• Castile and León’s GDP accounts for 4.6% of the national total, ranking it seventh among all Spanish regions.
• In terms of its population, with almost 2.4 million inhabitants – 4.9% of the total – it is the sixth most highly populated region. It is the second oldest region, as 27.6% of its population is over 65 years old (21.1% on average nationwide) and it has one of the smallest foreign populations (8.8% of the total vs. 14.4%).
• Its GDP per capita stands at 30,887 euros, 5.4% below the Spanish average. The region has been catching up in recent years, against a backdrop of demographic stagnation and modest economic growth.
• In terms of its productive sectors, Castile and León is notable for the relative importance of agriculture (5.4% vs. 3.0% in Spain), the extractive industry (5.2% vs. 3.7%) and manufacturing (16.2% vs. 11.9%), where the agri-food, motor vehicle and chemical/pharmaceutical industries are particularly prominent. However, the share is lower in trade, transportation, hotels and restaurants, and leisure (24.7% vs. 28.1%) and industry-related services (22.2% vs. 30.2%).
• In recent years, the region has become increasingly export-oriented and the proportion of goods exports relative to GDP exceeds the Spanish average (27.0% vs. 24.1%). In 2025, it exported goods worth 20.054 billion euros, representing 5.2% of all Spanish exports. The leading export sectors are the motor vehicle industry (38.8% of the total), agri-food products (15.9%) and chemical products (9.9%). The region accounts for 45% of the tyres and inner tubes exported by Spain.

According to our estimates, Castile and León’s GDP grew by 2.6% in 2025, slightly less than the Spanish economy (2.8%). Although employment and consumption are growing at a more modest pace, there is a more positive trend in industry and exports, which are mainly being bolstered by a stronger-performing motor vehicle industry.

CaixaBank Research’s forecasts point to Castile and León continuing to grow in 2026, albeit at a slower pace, with GDP growth of 2.0% (2.1% for Spain). Exports and industrial activity could be hit by the weak European economy and the impact of the war in the Middle East. Nevertheless, we expect the strong momentum in motor vehicle industry sales to continue and the accelerated roll-out of NGEU funds to support investment. Notable challenges facing the region include depopulation and an ageing population, which limit the labour supply and domestic demand, making it necessary to boost competitiveness through innovation, digitalisation and larger-scale businesses.

Castile and León’s labour market is slightly less buoyant than it is across the country as a whole. In 2025, the average number of registered workers affiliated to Social Security rose by 1.5% year-on-year (2.3% in Spain), while in April this year the pace picked up slightly to 1.6% year-on-year (vs. 2.4%). On a more positive note, the unemployment rate is below average, standing at 9.0% in Q1 2026, compared with 10.8% across Spain.

Consumption remains somewhat sluggish in the region, in view of the growth of the volume of retail and consumer goods sales. After remaining virtually stagnant between 2021 and 2024, they began to increase last year, growing by 2.9% (4.0% for the country as a whole), a trend that has continued in January-April 2026 (vs. 2.9%). In turn, after average growth in 2025 (12.7% vs. 12.9%), passenger car registrations picked up sharply in January-April 2026 (19.3% year-on-year vs 7.8%), although they remain far below 2019 levels (–19.3% vs. –6.4%).

Castile and León has had the strongest industrial sector of all regions in recent years, having overcome the severe impact of bottlenecks and high energy costs in 2022, partly due to the recovery of the motor vehicle industry. As such, industrial production grew by 6.1% in 2025 (1.3% in Spain) and this positive trend is continuing into 2026, with an 8.1% year-on-year increase up to March (vs. –0.7%), the highest growth of any region.

Exports of goods from Castile and León practically stalled in 2025 – growing by a mere 0.2%, compared with 0.7% for the country as a whole – as the strong performance of sales of consumer goods and, above all, capital goods (particularly engines and transport equipment) was offset by the decline in sales of food (meat, fruit and vegetables) and semi-finished goods (tyres). This year, exports have got off to a better start: based on figures up to March, their growth has picked up significantly, reaching above-average levels (5.3% year-on-year vs. 0.7%).