Despite producing certain stuff, Spain still imports more than exports, even though it is getting closer these last few years. For example we need to buy loads of energy (not just oil and gas, also electricity produced elsewhere like France), since Spain produces quite little of it. An example with renewable energies, there was a big surge in the establishment of new solar and wind plants which stopped immediately as soon as the government subsidies ended, simply because they became economically unprofitable, and I have heard of people who invested in them and are now regretting it much like with the construction bubble collapse.
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Of course, it's not like Spanish youth is completely innocent. I've read many times that Spain is lacking people with high education. Many kids didn't want to study and finish university and now they are mad there is no job for them.
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That is not entirely true. there are people like that, but there are also lots that go to University and take it as a joke, spending 10+ years in doing a degree. It is uncommon for someone to finish their degree in the 4 years it is supposed to. It is a question about mentality, around 30 years ago it was much worse, then with the coming of democracy (like it or not, it is one currently, not a perfect one, but a democracy nonetheless) the University network was expanded, it was made much more affordable (too much imo) and there have been years when tons of people go there who should not. A lot of people still just go because they can and their parents could not, not because they want to.
Also a lot of the good students leave the country because of better job offers abroad (not just EU, South America too)
I don't know how it compares to Scandinavia, but in the UK everything is about 20-30% more expensive plus the EUR-GBP exchange rate, so around 150% the cost of living in Spain. Salaries are generally higher though, so a much smaller difference when you take that into account. How do Scandinavian salaries relate? After all a better indicator than the absolute cost is imo the ability for families (people) to afford it, which with the unemployment rate increase in Spain has gone down these years.
Also, the official numbers for certain statistics (unemployment for example) are imo inflated by a significant under the radar work environment in Spain that has always existed, but has been accentuated by the lower trust in banks, the government and other things.