Barcelona - A region of excellence for innovative start-ups
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Barcelona is the second city of Spain, after the capital Madrid. For its physical size, demographic weight and economic dynamism, Spain is one of the countries with the greatest potential for growth in Europe, and Barcelona acts as one of the motors of economic development of the country.
Moreover, Barcelona is the cultural, economic and administrative capital of Catalonia, a region characterised by its high level of industrialisation, dynamism and openness to the world, as well as having a unique within Spain. With more than a million and a half inhabitants, Barcelona is the centre of an extensive metropolitan region (MRB - The Metropolitan Region of Barcelona) that covers 3,236 km2 and where 4.3 million inhabitants live.
The metropolitan area of Barcelona (MRB), with approximately 10% of the Spanish population, contributes more than 22% of the country's exports, a percentage that has been growing in recent years. With regard to GDP per head, Catalonia surpasses the Spanish average by 24 points, placing it at the level of the European average.
The solidity of the economic structure of Barcelona is clearly reflected in the fact that its GDP growth has been greater than either that of Spain or the European Union average.
The economic structure of Barcelona is characterised by a pre-eminence of the service sector, with almost 78% of the workforce, and the maintaining of an important industrial base in the metropolitan region as a whole.
Industry still constitutes a very relevant sector in the economy of the Barcelona metropolitan region. The extent and breadth of the industrial base makes Barcelona the fifth industrial region in Europe. Its industrial fabric is distinguished by its diversification among some major industrial groups and a wide range of small and medium-sized enterprises. Other factors to highlight in the business structure of Barcelona are its openness to new markets abroad, its innovative spirit, incorporating technological advances and new methods of management.
The main sectors of the industrial structure of the economic area of Barcelona are the metallurgical industry (with about 40% of industrial employment), that includes the car industry and the production of spare parts, the chemical and pharmaceutical industry (making up about 20% of the industrial workforce) and other manufacturing industries (making up 40% of the rest) including electronics, the textile and clothing industry, domestic appliances, publishing, graphic arts and food.
The city of Barcelona acts as a service centre for the metropolitan region concentrating the activities with the highest added value, and most implicated in the new information and telecommunications technologies.
Recently Barcelona has been strengthening itself in its attractiveness for the establishment of European head offices of multinationals dedicated to development of specialised activities, with a high added value, that imply creativity, design and innovation or that require communication and installation facilities.
The universities and local authorities of Barcelona have set in motion a number of innovative instruments to support the development of businesses related to new technologies.
Barcelona has a very solid base to become established in the new knowledge society. But that is not all, there is a clear will for Barcelona to adopt a proactive role that places it in an outstanding position in the new information-based and global economy. |
