marking a rise of 2.5 points. Conversely, there was a slight decrease in the proportion of the population reporting chronic illnesses or health conditions, falling from 52.2 per cent in 2025 to 49.5 per cent in 2026. The Ministry of Health noted that these figures are provisional, as they only reflect the first of three planned survey waves intended to complete the full study sample.
The report also highlighted growing dissatisfaction regarding healthcare waiting lists. A total of 38.3 per cent of respondents believe the situation has worsened over the past twelve months, up from the 34.1 per cent reported in the first wave of the 2025 barometer, an increase of 4.2 percentage points. Meanwhile, the number of citizens who believe the situation remains unchanged dropped from 47.6 per cent to 43.1 per cent, and those who noticed an improvement changed only marginally, shifting from 9.6 per cent to 10 per cent.
Furthermore, economic barriers to accessing medication have risen. The survey revealed that 6.1 per cent of the population had to stop taking a medicine prescribed by the public health service due to financial reasons over the past year. This is a 1.5 percentage point increase from the 4.6 per cent registered in the 2025 report. Consequently, the percentage of individuals who did not face financial obstacles to continuing their prescribed treatment fell from 93.1 per cent to 91 per cent.
