Between January and March, household consumption growth slowed by three tenths of a percentage point to 0.6%, whilst public spending accelerated by three tenths of a percentage point to 0.5%, and spending by non-profit institutions accelerated by 1.4 percentage points to show growth of 2%.
Reported by the Editorial Team
Spain’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 0.6% in the first quarter of the year, two tenths of a percentage point less than in the previous three months, according to quarterly National Accounts data published on Thursday by the National Statistics Institute (INE), which confirm the preliminary figures released at the end of April.
Specifically, domestic demand contributed 0.5 percentage points to quarter-on-quarter GDP growth. External demand, meanwhile, contributed 0.1 percentage points. Furthermore, growth in household consumption fell by three tenths of a percentage point to 0.6 per cent, whilst public sector expenditure rose by the same margin to 0.5 per cent. Expenditure by non-profit institutions increased by 1.4 percentage points, reaching 2% in the first quarter, whilst gross fixed capital formation recorded a change of 0.1%.
GDP, first quarter 2026
“Household consumption has established itself as one of the main drivers of the economy, with quarterly growth of 0.6%, supported mainly by the strength of the labour market, at the start of a year marked by the impact of the war in Iran on inflation since February,” stated the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Enterprise in a press release.
Investment also saw its growth slow in the first quarter, rising by 0.4 per cent – a rate 1.7 percentage points lower than in the previous quarter – marking its worst performance since the third quarter of 2024.
Exports of goods and services recorded a quarter-on-quarter rate of -0.6 per cent, which was 1.3 percentage points lower than in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, imports fell by 1 per cent, a rate 2.2 percentage points lower than in the previous quarter.
On the supply side, all major sectors of activity posted positive quarter-on-quarter growth rates in value added, except for construction, which recorded a rate close to zero – two points lower than in the previous quarter.
Industrial sectors increased by 0.3% quarter-on-quarter. Within these sectors, manufacturing recorded an increase of 0.3 per cent, a rate two tenths higher than in the previous quarter. Meanwhile, the growth rate of gross value added in services moderated by one tenth of a percentage point to 0.8 per cent. Primary sectors, for their part, recorded a quarter-on-quarter change of 3.3 per cent, compared with a rate close to zero in the previous quarter.
A 2.7% year-on-year rate
Meanwhile, year-on-year GDP growth reached 2.7% in the first quarter, one-tenth of a percentage point higher than in the final quarter of 2024, thanks to the strength of domestic demand, which contributed 3.5 percentage points to growth. External demand, on the other hand, subtracted eight-tenths of a percentage point.
Household consumption grew by 3.2 per cent, up by one-tenth of a percentage point, whilst public spending slowed by the same margin to 2.4 per cent. Investment, meanwhile, fell by six-tenths of a percentage point to 5.6 per cent.
