Catalonia drops to fourth region in per capita income, Balearic Islands now just 689 euros behind

Catalonia's per capita income stood at 39,199 euros in 2025, just 689 euros more than that of the Balearic Islands, according to the INE. In 2018, the gap was 1,619 euros.

Citizens of the Balearic Islands recorded a per capita income of 38,510 euros in 2025, compared to 39,199 euros for Catalans, according to data published by the INE and reported by OK Diario. The difference between the two communities has narrowed to 689 euros, putting Catalonia on the verge of losing its fourth position in the national ranking of wealth per inhabitant.

The relative decline of Catalonia is not new. In 2018, when Pedro Sánchez arrived at La Moncloa, the gap between Catalans and Balearics was 1,619 euros. Six years earlier, in 2012, Catalans were 2,127 euros richer than island residents. The trend has been consistently reversed: from that 2,127 euro advantage in 2012 to the current 689 euros.

The case of Aragón follows a similar pattern. The per capita income in Aragón is 1,163 euros below that of Catalonia, but in 2018 the gap was 2,244 euros and in 2012, 1,929 euros. In other words, the difference has been reduced by almost half in less than a decade.

If the trend continues, Catalonia could fall to sixth place in wealth per inhabitant, behind Madrid, Basque Country, Navarre, Balearic Islands, and Aragón. The Madrid community has expanded its lead the most: in 2012, the difference between the two regions was just under 5,000 euros, while in 2025 it exceeds 8,000 euros. Madrilenians reached an average income of 47,220 euros, compared to 39,199 for Catalans.

Among the factors explaining this evolution, the report from the INE and data from the European Commission point to demographic growth. Catalonia and Madrid are the two European regions that have gained the most population: in 2024, the former added just over 500,000 inhabitants and the latter surpassed 700,000. In Aragón, on the other hand, the population has remained stable at around 1.3 million for years, and the Balearic Islands have barely grown since 2018, allowing their GDP per inhabitant to improve without the burden of an increasing resident population.

For the Catalan reader, the data has a direct implication: the community that for decades was Spain's economic engine has seen its advantage diminish year after year, while other regions close the gap or directly surpass it. The next statistical update from the INE, scheduled for the next fiscal year, will confirm whether the Balearic Islands' overtaking is realised or if Catalonia manages to halt its decline.