The Alicante region has not suffered a drop in overall wealth; rather, others managed to perform better or received more state assistance. On Thursday, Ineca labeled Alicante as the third frontier in Spain for losing GDP per capita since 2000, trailing only Las Palmas and Melilla in the decline.
This assessment came from the director of studies at the Alicante think tank, Francisco Llopis, along with the organization’s president, Nacho Amirola, and the Working Committee coordinator, Kino Palacion. They pointed to a pattern of diminished competitiveness in the province during the period, driven by chronic underfunding from both central and regional governments, and by evolving regional dynamics.
In concrete terms, Alicante slipped from the 27th position among Spanish provinces for per capita income within the national framework to a much lower ranking, landing at 44th. Las Palmas moved from 16th to 34th, and Melilla from 28th to 46th, each dropping 17 places in this period. The visual trend is clear when looking at the distribution across provinces.
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Despite claiming an in-depth analysis, Ineca’s team highlighted a few persistent patterns. Public investment levels and the resources allocated to different regional governments appear to have shaped regional trajectories, with provinces that boasted more infrastructure generally seeing larger gains in GDP per capita. In Galicia, several provinces stood out as notable risers, with Ourense climbing from 46 to 24 and Lugo rising from 43 to 23. The discussion, however, also noted that Alicante could benefit from more robust investment policies and fairer allocations in the upcoming General Government Budgets.
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In terms of industrial structure, Ineca’s Director of Research pointed to sectoral challenges across the national economy. Even though Alicante’s exports grew by roughly three-quarters from 2000 to 2021, the province has experienced relatively slow growth compared with the rest of the country. Alicante rose to 18th among exporting provinces, up from 10th in the rankings, reflecting a mixed performance in export activity.
Similarly, agricultural output declined in relative standing, moving from 16th place two decades ago to 25th. Industrial production also contracted in absolute terms over the same period. While Alicante had ranked seventh in industrialization two decades ago, it now sits around sixteenth, signaling a long path toward restoring early momentum.
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Even in services, the province saw mixed results. While commercial activity and hotel performance remain strong in certain sub-sectors, overall momentum slowed. Alicante remains at or near the top in some indicators, such as business volume and tourism capacity, yet the broader non-tourism segments lag behind. Within the broader picture, trade, professional services, and activities in health, education, and culture continue to anchor the public service framework that underpins everyday life in the province.
Dimension
Alongside infrastructure shortfalls, the voices from Amirola and Llopis also cited the limited scale of local business activity as a factor dampening regional competitiveness. Encouragingly, there is a positive trend: over the last three years, the average number of employees per Alicante company rose from 7.93 to 8.37, a 5.5 percent increase. This growth, according to Ineca, translates into roughly 8 percent added value to GDP per year as firms expand. Put plainly, larger average firm size is seen as one path toward narrowing the per capita income gap with the national average, which remains higher at about 11 workers per enterprise.
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On the broader situation, the Ineca report notes improvement in most indicators, with employment reaching near-record highs. Yet the think tank cautions about a potential slowdown or even a recession in the coming season, stressing that persistent infrastructure gaps hinder resilience during tougher times. The takeaway emphasizes that targeted investment and policy measures could shift the trajectory toward stronger regional growth.