Services and tourism maintain the growth of the Catalan economy

BarcelonaThe Catalan economy maintained growth figures above the European average in the first quarter of this year, thanks above all to the consumption of foreign tourists and the strength of the services sector. The outbreak of the war in Iran, therefore, did not have a very strong initial impact on the country's economic activity.

Thus, Catalan gross domestic product (GDP, the indicator that measures the size of an economy) grew between January and March by 0.6%, placing it 2.9% above the levels of the same period in 2025, according to figures published this Monday by Idescat, the statistical agency of the Generalitat, which thus confirms the data advanced at the beginning of May. Thus, the Catalan economy maintains—as it has for the last three years—a growth rate much higher than the average for euro zone countries, where in the first quarter GDP increased by 0.2% compared to the previous quarter and 0.3% annually.