Catalonia and Barcelona
International and global
International trade
Catalonia has always been a country open to the outside world in terms of trade and investment. Its geographical location and the open and entrepreneurial nature of its people favour this international calling. Catalonia's public policies are groundbreaking in Europe, both in terms of fostering outsourcing and attracting investments.
One fifth of manufacturing businesses in Catalonia export their products. Some 34% of Spanish exporters are located in Catalonia, Catalan exports account for almost 30% of Spanish exports. Around three-quarters of exports currently head to the EU, with 60% of imports coming from the Union.
Foreign direct investment
Catalonia has traditionally been a favourite destination for foreign direct investment. There are currently over 3,300overseas companies operating in Catalonia and more than 5,500 companies established in Catalonia have foreign interest in their capital.
Major foreign investment is being attracted to our core industries such as agro-food, automobile, engineering, pharma, biotech, etc. International R+D, logistics and shared service centres, among others based in Catalonia, are also receiving significant inward investment.
International Trade Fairs
Barcelona is the fourth European city in terms of available exhibition space (280,000 m2) and the third most popular city in the world for staging international events (International Congress and Convention Association). International trade fairs held in Barcelona include:
- Mobile World Congress
- Barcelona Degusta
- Alimentaria
- 080 Barcelona Fashion
- Barcelona Meeting Point
- International Logistics & Material Handling Exhibition
- World Innovation Summit
- International Tourism Show
- Barcelona Motor Show
- Construmat
- Hispack
- Sonimagfoto
- Barcelona International Boat Show
Mobile World Capital
After an 18-month selection process, Barcelona has been picked as the Mobile World Capital from 2012 to 2018. As such, Barcelona will be home to the mobile industry's must-attend event, the GSMA Mobile World Congress, and will also develop a range of other programs and activities that will span the entire year and will benefit not only the citizens of Barcelona, Catalonia and Spain, but the mobile industry the world over.
Main data
Population:
7.3 million
Area:
32,106 Km2
GDP (pm) 2010:
209,727 million Euros
GDP per capita 2010:
27,053 Euros
Exports 2010:
48,594 million Euros
Imports 2010:
66,924 million Euros
Spending on R&D (2010):
1.6% of GDP
