Aragon is doing “extraordinarily well” and GDP grows by 2.9% year-on-year, half a point more than expected

Aragon, in economic terms, is experiencing ” extraordinary” times, that is, those that are perceived as out of the ordinary and that rarely occur. This was confirmed this Friday by the Director General of Economic Policy of the Government of Aragon, Javier Martínez, after learning that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the Community grew by 2.9% in the first quarter of the year compared to the same period in 2024, according to data from the Aragonese Institute of Statistics (IAEST).

The figures indicate that the national average growth rate is one-tenth higher than that of the eurozone by as much as 1.7 percentage points. Furthermore, the growth rate in the last quarter was 0.2 percentage points, which also translates to half a percentage point higher than projected by the Government of Aragon. 

This growth is largely explained by the relentless momentum of the population and household consumption, which has grown by 5.7% in 12 months. “The most significant growth has been almost 6% in household consumption in Aragon, which is very important,” Martínez emphasized, who believes that household confidence is due to factors such as improved employment and positive short- and medium-term prospects . “We were talking about growth of 2.4%-2.5%, which is very cautious. We are growing almost half a percentage point above what we expected,” he added.

DOMESTIC DEMAND AND INDUSTRY STRENGTH

From a demand perspective, household consumption has been the main driver of growth . This is compounded by positive investment performance, which in capital goods grew by 9.3%, while investment in construction increased by 5.3%.

On the other hand, exports of goods and services fell by 10.1%, reflecting the slowdown in some key European markets. In this regard, Martínez noted that international uncertainty remains one of the main risks to the Aragonese economy. ” It doesn’t affect us because of our current growth, but because of how much we could lose if our main buyers in Europe don’t improve. Germany and France are experiencing virtually zero growth, and that’s noticeable,” he acknowledged.

From the supply side, all productive sectors of the Aragonese economy registered positive growth. The primary sector led the growth with a 5.8% increase in gross added value, followed by construction (4.0%), manufacturing ( 3.7%), and market services (2.8%).

In this context, Martínez particularly highlighted the strong performance of the Aragonese industrial sector, which contributes 21% of the regional GDP. “One of the most attractive sectors is the automotive sector, which is undergoing a technological transformation but is performing very well. The agri-food sector is also doing very well, and we are attracting new logistics projects,” he added.

The head of Economic Policy in Aragon also emphasized the importance of social stability, attracting investment , and collaboration between the public and private sectors to consolidate this growth.