This revision is carried out on a regular basis in all European Union countries and allows for a more disaggregated and definitive estimate of GDP by incorporating more complete information. In the case of Spain, growth has been revised upwards in the three years, with the highest intensity in 2021, with growth nine tenths of a percentage point higher than estimated, reaching 6.4%. In 2022 the upwards revision was three tenths of a percentage point to 5.8%.
Thus, Spain's economic recovery in the two years following the pandemic was stronger than estimated, driven mainly from household consumption, the foreign sector and the improved performance of manufacturing industry and professional activities.
This dynamism is maintained in a differential way in 2023, with growth estimated by the main national and international organisations to be the highest among the large economies of the eurozone, which is particularly significant in the current context of monetary policy tightening.
More and higher quality growth
The data shows that the stronger recovery has also been accompanied by a higher quality of growth in the Spanish economy, which has particularly benefited households, increasing the share of wages in GDP by more than one percentage point. It also improves hourly productivity which, at the end of 2022, was already almost one point higher than in 2019.
Finally, the increase in nominal GDP by more than 20 billion euros reduced the debt-to-GDP ratio by an additional 1.6 percentage points by the end of 2022 and would bring the fiscal targets set in the Stability Programme forwards, taking the reduction below 110% in 2023.
The revision of the Annual National Accounts aligns GDP growth with the other economic indicators, showing the relevance and effectiveness of the economic policy carried out in recent years. An economic policy that has made it possible to implement measures to respond to the challenges that have arisen and to combine it with the ambitious programme of investments and reforms that are being implemented through the Recovery Plan and that are making it possible to transform the Spanish economy.
Non official translation
