Spain's economy grew 5.5% in 2022 after faster-than-expected last quarter

Spain's GDP grew 0.2% in the fourth quarter from the previous quarter and 2.7% from the same quarter in 2021, the National Statistics Institute said today.

Public spending drove the economy in the last quarter of the year, compensating for a contraction in private consumption and allowing Spain to notch a seventh consecutive quarter of growth.

The final GDP data beat both the original official forecast for the year, which was 4.5%, and the 5% anticipated by Prime Minister in late 2022. The statistics agency also revised up previous quarters.

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Madrid expects GDP growth will slow to 2.1% in 2023, though many analysts expect a sharper slowdown.

Spain has already received 31 billion euros of European recovery funds, which started to flow into the economy in the last quarter.

Exports, one of the driving forces of the Spanish economy in 2022, came to a screeching halt in the fourth quarter as the global economy slowed. Retail, hotels and restaurants also ended their growth streak.

The Spanish economy shrunk 11.3% in 2020 when the pandemic shut down tourism, and the economy has not yet fully recovered to pre-Covid levels.

With regards to the Balearics, when it comes to housing and the general cost of living, Mallorca and Ibiza are still two of the most expensive areas of the country.