GDP rose by 0.6% in the last quarter, allowing for a stable job market which can be linked to a stretched out tourism season
Spain’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 2.5% last year despite the onslaught of inflation and the interest rate hike.
The figure is slightly above government forecasts and those of the Bank of Spain, the OECD and the European Commission, whose estimates were several tenths of a percentage point lower. Last year was marked by high inflation — albeit at more moderate levels than in 2022 — and rising interest rates, which made mortgages more expensive.
But despite these hurdles, economic growth has now risen in its third consecutive year, although last year’s was the most moderate increase of that period: in 2021, GDP rose by 6.4%; in 2022 it grew by 5.8%; and last year by 2.5%. These three years of growth follow the 11.2% plunge in 2020 as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. By the end of 2023, GDP is already almost 3% higher than pre-pandemic. GDP at current prices stands at 1,462 billion euros, 8.6% higher than in 2022.
