Five years of euthanasia in Spain: More people are choosing assisted dying, but the journey is rarely simple

New Ministry of Health figures show 565 people received assisted dying in 2025, with requests rising steadily since the law came into force

Five years ago, Spain became one of a small number of countries in the world to legalise euthanasia. Since then, 1,668 people have chosen to end their lives with medical assistance, and the figures suggest that number will keep growing. But behind every statistic lies a deeply personal story, and the data published this week by the Ministry of Health is a reminder of just how complex and human this issue remains.

In 2025, 565 people received assisted dying in Spain, equivalent to one in every 750 deaths, or 0.13% of total mortality. A total of 1,284 new applications were registered during the year, bringing the cumulative total since 2021 to 3,716. Almost half of all completed applications, 47.7%, resulted in the service being provided.

The process is not always swift or straightforward. Nearly a third of applicants, 374 people, died during the process before it could be completed, the majority before a formal decision had even been issued. A further 157 applications were denied, representing 13.2% of completed cases, while 91 people revoked their request, a reminder that the law allows time and space for reflection at every stage and that changing one's mind is always an option.

The human reality behind these figures is sometimes harrowing. Noelia, a 25-year-old woman left paralysed following a gang rape, had to fight through five separate court hearings after her own father legally challenged her right to die, before finally receiving euthanasia in Barcelona in March on her own terms. More recently, Spain's Supreme Court ruled that close family members do have the right to request a judicial review of an approved euthanasia decision, a landmark judgment that is likely to shape how the law is applied in future cases.

The 2025 data also reveals some interesting patterns in who is applying and why. Cancer accounts for the largest share of initial applications at 37%, but neurological diseases are actually the leading condition among those who ultimately receive the benefit, at 46%. Of those who received assisted dying, 83.9% were over 60, with just over half choosing to die in hospital, 35% at home and 14% in long-term care.

Catalonia recorded the highest regional rate of requests at 6.14 per 100,000 inhabitants, well above the national average of 2.61, followed by Navarre and the Basque Country.

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