Budget execution in Catalonia in 2022 was 43%, while Spain's average was 73%

Spain allocated only 43% of the planned amount to Catalonia in 2022, well below the national average of 73%.   

For the second year in a row, Catalonia comes last among Spain's Autonomous Communities in terms of the budget it receives compared to its planned allocation.  

Based on these updated figures, Spain's accumulated underinvestment in Catalonia from 2015 to 2022 is now €5 billion.

The figures were calculated by the Chamber of Commerce of Barcelona using figures from the General Intervention of the Spanish Administration (IGAE), which the government no longer publishes.

The report highlights "the underinvestment suffered by Catalonia" and emphasizes "the enormous discrepancy between the investments planned and those actually carried out".  

While the report says that a direct comparison with the Madrid region is not possible due to a lack of data, some newspapers indicate that Madrid received 179% of its allocated budget.  

The last available comparison between Catalonia and Madrid for a full year is from 2021, when Catalonia received only 35% of its budget while Madrid received 184%.

"Catalonia is one of the highest contributors, but is at the bottom of the list when it comes to receiving funds. This is totally unacceptable and we need major changes," Catalan president Pere Aragonès said. 

Catalonia receives only 16% in first half of 2023

The Spanish government spent only 16% of the budget allocated to Catalonia in the first six months of 2023, according to the IGAE report, first published by the Ara newspaper.  

Although Catalonia was allocated €2.28 billion in the budget for the first half of 2023, only €370 million was spent. This puts Catalonia at the bottom of the list of Spanish regions in terms of budget execution, just ahead of Cantabria.  

Madrid and La Rioja lead among Spanish regions with 52.7% of allocated funds executed, followed by the Balearic Islands (47.3%), Navarre (43.4%) and Extremadura (42.9%). Closing the list with lower budget execution are the Canary Islands (19.4%), Catalonia (16.3%) and Cantabria (15.2%).