Cancer now leading cause of death in Spain as interest in charitable wills soars

Published on

04/08/2026 - 15:43 GMT+2

Cancer has become the leading cause of death in Spain and, at the same time, more and more people are choosing to leave part of their estate to fund cancer research. The CRIS Contra el Cáncer foundation says interest in charitable wills grew by 49% in 2025 compared with the previous year, a trend that has almost quintupled over the past five years.

This increase comes amid a boom in this form of giving in Spain. According to data from the Haz Testamento Solidario platform, 2025 saw a record 9,413 people express an interest in this type of legacy. In the same year, participating organisations received 548 charitable wills, with a combined value of close to 50 million euros.

The foundation sets this growth against a backdrop in which cancer has firmly established itself as the main cause of death in Spain. According to the latest data from the National Statistics Institute (INE), the disease accounts for 26.3% of all deaths and has been the leading cause of mortality in the country for three years in a row.