Researchers in Economic History have traditionally used income per person as a measure of welfare. Due to the limitations of this indicator, recent investigations have extended the measurement of welfare to alternative indicators. Following this Une of investigation, this article compares four welfare indicators for Spain (income per person, Human Development Index, Physical Quality of Life Index and stature). Two of these indicators (HDI and PQLI) have been novelty constructed for Spain. The overall evidence suggests some hypothesis to be contrasted by future research, as some unresolved puzzles remain.