Spaniards have 400 friends and acquaintances, study reveals

MOST Spaniards know around 400 people, a new report reveals.

The findings from the study published by the La Caixa Social Observatory study found just a tiny percentage of the population count the people they know in dozens, while 2.3 per cent of Spaniards know more than 2,000.

The report takes the individuals a person knows to mean someone’s whole network of social relationships, including family members, friends, workmates, neighbours, teachers and the staff in favourite shops.

The extent of the network depends on various factors, among them gender: according to the study women tend to know less people than men.

Among the other influencing factors are age, level of education and income.

The older a person, the lower their level of studies and the less money they earn the less people they know, the study concluded.

Being an active member of a sports club or some kind of association or organisation can increase the number of people someone can count among their friends or acquaintances by as much as 29 per cent.

The report explained that someone’s circle of family and intimate friends can have a great influence on someone’s life as they offer the most emotional, material and financial support. That said, given the amount of time some spend at work, colleagues can also be an importance source of social support.

The study was based on more than 2,200 interviews with Spaniards aged between 18 and 93.