I am a retired engineer and have lived in Malaga the last 3 years. When I worked in California for a multinational company, my job was in statistics. So when I read the newspaper and read something about statistics, it catches my attention, because I have to admit that everything here is new to me still.

I know that this is a travel site, but I think that the more sophisticated traveler wants to know something more about Spain than where to go and what to eat and what nightclub is hot. That is why I like to publish items of interest to me, to share something that the traveler may not know, something that I did not know.

So here goes:

The newspaper ADN, in the economy section, states that the average monthly salary in Spain is 1686 euros.

However you have to know that in Spain they pay you for 14 months, and not 12. There is one extra payment in June or July, to help you with your vacation. There is another extra payment in December, for your Christmas expenses. Why did we not have this in the USA?

So, doing my calculations, the REAL average monthly salary comes out to be 1967 euros. I multiplied 1686 by 14 and divided the result by 12.

Interesting, isn't it?

For those of you who live in England, Ireland, and the US, I would be interested to know your statistics. Also other countries, because I do not want to leave out anyone. Translate your figures into euros, so that we can all compare!