Murcia leads Spanish regional growth at 3.8% as Madrid reaches 20% of national GDP in 2025

Regional growth trajectories

Spain recorded an overall real GDP growth of 2.6% in 2025, according to the Regional Accounts series published on 30 September 2026 by the National Statistics Institute (INE). Every autonomous community recorded volume expansion that exceeded the European Union average of 1.4%. The highest growth rates were concentrated in the Región de Murcia, which expanded by 3.8%, and Extremadura, which grew by 3.2%. La Rioja and Castilla y León followed with 3.0% increases, while Galicia expanded by 2.9%.

At the lower end of the performance spectrum, Cantabria registered the slowest economic expansion at 1.7%, trailed closely by the Principado de Asturias and the País Vasco, both of which grew by 1.9%. The Comunitat Valenciana recorded a 2.3% rate, representing a decline of 0.9 percentage points relative to its 2024 performance.

Per capita income divides

National GDP per capita reached €34,237 in 2025, compared to an average of €41,700 across the European Union. Only seven Spanish autonomous communities generated a per capita output higher than the national figure, while only two, the Comunidad de Madrid and the País Vasco, surpassed the EU benchmark. Madrid led the country with €47,220 per resident, which is 37.9% above the Spanish average, followed by the País Vasco at €42,492 and Navarra at €40,421.

In contrast, the autonomous cities of Melilla and Ceuta registered the lowest figures nationwide at €22,302 and €24,622 per resident, sitting 34.9% and 28.1% below the national baseline, respectively. Among the autonomous communities, Andalucía reported the lowest per capita output at €26,091, followed by Extremadura at €26,740, despite Extremadura achieving an annual per capita rise of 6.2%. Galicia recorded €31,815 per inhabitant, falling €2,422 short of the national level, while Cantabria stood at €31,266.

Madrid and the national balance

The Comunidad de Madrid expanded by 2.7% in 2025, lifting its total regional output to €337.216 billion. This allowed Madrid to generate 20% of Spain's total gross domestic product, maintaining its lead over Cataluña, which accounted for 18.9% of national output. The regional administration credited its fiscal framework for maintaining this economic share.

This milestone enlarges the role of the Community of Madrid as an engine of the Spanish economy thanks to its policies focused on having the lowest taxes in the entire country, the highest foreign investment and attraction of new companies, or policies focused on legal certainty.

Between 2019 and 2025, during the administration of regional president Isabel Díaz Ayuso, Madrid recorded an aggregate economic expansion of 17.5%, exceeding the national growth rate over that period by more than five percentage points.

Demographic and structural factors

Disparities between overall output growth and living standards were visible in the Canary Islands, where GDP per capita reached €27,190 in 2025, sitting 35% below the EU average and at 79.41% of the national average. Net positive migration increased the archipelago's resident population at a pace that diluted total economic gains on a per resident basis. Meanwhile, the Región de Murcia paired its 3.8% volume increase with a 3.5% employment gain, adding approximately 24,000 workers to the labour market and pushing its GDP per capita to €28,087.