Einar H. Dyvik
Research expert covering Nordics and global data for society, economy, and politics
GDP in Spain - statistics & facts
The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is one of the most frequently used economic indicators that measures the size of a country’s economy through its production in a given amount of time, usually a year. The GDP comprises all goods and services produced within the national borders regardless of their purpose. It aggregates all private and public consumption, investment, government expenditure and net exports.
In 2024, Spain’s GDP stood at 1,591 billion euros, compared to the previous year this indicates an increase of 93 billion euros and continues the positive trend that has been observed since 2013, only interrupted in 2020. According to this indicator, Spain is the 12th largest economy in the world. Since the GDP is not adjusted for a country’s population size, GDP per capita is better suited for country to country comparisons. Spain’s GDP per capita reached 35,091 US dollars in 2024, and indicates a tumble from the top ranking, far from the value registered in the economies with the largest GDP per capita, such as Luxembourg and Ireland.
In 2024, Spain’s GDP stood at 1,591 billion euros, compared to the previous year this indicates an increase of 93 billion euros and continues the positive trend that has been observed since 2013, only interrupted in 2020. According to this indicator, Spain is the 12th largest economy in the world. Since the GDP is not adjusted for a country’s population size, GDP per capita is better suited for country to country comparisons. Spain’s GDP per capita reached 35,091 US dollars in 2024, and indicates a tumble from the top ranking, far from the value registered in the economies with the largest GDP per capita, such as Luxembourg and Ireland.
North and South
Breaking down the gross domestic product into sectors and regions provides a more concise picture of the Spanish economy. In the Community of Madrid and the Basque Country, the GDP per capita is approximately 80 percent higher than that of Andalusia and the Canary Islands. Except for the Community of Madrid and the Balearic Islands, all the autonomous communities whose GDP per capita was above the national average were located in the North. Furthermore, Andalusia, Aragon, Extremadura, and Castile - La Mancha are the regions where the primary sector represented the largest share of the GDP, with a shares higher than five percent each. Despite the progressive downturn in the secondary sector, the industrial activity still accounts for a considerable share of the regional GDP in Navarra, Region of Valencia and the Basque Country.The service sector dominates the Spanish economy
Unlike agriculture and industry, the GDP share of the services sector has been on the rise in recent decades. The tourism and travel sector has become one of the main engines of the of the Spanish economy. In the mid-2010s, travel and tourism’s annual contribution to the national economy exceeded 240 million euros, and made Spain one of the European Union countries with the largest GDP share of the tourism sector. With the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, tourism collapsed, and the Mediterranean country's economy was badly affected. The National Statistics Institute of Spain announced that the Spanish GDP fell 10.2 percent on 2020, thus exceeding any fall experienced by the GDP during the Great Recession in Spain (2008-2014). By 2021, the tourism sector presented signs of recovery, but it was still far from the pre-pandemic levels of significance. It is forecast that the contribution of tourism to the Spanish economy will equal 2019 values by 2024.
