The National Statistics Institute (INE) confirmed on Wednesday that Spain's economy grew by 3.2% in 2024, exceeding previous expectations set by major economic organizations, including the Spanish government, which had originally estimated a growth rate of 2.7%.

The resilience of the Spanish labor market has strongly supported private consumption, while investment has also remained stable despite a backdrop of uncertainty and economic stagnation among neighboring European countries.

Spain has once again led the growth in the Eurozone, with its GDP growing at a rate 3.5 times greater than the average for the region.

The Spanish economy contributed 50% of the total growth within the Eurozone, according to statements from the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, Carlos Cuerpo.

This marks the fourth consecutive year of GDP growth in Spain, following a historic contraction in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The current growth rate represents an improvement of half a percentage point over the 2.7% growth recorded in 2023. The last comparable growth figure occurred in 2015, when the country saw an increase of 4.1%.

The Spanish GDP increased by 0.8% in the fourth quarter of 2024, consistent with growth figures from the second and third quarters.

Domestic demand contributed 1.2 percentage points to this quarters’ growth, while the external sector had a negative contribution of 0.4 percentage points.

Household consumption increased by 1% from October to December, although this figure is two-tenths lower than in the previous quarter.

Nonetheless, it marks three consecutive quarters of growth outpacing GDP. Meanwhile, investment, measured by gross fixed capital formation, rose by 2.9%, marking the highest growth rate in three years, compared to a decline of 1.3% observed from July to September.

On the export front, goods and services showed a quarter-on-quarter increase of 0.1%, three-tenths lower than in the third quarter, while imports recorded a variation of 1.4%, reflecting an increase of four-tenths relative to the previous quarter.

From the supply side, all major sectors exhibited positive growth in their value added, except for primary industries, which declined by 0.7%, down from a growth of 1.4% in the prior quarter.

Notably, the construction sector saw an interquarter increase of 2.7%, significantly higher than the previous quarter's increase of 4.3%.

The services sector maintained a steady growth rate of 1%.

In annual terms, the growth rate reached 3.4%, one-tenth lower than early estimates from the statistical office, yet one-tenth higher than the previously revised figure of 3.3% for the third quarter.

This annual growth was driven solely by domestic demand, which contributed 3.6 percentage points, contrasted by a negative contribution of 0.2 points from external demand.

Employment continues to rise, supporting consumption patterns.

The annual increase in employment was reported at 2.8%, signifying a rise of 1.5 points compared to the previous year.

Employees have regained purchasing power, with a reported growth of 7.5% in remuneration per employee on an annual basis.

This surge in employment and salaries underpins robust household consumption throughout the year.

The Economy Department has noted that approximately 500,000 jobs were created in 2024, and there was an ongoing improvement in productivity per hour, with an increase of 0.6%.

In monetary terms, the current GDP reached a new record of 1.591 trillion euros, representing a 6.2% increase over the previous year.

In the fourth quarter, GDP surpassed 400 billion euros for the first time, reaching 407.076 billion euros, which is 7.739 billion euros higher than the previous quarter.