Imagine if Las Palmas weren’t torpedoing the south of Gran Canaria. Maspalomas registered significant differences in its territorial economic distribution during 2023. Analysis of official data places the Maspalomas district at the top of the municipality in terms of financial capacity, reaching an average household income of €33.877. This figure surpasses the level recorded in district 01 San Fernando, where the average household income stands at €29.448, highlighting an initial wealth gap between the districts of southern Gran Canaria.
The breakdown of microdata by census tracts corroborates this concentration of high incomes in specific areas of the municipality. In the Meloneras area, 11,10% of the total population has income per consumption unit exceeding 200% of the median. Similarly, areas linked to the Maspalomas district through the census tract show that 8,10% of their residents also fall into this upper income bracket.
Despite these internal disparities between districts and sections, the municipality of San Bartolomé de Tirajana as a whole has a Gini Index of 32,72 points, equivalent to a coefficient of 0,327. This statistical indicator measures inequality in income distribution among residents and places the Gran Canaria municipality at a moderate-low level of inequality on a global scale, a result comparable to the standards of developed economies. It is at the same level as economies such as South Korea (32,9), the United Kingdom (32,4), Japan (32,3), and Italy (32,7).
A Gini coefficient in this range is characteristic of environments with established middle classes and developed social protection systems. In international comparison, the most egalitarian nations in the world, such as Slovenia, the Czech Republic, and Iceland, typically have Gini coefficients between 20 and 25.
The score recorded in the southern Gran Canaria tourist municipality aligns directly with the average for European Union member states, whose community indicator typically falls between 30 and 33 points. This contrasts sharply with economies experiencing high structural inequality, where territories in regions such as Latin America or Southern Africa frequently exceed 40 or 50 points on this same wealth distribution metric.
The combination of these indicators paints a unique socioeconomic picture in the main tourist hub of the island’s south coast. On the one hand, the municipality exhibits significant internal contrasts, led by the average income levels in San Fernando and the localized concentrations of high-income residents in areas like Maspalomas and Meloneras, compared to areas such as the Castillo del Romeral district. On the other hand, the overall inequality within the municipality, quantified by a Gini coefficient of 32,72, mirrors the stability and equity parameters typical of the European Union average, deviating from the severe imbalances observed in other parts of the Canary Islands.