The latest technical report prepared by the Municipal Data Office of Barcelona City Council completely contradicts the perceptions and opinions that the Catalan capital is experiencing a period of lack of economic dynamism. According to the document that has just been made public, the gross domestic product (GDP) of the Catalan capital exceeded 100,000 million euros in 2023, for the first time in the history of the city.
The report, which has been drawn up from different statistical sources, puts Barcelona’s GDP at 103,589 million euros, with a nominal increase compared to 2022 of 9.6%. The value achieved in 2023 exceeds the pre-pandemic GDP by 18% in nominal terms. The latest data indicate, on the other hand, that the weight of the municipality of Barcelona in the Catalan economy is already more than a third, in particular it represents 35.4% of the Catalan GDP.
The economic study corresponding to 2023 indicates that the activities with the highest volume of gross added value (GVA) in the local economy are, in that order, those related to trade, transport and hospitality; public administration, education, health and social services, and thirdly, professional, scientific and administrative. The service sector accounts for 90% of Barcelona’s GVA and is responsible for 96% of last year’s global growth.
The report of the analysis department of the Municipal Data Office also indicates that in 2023 the GDP of Barcelona maintained the growth of the previous years, although it maintained it in a more moderate way, with a increase in volume of 2.8% compared to 2022. It should be remembered that Barcelona’s GDP suffered in 2020, as a result of the crisis arising from the pandemic, a very strong drop of 12.2%, from which the following years, 3.1% in 2021 and, above all, 9.5% in 2022, the year of full recovery. This 2.8% increase in GDP is in line with the progress of the Catalan and Spanish economies, which last year recorded increases only slightly lower than those of Barcelona, ??of 2.6% and 2.5 %, respectively.
Not all economic sectors observe the same behavior. Thus, while services increase their VAB by 3.3%, and industry by 2.1%, construction shows a certain stagnation, with an interannual rate of 0.9%. The branches of service activities also register a diverse evolution during 2023. The information and communication and the artistic and recreational sectors stand out, with positive rates of 9% and 8.8%, respectively.
On the contrary, the subsector with a more negative dynamic is real estate, with a negative rate compared to the previous year of 2.4%. Data like these are what the government of Mayor Jaume Collboni is using as an argument to propose a review of the regulations that require 30% of new residential developments and major renovations to be allocated to social housing.
The report by the City Council’s data analysts notes a great difference between the productive structure of Catalonia and that of Barcelona. Although the services sector is predominant in both areas, there is a margin of 15 percentage points in favor of services in Barcelona. On the other hand, the weight of industry in the city is almost 13 points lower than that of this sector in Catalonia as a whole. Construction is also lower in Barcelona, ??but only 1.2%.
