Catalan economy sees annual growth of 2.6% in 2023

Catalonia saw its GDP grow 2.6% in 2023, according to estimated data of the Catalan Statistics Institute (Idescat).

If confirmed, this would be 2.1 points more than the first EU estimate, which was 0.5%, and is one-tenth above the Spanish average (2.5%).

The fourth quarter of 2023 saw growth accelerate, with the year-on-year rate standing at 2.8% for Q4 alone, 0.8 points higher than the Spanish average and 2.6 points above the EU (0.2%).

During the past year, all the major sectors of economic activity showed positive trends except for agriculture. This week, farmers have been protesting across Catalonia and Europe against rising costs, imports from third countries, violations of the law on the food chain, and excessive bureaucracy.

The growth of the Catalan economy slowed down compared to 2022, when growth was recorded at 5.5%, but it was above the estimates from Germany, France, and Italy. 

According to Idescat, the growth is explained largely by the performance of the motor vehicle manufacturing industry, which beat its own sales figures of the last four years. In addition, the positive contribution of the chemical and pharmaceutical industry also helped fuel the GDP growth.

In relation to services, the added value has increased by 3.1% and the increases in activities such as architectural and engineering technical services, retail trade, IT services, legal activities, and air transport stand out.