Construction 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, the 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 increase experienced in the rest of the State. The numbers are remarkable in a complicated context marked by the effects derived from the war in Iran and, above all, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

The Barcelona Chamber of Commerce has revised its growth forecasts for the Catalan economy upwards, but with caution. With the outbreak of the armed conflict in the Middle East at the beginning of this year, most economic institutions cut their growth forecasts in view of the negative impact the conflict would have on the global economy, but in the end the negative effects have been less severe. Despite this, the head of the entity's studies department, Joan Ramon Rovira, insisted that the international context is "very volatile", which is why forecasts can change rapidly.

Increase productivity. The Government sets this as a priority in order to continue growing the Catalan economy. In the annual report published by the Department of Economy and Finance, the Generalitat points out that "despite the intense process of accumulation of physical capital and labor", the per capita income of the country is growing "more weakly than the European Union average over the last quarter of a century". "This paradox therefore points to an inefficient evolution of productivity", indicates the study, which recognizes that total factor productivity (TFP) – the reference indicator for measuring productivity – "shows a worse trajectory" than that observed in the European Union.

TheFènix Report, prepared by several renowned economists, has opened the debate on whether the Catalan economy is doing well or not. The study has caused controversy due to criticism of some productive sectors such as tourism and the meat industry, which it considers to be indirectly "subsidized", and for criticism of economic growth based on immigration rather than increased productivity of companies and workers.

The large presence of multinationals – particularly, North American pharmaceutical companies – in Ireland's economy inflates the country's weight compared to its European Union partners, to the point that the adaptation of these companies to the tariffs imposed by the United States government has led the entire European economy to register negative growth rates in the first quarter of this year.

The Spanish economy held its ground in the first quarter of this year, despite the negative impact caused by the outbreak of the war in Iran and the consequences on energy markets and international trade. Household spending allowed the gross domestic product (GDP, the indicator that measures the size of an economy) of the State to maintain the good figures of the last three years, according to the National Statistics Institute (INE) reported this Thursday.

Philippe Aghion (Paris, 1956) won last year the Nobel Prize in Economics for his research on the impact of technology and innovation on economic development. Aghion, a professor at the prestigious Collège de France, Insead, and London School of Economics, currently focuses his work on the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in growth and how Europe can improve its policies to reduce dependence on Chinese and American tech giants.

The Spanish economy will maintain a "robust" growth rate despite the conflict in the Middle East and international uncertainty, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD, the institution that groups the world's advanced economies). The economic body has revised its growth forecast for Spain in 2026 upwards by one tenth, to 2.2%, in line with the estimate maintained by the Spanish government.

While the eurozone continues to register an anemic economic growth, Spain remains the major economy that is growing the most. Brussels has improved the State's economic forecasts and estimates that this year it will increase its gross domestic product (GDP, the indicator that measures the size of an economy) by a tenth more than it had predicted, 2.4%. A percentage that far exceeds the average of 0.9% for the countries of the single currency and 1.1% for the European Union as a whole.

The Catalan economy will slow its growth this year, accompanied by an increase in prices, if the armed conflict in the Middle East is maintained or worsens, according to the economic forecasts of the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce.

The positive momentum of the Catalan economy will offset the geopolitical uncertainty caused by the war in Iran and the trade tensions over tariffs from the President of the United States, Donald Trump. According to the latest macroeconomic scenario for Catalonia, published this Monday by the Department of Economy and Finance of the Generalitat, Catalan gross domestic product (GDP, the indicator that measures the size of an economy) will grow by 2.3% in 2026, in line with the forecasts for the Spanish economy and above the main economies of the euro area. Similarly, the Govern expects around 100,000 jobs to be created over the next two years and for the employment rate to fall to 8.3% in 2027.

Catalan economists are currently more concerned about infrastructure than fiscal deficit, according to the winter 2026 Economic Situation Survey by the College of Economists of Catalonia. Problems in the functioning of Rodalies, the derailment that occurred on line R-1 at the beginning of the year, and the fatal accident on R-4 have led to a 13-point increase in the proportion of professionals who warn of the situation and consider it a priority issue to address. This is the opinion of 45.1% of respondents, above the 44.6% for the fiscal deficit with the State, which until now was the main concern of this professional group and has now moved to second place.

The Catalan economy ended 2025 with annual growth of 2.7%, one-tenth of a percentage point lower than the Spanish average, according to data published this Friday by Idescat, the Catalan government's statistical agency. Economic growth, clearly higher than the European average for another year, was driven primarily by business investment and household spending.

Catalonia's economy grew by 2.7% last year, one-tenth of a percentage point less than the Spanish average, but two-tenths of a point above the 2.5% forecast by the Catalan government last October, according to data from the Catalan Institute of Statistics (Idescat). This growth, largely driven by construction in the fourth quarter, exceeds expectations, but represents a significant slowdown compared to the 3.6% projected for 2024, a trend expected to continue in 2026 with a projected growth of 2.1%, according to the Catalan government's estimates. In any case, last year's growth remains well above the European Union (EU) average of 1.6%, and that of the main EU countries such as Germany (0.3%), France (0.9%), and Italy (0.7%), according to Eurostat data.

The Barcelona Chamber of Commerce has described the current collapse of the railway system in Catalonia as a "tragedy" and has harshly criticized both the planning and execution so far of the commuter rail plan for 2020-2030. The Chamber denounced delays of hundreds of millions of euros in both the bidding and execution phases of infrastructure projects, according to business entity Alicia Casart. However, the Chamber's vice president, Miquel Martí, advocated giving "a vote of confidence" to the Ministry and the two state-owned companies that manage the affected infrastructure, Adif and Renfe. Specifically, Casart recalled that, prior to the system collapse two weeks ago, the commuter rail service had suffered from deficiencies for years, to the point that it had become "normal" for "users' patience to be routinely pushed beyond its limits," resulting in a "low quality" of the network. Therefore, she added, the commuter rail plan approved by the Spanish government was intended to "make up for lost time" and "bring the network up to date." This is complemented by the creation of a new mixed operating company with a stake held by the Catalan government (although the State retains a majority stake) and progress in transferring the infrastructure to the Catalan administration. However, the head of infrastructure at the Chamber of Commerce asserted that the plan is experiencing implementation delays, both in the bidding process for construction projects and in their execution. Thus, according to the initial plan, Adif, Renfe, and the Ministry of Transport are €800 million behind schedule. The execution of works and nearly €1 billion more in tenders—a delay that will ultimately penalize future projects as well: "Today's tenders are the news in Barcelona." Casart also criticized the plan's poor planning regarding the necessary actions. Specifically, the plan included a €1.018 billion program for replacing all types of assets on the network and at Renfe, which was progressing at a "fairly good" pace in 2024. However, that same year, the copper theft at Torre Baró triggered "a series of fires that crippled the Rodal network." This incident "set off all the alarms," ​​as it compounded other problems between 2023 and 2025, causing "a range of incidents that could not be explained solely by the volume of renovation work" being carried out on the railway infrastructure.

The Spanish economy accelerated its growth rate during the last three months of 2025, nearly doubling the expected growth rate for the eurozone, according to preliminary data released Friday by the National Statistics Institute (INE). This placed Spain among the leading growth countries in the European Union for another quarter. Meanwhile, the cost of living for families moderated in January after three consecutive months of price increases.

The US economy continues to grow at a strong pace. US gross domestic product (GDP, the indicator that measures economic activity) grew by 1.1% in the third quarter of 2025 compared to the previous three months, according to the second estimate published by the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the US Department of Commerce. Meanwhile, Germany, Europe's largest economy, confirmed its return to growth, closing the last three months of last year with quarterly growth of 0.2%. In annualized figures, US GDP growth was 4.4%, six-tenths of a percentage point higher and the best figure in two years. This also represents a significant improvement over the 0.6% decline observed at the beginning of 2025, when US GDP fell for the first time since early 2022. The increase in real GDP in the third quarter reflected increases in consumer spending and exports. Imports, which are subtracted from GDP calculations, decreased. Compared to the second quarter, household spending accelerated, and investment, exports, and government spending rebounded, while imports declined less in the third quarter than in the second.

The German economy, the largest in Europe, left behind the recession in 2025 and recovered growth after two consecutive years of declining economic activity.

The global economy is proving to be "more resilient than anticipated," despite persistent trade tensions and political uncertainty, according to the World Bank, which has revised its growth forecasts upward for this year and next to 2.6% and 2.7%, respectively, after substantially improving its forecast for the current year. The organization's new projections, while implying a slight slowdown this year compared to the 2.7% growth rate projected for 2025, also represent a two-tenths of a percentage point improvement compared to the June forecast for 2026. Furthermore, the forecast for 2020-2022...

2026 opens up for the Catalan economy and the Spanish economy as a whole in a context of transition and uncertainty, but also of opportunity. After several years of sustained growth, exceeding that of the Eurozone, we are entering a phase in which the tailwinds are moderating, and the main challenge is no longer growth itself, but how we grow and on what foundations. Forecasts indicate that Catalonia will continue to grow above the European average and, foreseeably, also above the Spanish average, albeit at a more moderate pace. This positive trend confirms the strength of our economic fabric, but at the same time highlights an uncomfortable reality: growth alone does not guarantee progress. If it does not translate into structural improvements, productivity, and social cohesion, it risks becoming exhausted. The structural challenges of a new cycle

In this new scenario, the priority must be clear: to consolidate a more robust, more competitive, and more inclusive economic model. And this requires addressing, without delay, some structural challenges that we have been dragging along for far too long.

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