1.7 Funding youth policy
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Instituto de la Juventud de España
Spanish Institute for Youth
C/ José Ortega y Gasset 71
ES-28006 Madrid
Tel: +34 917 827 602
E-Mail:
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How Youth policy is funded
At national level, the Youth Strategy 2022–2030 is implemented through multi-annual Action Plans. The first plan (Plan de Acción 2022-2024) mobilises approximately €33.3 billion across 200 measures, with contributions from several ministries.
Alongside these action-plan funds, youth policy is financed through the ordinary annual budget of the Spanish Youth Institute (INJUVE), which is attached to the Ministry of Youth and Children (MJUI), under the Programme for Youth Promotion and Services.
| Year | Total budget (approx.) | |
| 2025 | 54.2 million Euros | Same as 2024, The State Budget remains extended (presupuesto prorrogado) until the new budget is approved. |
| 2024 | 54.2 million Euros | Maintained from 2023 due to a budget extension. SEPG – PGE 2024 Prorrogado |
| 2023 | 54.9 million Euros | Approved in the Presupuestos Generales del Estado 2023 |
This budget includes expenses of a very diverse nature (personnel, supplies, subsidies, etc.) and therefore it is complex to have an aggregate data of how much of the budget goes to specific programmes. However, approximately €36 million are allocated annually to current transfers from chapter 4 of the General State Budget, that is, directly to programmes and calls for subsidies of various kinds, including Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps.
In addition to INJUVE’s ordinary budget, the programme budgets of the MJUI include funds for Erasmus+ Youth, youth entrepreneurship initiatives, NGO grants, and support to the Spanish Youth Council (CJE) and the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FEMP).
MJUI also operates a Strategic Subsidy Plan 2024-2026 (Plan Estratégico de Subvenciones 2024–2026) which maintains 2023 budget levels as the baseline for 2024 and guides the distribution of national grants to youth organisations and programmes.
What is funded?
The 2022–2024 Action Plan allocates resources across 12 thematic axes. Main funding includes:
| Axis | Approximate Allocation (€) |
| Axis 1: Inclusive, equitable education, training, lifelong learning | 10.36 billion |
| Axis 2: Self-reliance, decent employment & entrepreneurship | 2,58 billion |
| Axis 3: Emancipation, housing, birth rate & life project | 1.09 billion |
| Axis 4: Integral health & quality of life | 553 million |
| Axis 5: Risk of social exclusion / double discrimination | 43.7 million |
| Axis 6: Participation, volunteering, global youth | 32.8 million |
| Axis 7: Youth mobility (emigration & return) | 3 million |
| Axis 8: Rural youth & territorial cohesion | 335 million |
| Axis 9: Knowledge & youth services | 0.45 million |
| Axis 10: Governance & cooperation | 1.88 million |
| Axes 11 & 12 (Young women & equality; Environment & sustainability) | Amounts not disaggregated in the annex |
Source: Annex to the 2024-2024 Youth Action Plan (Plan de Acción de Juventud 2022-2024 - Anexo). The document notes that only those measures with budgeted amounts in 2022 and forecast estimates for 2023–2024 are included in the public annex.
Financial accountability
All youth policy funding is regulated by the General Budget Law (Ley General Presupuestaria 47/2003), ensuring compliance with rules on grants, budgetary stability, and financial sustainability.
It is also regulated by the General Law of Grants is followed (Ley 38/2003, General de Subvenciones), which regulates how subsidies (transfers, grants) are awarded to youth organisations, youth programmes, and NGOs.
Oversight is carried out by the Court of Auditors (Tribunal de Cuentas) for national programmes, and by regional external control bodies (Órganos de Control Externo Autonómicos (OCEX)) for Autonomous Community budgets.
Public audits, performance evaluation, and control mechanisms must identify irregularities,
Use of EU Funds
Spain draws significantly on European Union funding to complement national resources for youth policy.
Erasmus+ Youth (2021–2027) is a key EU programme supporting non-formal education, mobility, volunteering, and participation. The overall EU budget for Erasmus+ is €26.2 billion for 2021–2027, of which around 10 % is earmarked for youth and non-formal learning actions. In Spain, the Spanish Youth Institute (Instituto de la Juventud – INJUVE) acts as the National Agency for Erasmus+ Youth and for the European Solidarity Corps, managing project selection, grants to youth organisations, mobility schemes and volunteering.
In the 2024 state budget, Erasmus+ Youth appears under the Youth Promotion and Service Programme (INJUVE´s budget) within the MJUI, covering administrative management and national co-financing for these EU initiatives.
| Call | Field | Nº projects | Budget |
| Erasmus + 2023 | Youth | 564 | 16 million Euros |
| Erasmus + 2024 | Youth | 548 | 25 million Euros |
Source: Erasmus+ Projects Results Platform. Filtered by projects coordinated by Spanish organizations in the field of youth.
European Solidarity Corps (2021–2027) promotes solidarity activities and volunteering among young people. It is also managed by INJUVE, in coordination with the European Commission and the MJUI. Spain´s 2023 European Solidarity Corps call funded 305 projects and the 2024 call funded 306 projects, according to the ESC Project Results Platform.
Together, Spain’s annual Erasmus+ Youth and Solidarity Corps calls fund hundreds of projects for youth exchanges, volunteering, training courses and partnership building across all Autonomous Communities.
Additionally, the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (PRTR) and NextGenerationEU – although not strictly youth-specific - finance several measures benefiting young people, such as:
- the Youth Housing Voucher (Bono Alquiler Joven) to support emancipation (more information in Chapter 4 Social Inclusion)
- Digitalisation and skills projects for education and employment
- Kental-health and wellbeing programmes targeted at youth.
INJUVE and the MJUI coordinate the use of these EU funds to ensure consistency with the objectives of the Youth Strategy 2022–2030, particularly regarding mobility, participation, and social inclusion