Indicators of economy in Spain

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

The consequences of the COVID pandemic were not insignificant in Spain 2020. Overall, gross domestic product in 2020 fell from 1.394 trillion US dollars to 1.277 trillion US dollars. With a drop of 8.4 percent, the economy in Spain suffered more significant losses than other countries. The unemployment rate rose from 14.1 to 15.5 percent. The country's gross debt increased by 12.2 percent. The inflation rate fell from 0.7 percent previously to -0.3 percent by the end of 2020.

In 2021, there was already a recovery and the gross domestic product increased to 1.427 trillion US dollars (=102.4% of 2019).

Income and purchasing power

The average monthly income in Spain is 2,474 US Dollar per capita. In the USA, the figure is 5,911 US Dollar. However, the prices of consumer goods are also around 15.6 percent lower than in the USA. If you compare income and price levels, the result is a more expensive life in Spain than in the United States. The bottom line is that the costs do not offset the lower income, and you get about 50.4 percent less.

However, it is also important to remember that this is a purely statistical model. Both the labor output and the type and quality of the goods received always correspond to the national average on both sides of the equation - so they do not necessarily have to match. Here you can also find an international comparison of cost of living and purchasing power.

Unemployment rates in percentages 1991 - 2021

Economic performance 2021

In the Global Innovation Index, Spain ranked 29th in 2022 with 44.6 points. The index is calculated annually by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and most recently included 132 countries. The top country was Switzerland with 64.6 points. Out of the 2,000 largest listed companies in the world, 21 originate from Spain. This is determined annually in the Forbes Global 2000 list. The 10 largest companies in the country in 2022 were:

Rank 57: Santander (Santander)
Rank 136: Iberdrola (Bilbao)
Rank 151: BBVA-Banco Bilbao Vizcaya (Madrid)
Rank 196: Telefónica (Madrid)
Rank 273: CaixaBank (Valencia)
Rank 302: Inditex (A Coruña)
Rank 320: Repsol (Madrid)
Rank 451: Naturgy Energy Group (Barcelona)
Rank 651: Grupo ACS (Madrid)
Rank 808: Mapfre (Majadahonda)

Development of gross domestic product in billions of USD 1960 - 2021