According to a report by Barcelona City Council, Barcelona’s GDP has exceeded 100 billion euros for the first time. The city’s economy has grown more than the Catalan and Spanish economies, and now accounts for more than a third of Catalonia’s GDP.

Barcelona’s gross domestic product exceeded 100 billion euros for the first time in 2023. Specifically, GDP stood at 103,589 million, a nominal increase of 9.6% compared to 2022, when it was 94,521 million.

The figure represents more than a third (35.4%) of Catalan GDP and an increase of 2.8% over the previous year, exceeding the growth of Catalonia (2.6%) and Spain (2.5%), according to the latest annual report on Gross Domestic Product published by the Analysis Department of the Municipal Data Office of Barcelona City Council.

The weight of the services sector

This superior recovery of Barcelona’s GDP can be explained by the weight of the services sector in the sectoral structure of the city’s economy, which is much higher than in the country as a whole, unlike industry.

It is an economic activity that accounts for over 90% of its Gross Value Added (GVA), 15 percentage points more than the sector’s weight in the Catalan economy (75.9%). Services as a whole in the Catalan capital represent 42.3% of the sector in Catalonia, with Information and Communications (73.7%), Financial (57.6%), Artistic and Recreational (51%) and Professional (50.7%) activities standing out, with more than 50% of the Principality’s total.

The service activities with the highest GVA volume in Barcelona are trade, transport, hotels, and restaurants (23.6%), Public administration, education, health and social services (18.1%) and professional, scientific and administrative activities (15.2%). These three activities account for almost 60% of the total services sector.

Wages 15% higher in Barcelona

The activities with the highest specialisation values are Telecommunications, computer, and information services (weight in Barcelona 2.2 times more than in Catalonia), Advertising, professional and technical activities (1.9), Artistic, recreational and entertainment activities (1.6), Legal and accounting activities (1.6) and Financial activities (1.6) and Research and development activities (1.6).

Regarding the distribution of GVA between salaried workers and operating surplus (professional and business income) in Barcelona, Salaried Workers’ Remuneration accounts for 59% of GVA, while in Catalonia this figure is 54%. This differential results from both a higher rate of wage-earning in the economy and, above all, wages in Barcelona, which are 15% higher in Barcelona than in Catalonia.

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