The Catalan economy grows by 3% during the second quarter

BarcelonaConstruction and services boosted the Catalan economy during the second quarter. Specifically, according to data from the Institute of Statistics of Catalonia (Idescat) published this Friday, gross domestic product (GDP, the indicator that measures the size of an economy) grew by 3% in Catalonia compared to the same period a year ago. The figure places the Catalan economy above the growth experienced in the rest of the State, where GDP increased by 2.7% annually between April and June. The figures are noteworthy amidst a complicated context marked by the effects derived from the war in Iran and, above all, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

By sectors, between March and June, services — which represent almost three-quarters of the country's economic activity — grew above most of the economy, by 3.7% year-on-year, driven by hospitality and restaurants, programming and consultancy activities, and wholesale trade. Construction grew to the same extent, maintaining the good trend of activity in 2025.

In contrast, industry advanced below the Catalan economy, by 1.5% compared to the second quarter of last year, and the same happened with agriculture, which remained practically stable (0.3%). However, the 1.5% growth in industry exceeds the increase recorded in the previous quarter by half a percentage point, a fact that can be attributed to a certain normalization of geopolitical tensions derived from the attack by the United States and Israel at the beginning of the year.

Compared to the first quarter of the year, the Catalan economy grew by 0.7%, according to Idescat data. This places the pace of the Catalan economy in parallel with the Spanish economy, which also grew by 0.7% between April and June compared to the first months of the year. Both the Catalan and the State's GDP, however, were above the European Union average, where activity grew by 0.5%.

It should be noted that the data published this Friday by Idescat are preliminary and that the statistical institute of the Generalitat will confirm them on September 14.