Malaga now cremates 80% of its dead: a major shift in funeral customs

The tradition of honouring the dead by bringing flowers to cemeteries, especially on 1 November, may have its days numbered, at least in Malaga province. Cremation is gaining ground over burial by leaps and bounds and, in a few years' time, burials may well be the exception to the rule. This change in trend is happening all over Spain, but at different speeds depending on the area: it is not only the size of the population that has an influence, but also the demographic composition and whether the area is urban, coastal or rural.

In Malaga city, several factors are converging to make it a pioneer in this change in funeral customs: some 85% of the city's deceased are cremated, a significant difference when compared to the national average, which is still less than 50% (around 45%, according to the latest report by the funeral parlour employers' association, Panasef).

So far this year Parcemasa (the public company that manages the cemeteries of Malaga city) has carried out 3,576 cremations and 633 burials, according to data supplied by the city council. The proportion of cremations has increased slightly compared to last year, when it was 84.4%.

This proportion is similar to that reported by Panasef, which places Malaga as the Spanish province with the highest volume of cremations compared to burials. "On a national level, burials still outnumber cremations but the trend is clear: there is a boom in cremation. It is already the dominant option in the provincial capitals and Malaga is one of the cities where this trend is most strongly reflected," said its secretary general, Alejandro Quinzán.

Why is this happening? For Alejandro Quinzán, there are several factors that explain this greater preference for cremation in Malaga, but the main one is the large foreign population on the Costa del Sol.

"Many people of other nationalities die and their preference in almost 100% of cases is for cremation due to the ease of repatriation," he explained.

According to the INE (Spain's national statistics institute), in 2022 around 12% of the deaths registered in Malaga were of foreign nationals. This international component of the demand for funeral services is reflected in the existence of a number of companies specialising in the repatriation of corpses. "Where these companies have the most work is on the Costa del Sol," said Quinzán.

Moving a corpse to another country without cremation is very costly, both in economic and bureaucratic terms. In the face of this, cremation is the simplest option, since the urn with the ashes of the loved one can be transported inside the aircraft cabin, "as though it were hand luggage", said Quinzán.

Malaga is also influenced by the small size of the rural population compared to those living in the provincial capital and on the coast. Burials continue to be the dominant tradition in the villages, but in the towns and cities they are already in the minority.

Panasef's representative rules out money as a reason for this switch to cremation, except in the case of foreigners. "The difference in price between burial and cremation is not significant," he said. According to Parcemasa's prices, burial in a standard cemetery niche has a starting price of 249 euros, while cremation of a corpse costs 489 euros (a whole series of additional services must be added to these prices). "The biggest advantage is that they have more freedom when deciding what to do with the ashes: put them in a columbarium, keep them at home or scatter them somewhere," Quinzán said.

So here is a growing business opportunity: the creation of natural spaces where, for a fee, families can deposit the ashes of their loved ones. Parcemasa, for example, set up a garden of remembrance, a "space where families can choose a tree from among existing or newly planted trees, and deposit the ashes of their loved one". The cost: 1,800 if the tree is new or 1,000 euros if it already exists. To this must be added 20 euros per year for maintenance and 150 euros for registration if desired. There are already around 500 sets of ashes resting in this place. The most popular type of tree chosen, by the way, is the olive tree.

The latest report from Panasef also highlights another trend: secular ceremonies are gradually gaining ground against religious ceremonies, although the latter are still very much in the majority (present in 84% of funeral services last year). In Malaga city civil funerals are even more of a minority: in Parcemasa only 37 have been held so far this year, barely 1% of the total number of funerals.

However, Quinzán anticipates that this format for ceremonies is clearly on the up in the larger cities, bringing us closer to the Anglo-Saxon model. "There is a growing demand for increasingly personalised ceremonies, where the favourite music of the deceased is played, their loved ones say a few words and a celebration of what their life was like is held", he explained.

This has led to the emergence of a new profession within the funeral trade: the master of ceremonies, the person who officiates at these secular tributes. "More and more people are writing down what they want their farewell to be like," he stated. Traditional rites are also changing: in urban areas, for example, the custom of holding an all-night vigil (wake) for the deceased is gradually being lost.

There is one very Spanish funeral tradition that is still very much alive and well: that of funeral insurance, or insurance for the dead, as it is popularly known. "They are unique to our country: they do not exist in other places," said Quinzán, who states that 70% of the funeral services provided in Spain are covered by a death insurance policy.

Quinzán went on to mention the economic impact of his industry sector, with a turnover of almost 1.68 billion euros in Spain in 2023 and almost 13,000 employees. "We are a sector that works in a very discreet way, but we are there, creating very stable employment."

Perhaps the one thing that truly characterises the funeral business is its stability: there is nothing more certain in life than death. Of course, over the course of the year there are fluctuations in the trade marked by the periods of greatest mortality, already well studied: between January and February, due to the flu, and in summer when there are heatwaves.