The eternal promise of 25% of GDP in industry

Barcelona“Industry must reach 25% of GDP". It has been more than a decade since different Catalan executives have set out to boost the country's industrial sector again. The data, however, indicate that far from achieving the expected growth, the weight of industry in our economy is stagnant: since the beginning of the great crisis of 2008, its contribution has remained around 17% of the total. The last major effort, in fact, was staged this past week. On Monday, Salvador Illa and Miquel Sàmper, along with employers' associations and unions, sealed the new National Pact for Industry (PNI), which foresees investing a minimum of 4,463 million euros in the sector in the next four years.

This week's agreement is not a new initiative: in 2014, in the midst of the Process, the then President of the Generalitat, Artur Mas, and the Minister of Business, Felip Puig, convened nearly 2,000 entrepreneurs in an event that was to serve to demonstrate their commitment to the sector. It had just been shown that the most industrialized European countries had managed to withstand the crisis better, while here construction and services had gained ground. "We have realized that we need industry and we have paid dearly for the mistake," said Puig, who set the goal for the sector to reach 25% of GDP.

Three years later, in 2017, the first PNI was signed—in which 1,835 million euros were budgeted, of which 1,668 were executed—, an agreement that was repeated in 2022, when it was decided to allocate 2,817 million euros to it, expandable to 3,270 million. This year's, which foresees investments until 2030, is the one that plans to mobilize the most money and considers the option of being able to be extended up to, "at least", 5,000 million. For the first time, the pact includes the food industry, one of the most powerful in Catalonia, despite criticism for its low productivity.

A stagnation that goes back a long way

But, really, what has been the impact of these big bets on the industry sector? In 2014, the sector represented 17.7% of the Catalan economy, while in 2025 it accounted for 17.2%. It should be said that, during these years, there have been small upticks that have placed its weight at a maximum of 18.2% in 2015 or 18.1% in 2020, when other sectors were even more affected by the impact of covid. Thus, the figures are far from the share the sector had at the beginning of the century: in 2001, Catalan industry represented 24.3%. On a Spanish scale, the industrial weight is even smaller: during last year, the sector represented 15.1% of the state economy.

In absolute terms, however, the data do show a change in trend in recent years: while from 2000 to 2014 the monetary value of goods and services produced in Catalonia only grew from 31,331 million to 36,460 million, since then the increase has soared to 57,511 million in 2025. Thus, since 2014, industrial GDP would have increased by 57.7%, while in the first 14 years of the century it only grew by 16.4%. The progression accelerates significantly from 2020 onwards. This increase, however, is not reflected in the total because the rest of the economy is also growing to a greater extent.

A new scenario

Nissan's departure from Catalonia, which was the thirteenth industry that contributed most to the Catalan economyJosep Maria Vall, in an interview with ARA, those specializing in combustion engine parts —which are the majority— will have to reinvent themselves towards the needs of electric vehicles. In recent years, the sector has also experienced the departure of Nissan from Catalonia, which was the thirteenth industry that contributed the most to the Catalan economy.

Furthermore, the current geopolitical context has led Europe to seek industrial sovereignty to avoid dependence on foreign imports. And Catalan and Spanish administrations are determined to incentivize the defense and security sector, an industry that until now was largely unknown in the territory. This commitment, which is accompanied by aid for many companies, aims to promote dual-use technologies that allow industrial producers to manufacture for defense while continuing with their usual work.

In recent months, moreover, new technologies have also appeared on the playing field. The Catalan government has shown its determination to try to become a player in chips, artificial intelligence (AI), and cybersecurity. For now, Catalonia hopes that Europe will choose Móra la Nova (Ribera d'Ebre) as one of the locations to establish an AI gigafactory. In the territory, the presence of the chemical and pharmaceutical industries also stands out, two very productive types of industries.