AFP – The Spanish economy expanded 3.2 per cent last year thanks to buoyant exports and consumption that have made it one of the fastest-growing developed countries, official data showed yesterday.
Spain has been consistently outstripping a mostly sluggish eurozone and the data published by the National Statistics Institute confirmed its standout performance with 0.8 per cent growth in the final three months of 2024.
The result slightly exceeded forecasts of 3.1 per cent growth by the Bank of Spain and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Exports in the European Union’s fourth-largest economy grew three per cent year-on-year in the final quarter of 2024 and household consumption increased 3.7 per cent.
The service sector continued to perform strongly from October to December with a jump of 3.9 per cent year-on-year.
Tourism, which represents around 13 per cent of the economy, has driven the sector as a record 94 million tourists flocked to the world’s second most-visited country last year.
The positive data came after Spain suffered its deadliest floods in decades in October that wreaked major damage in the eastern Valencia region, one of its economic motors.
The Bank of Spain has raised the 2025 growth forecast to 2.5 per cent and the IMF predicts the country will grow faster than other advanced economies including Germany, Japan, France, Britain and Italy.
In contrast, the European Central Bank has predicted a modest 0.8 per cent growth in 2024 for the eurozone, weighed down by the woes of Europe’s biggest economy Germany.
Unemployment also fell to 10.61 per cent at the end of 2024, its lowest level since the 2008 financial crisis.
The bullish economy has provided political capital to the often beleaguered minority left-wing government which struggles to pass legislation.
