Canary Islands Rank Third Lowest in National Per‑Capita GDP
Although in 2024 the gap narrowed with a 4.4 % increase
The Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands topped the list of regions with the highest per‑capita GDP growth in 2024, registering a 4.4 % rise.
Nevertheless, the archipelago was the third region with the lowest GDP per inhabitant, amounting to €25,861, according to the Regional Accounts of Spain released on Tuesday by the National Statistics Institute (INE).
Across Spain, the Community of Madrid reclaimed its position as the region with the highest per‑capita GDP in 2024, at €44,749, followed by the Basque Country (€41,010) and Navarre (€39,096). In contrast, the lowest per‑capita GDP figures were recorded in Andalusia (€24,542), Extremadura (€25,224) and the Canary Islands (€25,861).
The statistical release updates the GDP results published in September and expands them with estimates of other economic aggregates such as employment, employee remuneration and regional investment.
The 2024 advance estimate of the Annual National Accounts of Spain, published on 19 September, placed the volume growth rate of GDP at 3.5 %.
The autonomous communities that posted the largest volume growth of GDP in 2024 were the Region of Murcia (4.4 %, revised down by 0.1 pp), the Canary Islands (4.4 %) and the Balearic Islands (4.2 %). The regions with the smallest real GDP increase were the autonomous cities of Ceuta (1.1 %) and Melilla (1.3 %, revised up by 0.1 pp) and Cantabria (2.5 %, revised up by 0.2 pp).
All Spanish territories recorded GDP growth equal to or higher than that of the European Union (EU‑27), which stood at 1.1 %.
Regional Hourly Productivity
The 2024 advance estimate of the Annual National Accounts of Spain projected a 1.20 % increase in productivity per hour worked for the whole economy.
The regions with the strongest productivity growth in 2024 were Castilla‑La Mancha (3.46 %), the Balearic Islands (3.44 %) and the Region of Murcia (2.84 %).
Conversely, two regions experienced negative productivity growth: the Chartered Community of Navarre (‑0.72 %) and the Basque Country (‑0.01 %). The Community of Madrid recorded the smallest increase (0.04 %).
Average Wage of Employees (Regional)
Average remuneration grew by 4.6 % in 2024, reaching €40,514 per employee, according to the Annual National Accounts of Spain.
The Community of Madrid posted the highest average wage in 2024 at €46,850, followed by the Basque Country (€45,321) and Catalonia (€43,411).
The regions with the lowest average wages were Extremadura (€33,695), the Region of Murcia (€34,573) and Andalusia (€35,505).
Regional Investment: 2023
The Annual National Accounts of Spain estimated the average growth of gross fixed capital formation at 5.1 % for the 2019‑2023 period across the Spanish economy.
The autonomous communities that achieved the highest average investment growth during that period were the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla (9.7 %), Cantabria (8.8 %) and Catalonia (7.1 %).
In contrast, the regions with the lowest investment increase were La Rioja (‑1.7 %), the Canary Islands (0.6 %) and Aragon (0.6 %).