Almost 2,000 homeless people in Barcelona, 43% increase from 2023

The Barcelona-based Arrels Foundation counted 1,982 people sleeping on the streets after a count conducted during the night of December 3.

A team of around 600 volunteers found 43% more people sleeping on the streets compared to 2023, when there were 1,384 homeless people, the study unveiled on Wednesday shows.

"This is an all-time high figure that shows how important social policies focused on addressing the issue are," the foundation highlighted during a press conference.

Beatriz Fernández, director of the foundation, said that "the figure is on the lower end of the scale. We have counted the number of people that we have seen."

"We are aware that we did not count many people, and that the number would increase. We only counted those we saw thanks to volunteers," she added.

Arrels pointed out that several evictions across the city are also forcing people to sleep on the streets, especially around Sants-Montjuïc. This neighborhood is the one with the highest number of homeless people, with 489, an increase of 134% compared to 2023's 209 people. Eixample follows with 389, up from 302.

This is noticeable, as for the first time, Ciutat Vella is not the area with the highest number of homeless people and now ranks third with 372 people, up from 339 in 2023.

Cèsar Algora, a resident of La Rambla, participated as a volunteer counter for the first time, and told the Catalan News Agency that he sees "many people expelled from the system" on this border between the Raval and the Gothic Quarters.

Algora explained that in the first hour of walking the area, they found seven people; some in small groups, sheltered in boxes with their belongings, and others on benches.

The foundation highlighted that there are some "new dynamics" to homelessness, as many people are getting together and using camping tents. For the first time, volunteers also went to the airport, where they counted 63 people.

For them, the situation has "changed" compared to 2023, as there are "more people" sleeping on the streets, but they are spread out across "different spaces" than in the past. Some of these sites are near Montjuïc mountain or the Zona Franca trade zone, which complicates their day-to-day lives as they spend the night farther from civil society groups and other support.