Cantabria

• In terms of GDP, Cantabria is the region with the second lowest GDP in the country, standing at 17.6 billion euros, 1.1% of the national total.
• With just over 593,000 inhabitants (1.2% of Spain’s total population), it also ranks second to last in demographic terms. It is one of the oldest regions (24.5% of people are over 65 years old vs. 20.7% on average) and has one of the smallest foreign populations (7.6% vs. 13.8%).
• Its GDP per capita stands at 29,791 euros, 8.7% below the Spanish average. It has dropped slightly further below the average in recent years, due to poor economic growth and a population that is barely increasing.
• In its productive sectors, it is notable for the relative importance of its extractive industry (4.8% vs. the national average of 4.2%) and, in particular, manufacturing (16.8% vs. 11.9%). However, industry-related services account for a far smaller percentage (26.0% vs. 29.7%), as does agriculture (1.3% vs. 2.7%).
• This region is not highly export-oriented: exports of goods account for 19.6% of regional GDP, almost 5 points below the national average. In 2024, Cantabria exported goods worth 3.449 billion euros, representing 0.9% of Spanish exports. The main products exported are iron and steel (14.6% of the total), chemical products (13.5%) and electrical appliances (8.7%).

According to CaixaBank Research estimates, Cantabria’s GDP will grow by 2.6% in 2025, slightly less than the Spanish economy (2.9%). Poor-performing industry and exports and the sluggishness of its main trading partners stand in stark contrast to buoyant consumption, tourism and construction.

For 2026, our forecasts indicate that Cantabria’s GDP will grow by 2.0% (2.1% in Spain). We expect a further roll-out of NGEU funds to support industrial recovery and modernisation, while household spending will be boosted by a rise in incomes, against a backdrop of high savings and easing inflation and interest rates. Any upturn in exports will be constrained by ongoing political and trade uncertainty in Europe. The challenges facing Cantabria include its ageing population and the need to improve its infrastructures to increase its competitiveness and attract investment.

Cantabria’s labour market is not performing as well as Spain as a whole: the number of registered workers affiliated to Social Security rose by 1.6% in 2024 (vs. 2.4% in Spain) and, once again, by 1.6% year-on-year in October 2025 (vs. 2.4%); over the last year, job creation in education, transportation and, above all, information and communications has been outstanding, while there have been job losses in agriculture. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate is among the lowest in the country: 7.6% in Q3 2025, 3 points below the average.

In terms of consumption, Cantabria is among the best performing regions. After growing by 2.9% last year (vs. 2.1% on average), the volume of sales of retail and consumer goods picked up sharply in 2025 with growth rates among the highest of all regions, 5.1% year-on-year up to October (vs. 3.9%). Passenger car registrations are also performing very well, rising by 8.5% in 2024 (vs. 7.1% on average) and 23.6% year-on-year in January-October 2025 (vs. 14.9%).

Cantabria’s industrial production is suffering a prolonged downturn, with four consecutive years of decline. After the fall recorded in 2024 (–3.9% versus a slight rise of 0.7% across Spain), this year the downturn has eased, with a 0.5% fall year-on-year up to September (1.1% in the country as a whole), hampered by most sectors performing poorly, especially the energy products sector; on a positive note, capital goods are performing well.

The region’s strong figures for goods exports in 2024, with a 2.7% increase (vs. 0.2% in Spain), have not been sustained in 2025, with one of the sharpest declines of all regions in January-September, down 6.6% year-on-year (vs 0.5%): the strong performance of food sales and the motor vehicle industry were largely offset by the sharp decline in semi-finished goods (especially iron, steel and chemical products) and capital goods (in particular engines and electrical appliances).