Press room

How many people sleep on the street?

In general, we don’t have exact or updated data that allows us to evaluate the whole problem.

• In Barcelona we know how many rough sleepers there are as we conduct counts regularly. In the last one, held in December 2023, we counted 1,384 people.

• In Catalonia we do not have an exact number. The most recent data is from 2017, provided by the Estratègia integral per a l’abordatge del sensellarisme a Catalunya; which calculates some 5,571 people living on the street or in shelters. This data only accounts for the people who have used public services. Counts are not conducted in every muncipality.

• The Spanish State obtains data every two years from the Instituto Nacional de Estadística (National Statistics Institute). However, this data only counts people who use lodging and dining facilities and excludes other people who sleep on the street and do not use these services. Keep in mind that counts are not conducted in every municipality.

• In the European Union, there are no common standards across the different countries for counting how many people sleep on the street and do not have homes, nor is there a total figure for the number of homeless people in the EU.

Visit our website to learn more about the problem of homelessness and better understand the situations of the people who live in the street in Barcelona.

What does Arrels do ?

Since 1987, we have helped and guided homeless people who live on the streets of Barcelona. In 2023, we attended to 3,290 people, of whom 1,453 were attended to for the first time.

• The street team visited 796 people who sleep on the street.
• We have secured housing for 267 people in different housing resources.
• 2,730 people visited the Open Centre looking for guidance, services or shelter.
• We remembered 66 homeless people who left us, together with other entities and services in the city.