Catalonia narrows its GDP gap with Madrid while maintaining the top share in Spain’s total wealth
Catalonia is reducing the gap with the Community of Madrid in terms of gross domestic product, and new figures reaffirm that Catalonia still holds the largest slice of Spain’s overall wealth. INE data show Catalonia remained first, representing a sizable portion of the national economy.
Last year, Catalonia grew by 5.8 percent, while Madrid expanded by 5.4 percent. As a result, Catalonia accounted for 19% of Spain’s total GDP, valued at 229,418 million euros. Madrid’s share edged down from 19.5% in 2020 to 19.4% in 2021, with a recorded value of 234,639 million according to INE data.
Bank of Spain foresees GDP rising modestly in the fourth quarter
At the level of autonomous communities, the strongest growth occurred in the Balearic Islands with 10.7%, followed by the Canary Islands at 7%. Both regions benefited from a rebound in tourism after pandemic-related restrictions eased. Navarra stood third with a growth rate of 5.9% in the previous year.
Regions with the lowest GDP variation were Ceuta (4.0%), Melilla (4.1%), and Castilla y León (4.3%).
Current income and disposable resources
INE regional accounting shows that households in the Basque Country had the highest average disposable income per person in 2020, at 20,479 euros, roughly 29.5% above the national average. Conversely, the Canary Islands reported the lowest gross disposable income per capita at 12,410 euros, about 21.5% below the national average.
In 2021, Madrid led with the highest GDP per capita at 34,821 euros, followed by the Basque Country at 32,925 and Navarra at 31,024. Catalonia ranked fourth with 29,942 euros. The regions with the lowest GDP per capita were Andalusia at 18,906 euros, the Canary Islands at 18,990, and Extremadura at 19,072. The national average stood at 25,498 euros while the European Union average was 32,430 euros.
In relative terms, the Madrid region posted a GDP per capita that was 36.6% above the national average in 2021. The Basque Country’s figure was 29.1% higher, and Navarra’s 21.7% higher. By contrast, Andalusia’s GDP per capita lagged 25.9% behind the national figure, while the Canary Islands and Extremadura were 25.5% and 25.2% below the national average, respectively, according to INE data.