The surprising growth data for Catalonia in the fourth quarter of last year (0.7%) and in 2023 as a whole (2.6%) has consolidated the best evolution of its economy compared to Spain, Germany and the euro zone as a whole since before the start of the pandemic. As can be seen in the graph, in the period from the fourth quarter of 2019 (just before the covid epidemic broke out) until the fourth quarter of last year, the Catalan economy advanced a cumulative 3.4% compared to the 0.1% from Germany, 2.9% from Spain or 3% from the euro zone.
“That Catalonia advances more than Spain is normal in times of growth or regeneration, since the community's economy, being more open to the outside, recovers more strongly,” reflects the director of the studies service of the Chamber of Deputies. Comerç de Barcelona, Joan Ramon Rovira. This same effect leads the Catalan economy to also fall more intensely in periods of global contraction.
The evolution of the GDP (everything produced by the economy) of Catalonia beat the forecasts of the analysis houses, especially in the final part of the year and especially in the industrial and tourism sector. Sources from the Economics Department, headed by Natàlia Mas, highlighted that “the industry is growing compared to last year.” In 2023, there was an increase in the sector of 2.8% compared to the fall of 2.0% in the previous year.
Rovira points out that the great driver last year for the Catalan economy was exports. Foreign sales alone in the automobile sector and other transportation materials increased by 49%. The energy industries exported 14.8% more and chemicals and pharmaceutical products, 8.1%. The Catalan economy – like many of its competitors – has benefited from the gradual normalization of supply chains and also from the reduction in energy costs.
On the other hand, Germany – which has practically kept its growth flat between 2019 and 2023 – has not managed to overcome the loss of Russian gas after the invasion of Ukraine. “What has harmed Germany the most is the shock derived from the war in Ukraine, which has drowned the European country most dependent on gas in Eastern Europe,” reflects the professor of Applied Economics at the UAB Josep Oliver. “The fact that China has grown less has also ended up affecting them, because it is one of Germany's main markets,” he adds.
This weakness of Germany, in any case, does not benefit Catalonia either, since it is one of the main clients of companies in the community, Rovira warns.
When analyzing the global period from 2019 to today, Oliver explains that what has evolved best is the services sector, which has grown strongly. The economist recalls that the weight of this sector in Catalonia is greater than that of the euro zone. Last year, the data on foreign tourism was surprising, which rebounded in the final part of the year. “It is a sector where customers are spending more and more,” they add from the Ministry of Economy.
In 2023, the growth of the Catalan economy was 2.6%, according to Idescat's estimate. This figure is 2.1 points above the forecast for the EU. It is also one tenth higher than the GDP growth in Spain as a whole (2.5%). The first estimates indicate that last year the German economy contracted by 0.3%, while France and Italy experienced a modest growth of 0.9% and 0.7%, respectively.
By sectors, last year in Catalonia there were increases in all areas except agriculture, which for the second year registered a fall, this time of 17.6%. Activity in services increased by 3.1% and in construction, by 2.5%.
