• Catalonia is the region with the second-highest GDP, after Madrid, accounting for 18.8% of Spain’s total GDP.
• With a population of 8.1 million inhabitants (16.5% of the Spanish population), it is also the second-largest region in demographic terms, after Andalusia. It is one of the regions with the highest proportion of foreign residents: 18.6% of the total population, compared to 13.8% in the country as a whole.
• GDP per capita stands at 35,325 euros, the fourth highest in the country and 14.1% above the average.
• Catalonia has a highly diversified production sector, although it is most notable for the relative importance of its manufacturing industry (15.5% of GDP vs. 11.9% on average across Spain); in contrast, agriculture only accounts for 0.9% (vs. 2.7%).
• It is highly export-oriented, with goods exports accounting for 35.7% of GDP, 10 points above the average, and it is the region with the highest volume of exports: 100.133 billion euros in 2024, 26.0% of the total. The leading export sectors are chemical products (30.5% of the total) − above all medicine − motor vehicle industry products (14.5%) and textile products (5.9%): the region accounts for almost 49% of Spanish exports of chemical products, 40% of its meat and around 30% of its products from the motor vehicle industry, textile products and industrial machinery. Moreover, it is the region with the highest revenues from international tourism, standing at almost 20 billion euros in 2024 (21% of the total).

The Catalan economy is highly buoyant. At CaixaBank Research, we estimate that GDP grew by 3.3% in 2024 (3.2% in Spain), thanks to the upturn in employment and tourism, against a backdrop of strong population growth, as it is one of the regions with the fastest-growing populations in recent years: 1.3% in 2024 and 5.2% since 2019 (0.9% and 3.7% in Spain). Construction also performed well and industry and agriculture recovered strongly after a sharp downturn in 2022-2023.

Catalonia will continue to grow at an above-average rate in 2025, albeit at a subdued pace: we forecast GDP growth of 2.5% (2.4% in Spain). We expect investment to gather pace, due to improving financing conditions and the further disbursement of NGEU funds. Therefore, thanks to its highly diversified production sector, the region is better placed to take advantage of these funds.

The Catalonian labour market is performing extremely well, similar to the country as a whole: the number of registered workers affiliated to Social Security rose by 2.4% in 2024, the same rate as in Spain, while in June this year it rose by slightly less, 1.9% year-on-year (vs. 2.2%); over the last year, employment in professional activities, healthcare and, above all, transport has risen sharply. As for the unemployment rate, in Q1 2025 it stood at 8.9%, far below the Spanish average (11.4%).

Consumption remains buoyant, thanks to easing inflation, an increase in job creation and rising wages. The volume of sales of retail and consumer goods rose by 2.3% in 2024 (2.1% in Spain) and picked up speed in the early months of 2025 (2.6% year-on-year up to May vs 3.0%). In turn, after a modest increase in 2024 (2.6% vs. 7.1% on average), passenger car registrations surged in the first half of 2025 (12.9% year-on-year vs. 13.9%).

Amid falling orders and sluggish foreign demand, industrial production practically stagnated in 2022-2023, hit by a poorly performing motor vehicle industry. However, electrical equipment, pharmaceuticals and the food industry showed a more positive trend. The tables were turned last year and the IPI rose by 3.4%, the highest increase of all regions (0.7% for the country as a whole), but 2025 has started with a sharp downturn (−1.8% year-on-year up to April vs. −0.3%).

There was a slight decline in exports of goods in 2024 (–0.5% vs. 0.2% in Spain), hampered by sluggish European demand. There was a sharp fall in sales of energy products – hit by lower prices –, industrial machinery and, above all, products from the motor vehicle industry, whereas sales of food and chemical products rose. In January-April 2025 they improved: 1.2% year-on-year (vs 0.8%). Tourism continued to make steady progress in 2024, although it was slightly below the average: the number of overnight stays rose by 3.6% (vs 4.4%) and the number of foreign visitors increased by 9.7% (vs 10.1%). In January-May 2025, there was a fall in the number of overnight stays (–1.3% year-on-year vs 0.5%), although the number of tourist arrivals continues to break records (2.2% vs. 5.5%).