How has the cost of living changed in France, Italy, Spain and Portugal?

Student protests in France are into their second month, escalating into demonstrations across Europe.

What began in September in France with pupils protesting against overcrowded classrooms and teacher shortages has grown into wider anger at the cost of living and planned cuts to public services.

Protesters in Albania, Belgium, Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain have also taken to the streets over the lack of affordable housing, rising costs and failing public services – with many young people saying they no longer expect to be better off than their parents.

Facing their anger are leaders such as French President Emmanuel Macron, Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Spain’s PM Pedro Sanchez and Portugal’s PM Luis Montenegro. Sanchez belongs to the left, Meloni to the right and Macron and Montenegro are conservative-leaning centrists. But while their politics vary, they all face mounting unrest because of soaring costs of living.

Are they out of touch with the experiences and sentiments of youth in their countries? Al Jazeera visualises how prices, wages, housing and education have changed in France, Italy, Spain and Portugal over the past ۲۶ years, from when Macron, Meloni, Sanchez and Montenegro were in their ۲۰s, much like many of the protesters angry with them.

How much more expensive is it compared to ۲۰۰۰?

The prices paid for everyday items such as food, energy, transport and bills have risen by between ۵۹ and ۷۸ percent since ۲۰۰۰ in France, Italy, Spain and Portugal, according to Eurostat – the European Union’s statistics agency. Its harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP) is the EU’s official measure of how much everyday goods and services cost.

Spain recorded the steepest increase at ۷۸ percent, followed by Portugal at ۷۱ percent, ۶۸ percent in Italy and France at ۵۹ percent.

That means goods and services that cost ۱۰۰ euros ($۱۱۲) in ۲۰۰۰ now cost about ۱۷۸ euros ($۲۰۰) in Spain, ۱۷۱ euros ($۱۹۲) in Portugal, ۱۶۸ euros ($۱۸۸) in Italy and ۱۵۹ euros ($۱۷۸) in France.

Prices rose by about ۲ percent a year on average, but jumped in ۲۰۲۲, when annual inflation hit ۸.۷ percent in Italy, ۸.۳ percent in Spain, ۸.۱ percent in Portugal and ۵.۹ percent in France, the highest rate in all four countries since at least ۲۰۰۰.

The surge was driven mainly by energy costs, which soared after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February ۲۰۲۲. By October that year, eight months into the war, energy prices across the eurozone were almost ۴۲ percent higher than a year earlier, and food prices were also rising sharply, according to Eurostat.

Between ۲۰۲۱ and ۲۰۲۳, prices increased by ۱۲ to ۱۵ per cent in the four countries. Wages failed to keep up, and because prices do not fall back once inflation eases, many households are still feeling the squeeze today.

How have salaries changed?

Once inflation is taken into account, the average full-time wage in Italy fell by almost ۵ per cent between ۲۰۰۰ and ۲۰۲۵. Over the same period, real wages rose by ۷ per cent in Spain, ۱۱ per cent in France and ۲۰ per cent in Portugal, according to OECD wage data adjusted with Eurostat’s price index.

In Spain most new jobs were in tourism and services, and were often seasonal and poorly paid,  Jaime Velazquez, a journalist in Madrid, told Al Jazeera’s Inside Story.

Julius Fintelmann, cofounder and editor-in-chief of The European Correspondent, said ageing societies were squeezing out opportunities for younger workers, adding that the pay gap between older and younger workers has been widening across high-income economies for decades, so the promise that each generation would be better off than the last no longer holds.

How has the cost of housing changed?

Housing has become harder to afford in all four countries since ۲۰۰۰, according to the OECD’s price-to-income ratio. It provides a broad picture of how house prices have changed relative to incomes over time. When prices rise faster than incomes, the ratio goes up, suggesting homes are becoming less affordable on average.

However, it doesn’t show which households or regions are hit hardest, does not account for mortgage and borrowing costs, and says nothing about the quality of the homes people are paying for.

Spain has seen the biggest change. Its price-to-income ratio is ۵۶ per cent higher than in ۲۰۰۰, even after falling sharply following the ۲۰۰۸ financial crisis.

In France, the ratio is ۳۹ per cent higher than in ۲۰۰۰, though it has eased slightly since peaking in ۲۰۲۲.

Italy is the exception where house prices have broadly kept pace with incomes, leaving the ratio just ۵ per cent higher than in ۲۰۰۰.

Portugal has seen the sharpest change in recent years. Its price-to-income ratio fell steadily for ۱۵ years after ۲۰۰۰, meaning homes became more affordable. But since ۲۰۱۵ the ratio has risen by ۶۷ per cent.

The OECD publishes the price-to-income ratio with ۲۰۱۵ as its reference year. To compare it with the wage and price data in this article, which started in ۲۰۰۰, Al Jazeera has reset the figures so that ۲۰۰۰ = ۱۰۰.

How has state expenditure on education changed?

Education has been at the heart of the unrest in France, where protests began because of overcrowded classrooms and teacher shortages. While in Belgium and Albania, demonstrators have rallied against the rising cost of education and access to universities.

According to the latest data from Eurostat, France’s public spending on education amounts to ۵.۱ per cent of its gross domestic product (GDP) compared to ۵.۶ per cent in ۲۰۰۰.

Italy spent ۴.۴ per cent of its GDP on education compared to ۴ per cent in ۲۰۲۴, Spain spent ۴.۱ per cent in ۲۰۰۰ and the same in ۲۰۲۴. Portugal spent ۴.۸ per cent in ۲۰۰۰ and ۴.۳ per cent in ۲۰۲۴.