Catalan economy grows 0.4% in second quarter of 2023

The Catalan economy grew by 0.4% between April and June 2023 compared to the previous quarter, according to data released by the Statistical Institute of Catalonia (Idescat) on Monday morning. 

It means that during the second quarter of the year, Catalan GDP increased seven tenths less than in the first quarter (+1.1%). 

Catalonia's Q2 growth of 0.4% mirrors that of the overall Spanish economy, as published by the Spanish statistics institute INE on Friday. 

Compared to the same period in 2022, when the war in Ukraine broke out, Catalan GDP is up 1.8%, also around the same year-on-year growth as the Spanish economy. 

No recession 

Although the data published on Monday is provisional and has to be confirmed, it shows that Catalonia has, for now, managed to avoid slipping into a recession, a scenario which some some economic forecasters had predicted for the end of 2022 and early 2023. 

By sector, compared to a year ago, industry grew by 2.6% during the second quarter. This contrasts with the data for 2022, when the industrial sector recorded year-on-year declines in all quarters.  

The construction sector rose by 5.2%, one tenth more than Q2 2022. 

Services grew by 1.3% year-on-year, but this was well down compared to 2022 (+9.2%). 

Agriculture declined for the seventh quarter in a row, with a year-on-year fall of 3.3%.