Industry

🏭 Industry

Spain is not among the most industrial countries in the European Union: its manufacturing weighs less in the economy than the European average. But for some products it is a leading power, from cars and tiles to olive oil, cured ham, railway equipment and wind turbine towers. This page shows both sides with data from Eurostat, the INE, OICA and ANFAC, always in proportion to population or to the European total.

Where Spain stands out

Spain has 10.8 % of the EU's population. If a Spanish industrial branch has a turnover above that proportion of the European total, Spain produces more than its population would suggest; the ratio («times its population weight») sums it up: 1 is what would be expected, 2 is double. For manufacturing as a whole the share is 7.3 % (4th in the EU by turnover), below its population weight. Only 5 of the 38 branches in the table exceed it, and the one that stands out most is ceramic wall and floor tiles: 37.3 % of European turnover, 3.4 times its population weight.

Branches are measured by company turnover (Eurostat, structural business statistics). The EU total is Eurostat's estimate, which includes countries with confidential data; the rank, on the other hand, can only be calculated among the countries that publish the figure, so, for example, «2.º de 19» means second of the 19 that publish it.

Specific products

Industrial production statistics (Prodcom) go down to the detail of each product, in physical units: square metres, tonnes, units. Spain is the leading producer of 11 of the 23 products on the list, with shares of more than half of European production in ceramic glazes and frits (78 %), table olives (70 %) and virgin olive oil (55 %).

Watch out for two pitfalls. The share is calculated over the EU total estimated by Eurostat (a rounded aggregate that includes the confidential production of countries that do not publish it), not over the sum of the countries with data, which would inflate it. And the rank is only among the countries that publish the figure: for many products there are few (for virgin olive oil, 5; for ceramic frits, 4), because the rest declare it confidential. Being first of five does not guarantee being first in the EU, although with a share above 50 % no other country can be larger.

The car industry

Spain manufactured 2.27 million vehicles in 2025, 46.1 per 1,000 inhabitants, 4.3 % fewer than in 2024 and 19.4 % fewer than in 2019, when 2.82 million left its factories. It exported 85.8 % of what it produced in 2025. In the latest year with data for all countries (2024) it was the 2nd largest manufacturer in Europe, behind only Germany, and the 9th in the world, with 2.6 % of world production. For 2025 only the Spanish figure is available; ANFAC, the industry association, says it holds both positions.

In proportion to population, the countries that manufacture the most vehicles are Slovakia (182 per 1,000 inhabitants) and Czechia (134). Spain (48.6) is on a par with Germany (48.7), although OICA's German figure only counts cars, and well above France (19.7, excluding lorries and buses) or Italy (10.0).

The factories

ANFAC lists 16 vehicle and component factories in 9 regions; 14 assemble vehicles, with 46 models in production (32 of them electric or hybrid) and 9 more allocated for the coming years. The one that builds the most models is Stellantis Vigo (9). By turnover of the branch, the regions with the largest share of vehicle manufacturing are Cataluña (23 %), Castilla y León (13 %), Comunidad de Madrid (12 %), Galicia (12 %) of the Spanish total.

The size of the dot is the number of models in production; the position is that of the municipality (the two factories in Barcelona and the two in Madrid overlap).

Tiles and ceramics

Spain produced 509 million m² of ceramic tiles in 2024, some 10,424 m² per 1,000 inhabitants: 44.3 % of European production by area (4.1 times its population weight) and 33.3 % by value. It ranks 1st of the 10 countries that publish the figure. As its share by value is lower than by area, the average price of its output per m² is lower than the European average. By turnover of the branch (Eurostat, businesses) Spain ranks 2nd of 19 countries with data, with 37.3 %; first is Italia. The frits and glazes used to coat the tiles are also a Spanish speciality: 78 % of EU production.

The non-metallic minerals branch (ceramics, glass, cement) is highly concentrated: Comunidad Valenciana accounts for 28 % of its turnover in Spain, 2.6 times its population weight.

Food and drink

Food is Spain's largest manufacturing branch: 17.8 % of the value added of its manufacturing, compared with 10.6 % in the EU, where it ranks 2nd (first is Maquinaria y equipo, with 11.4 %). Its companies account for 11.9 % of European food turnover (4th country; first is Alemania). Beverages weigh 3.6 % compared with 2.0 % and make up 12.2 % of the EU.

For specific products, Spain produces 55 % of the EU's virgin olive oil (999 thousand tonnes), 70 % of table olives and 37 % of bone-in cured hams and shoulders (1st of 20 countries with data). In sparkling wine it ranks 3rd of 12, with 16 % (champagne is not included in this code).

The chart also shows where the difference with Europe lies: Spain has much less weight in machinery, pharmaceuticals and electronics, branches in which its turnover is 3.1 %, 4.0 % and 2.1 % of the European total.

Other strong sectors

• Railway equipment. The branch accounts for 14.4 % of EU turnover (3rd of 14 countries with data, first is Francia; 1.3 times its population weight). In railway and tram passenger coaches, Spain manufactured 856 units, 36 % of the European estimate (only 2 countries publish the figure), and it is the EU's 2nd largest exporter, with 39 %.
• Aerospace. 6.4 % of European turnover (4th of 14 with data; led by Francia), somewhat below its population weight.
• Oil refining. 10.0 % of the EU (3rd of 14 with data); it accounts for 2.0 % of Spanish manufacturing compared with 1.4 % in the EU.
• Renewables. Spain manufactured 299 thousand tonnes of steel towers and lattice masts, 26 % of the EU (1st of 15 with data; the code includes wind towers and other lattice structures), and 2,868 wind turbines, 19 % (2nd of only 3 that publish, behind Dinamarca). In the engines and turbines branch, which mixes wind turbines with other types of turbine, the share falls to 2.5 %.
• Fishing vessels and cement. 79 % of the tonnage of fishing vessels built in the EU (out of 3 countries with data) and 13.3 % of Portland cement (2nd of 17).

Industrial exports

Spain sells abroad (including to other EU countries) 5.8 % of all goods exports of the 27, below its 10.9 % of the population: 6th largest exporter in 2025, with 394 billion 2025 euros. Outside the EU its share is 5.7 % (7th). Where it does stand out is in olive oil (52 % of what the EU exports), ceramic frits and glazes (47 %), railway coaches (39 %) and tiles (37 %, 2nd behind Italia). Cars are 8.7 % of the EU (3rd) and vehicles as a whole, 14.0 % of everything Spain exports.

The Netherlands and Belgium pitfall. Rotterdam and Antwerp are Europe's gateway for goods, and whatever comes in through their ports and is re-sent to another country counts as their export even though they did not make it. Together they account for 20.3 % of EU exports and 42 % of exports of refined petroleum products. Leaving them out, Spain would be 4th overall, 2nd in cars and 2nd in refined products (instead of 4th). The table gives both ranks.

How much industry does Spain have?

Manufacturing generates 11.7 % of Spain's gross value added (GVA) in 2025, compared with 15.8 % in the EU: rank 20 of 27. In 1995 it was 17.6 % (the EU, 19.9 %). With all of industry, which adds energy, water, waste and mining, the proportion is 15.4 % compared with 19.0 %. In employment, manufacturing employs 9.9 % of workers in Spain and 13.6 % in the EU.

Per inhabitant, Spain's manufacturing GVA is 3,622 € a year, 61 % of the European average (5,902 €): Spain contributes 6.7 % of EU manufacturing GVA with 10.9 % of its population. In constant 2025 euros, Spain's manufacturing GVA per inhabitant is 11.9 % lower than in 2008 (4,110 € then, 3,622 € in 2025).

Losing weight does not mean producing less: the share is measured at current prices and also depends on how much services grow. In volume (stripping out price changes), Spain's manufacturing GVA in 2025 is equivalent to 119.7 if 2015 = 100 (in 2008, 115.2); the EU's, to 117.1 (in 2008, 96.5).

Industrial production

The industrial production index (IPI) measures how much is produced in quantities, without the effect of prices. In 2025, Spanish industrial output changed by 1.2 % on the previous year (EU: 1.7 %). Compared with 2019 the change is -0.2 % in Spain and 1.5 % in the EU; compared with 2007, before the financial crisis, -21.9 % and 1.5 %.

The INE's latest monthly figure is for July 2026: index 113.2, 2.6 % on the same month of the previous year, and a cumulative change so far this year of 1.3 %. The unadjusted monthly index rises and falls with the calendar (August is the lowest month every year except 2020), so the useful comparison is with the same month of the previous year.

By region

The weight of industry varies greatly from region to region. In 2024, the most industrial by share of their GVA were Comunidad Foral de Navarra (29.3 %), La Rioja (25.6 %), País Vasco (23.5 %), Aragón (23.3 %); the Spanish average is 15.6 % and 13 regions exceed it. In Navarre industry employs 116 people per 1,000 inhabitants, compared with an average of 49. The least dependent on industry are Illes Balears, Canarias, Comunidad de Madrid, Andalucía. Catalonia accounts for 22.6 % of Spain's industrial GVA. Click on a region to see its profile.

Each region's strongest branches

For each region, the branch that weighs most in its industry (by turnover) and the branch in which it is most specialised relative to its population: the region's share of that branch in Spain divided by its share of the Spanish population (only branches that account for at least 5 % of its industry and that ten or more regions publish; INE data for 2024, excluding Ceuta and Melilla).

Methodology and sources

• Weight of industry in the EU: Eurostat, national accounts by industry nama_10_a10 (GVA at current prices and in chain-linked volumes, base 2010) and nama_10_a10_e (employment); population, nama_10_pe. Manufacturing = NACE section C; industry = sections B to E (mining, manufacturing, energy, water and waste).
• Industrial branches: Eurostat, structural business statistics sbs_ovw_act (turnover, value added and employment). The EU total is Eurostat's estimate; where none exists, the sum of the countries with data (the table indicates this in the note).
• Products: Eurostat, Prodcom DS-059358 (sold production). Share of the EU27_2020 aggregate estimated by Eurostat; rank among the countries that publish the figure.
• Exports: Eurostat, Comext DS-045409, by Harmonised System heading; sum of the 27 countries, with and without intra-EU trade.
• Industrial production: Eurostat sts_inpr_a (annual, calendar adjusted) and INE, Industrial Production Index, table 70177 (monthly by region and economic destination) and table 60282 (by division). Base 2021 = 100.
• Regions: Eurostat, regional GVA nama_10r_3gva; INE, Structural Business Statistics for the industrial sector, table 76823 (turnover and employment by region and branch; data subject to statistical confidentiality are not published).
• Vehicles: OICA, world production by country 2019-2024 (for Germany cars only and for France only cars and light commercial vehicles; there is no 2020 figure in the series). Spain 2025: ANFAC, production and exports, 2025 year-end, which states: «Spain ranks 2nd as a vehicle manufacturer in Europe and 9th in the world». Factories: ANFAC, map of factories with models in production and allocated (May 2025); municipality coordinates from Wikidata.
• Euros are expressed in constant 2025 euros using the INE's CPI when comparing years; comparisons between countries in the same year use current euros. Totals are given in proportion to population (per inhabitant, per 1,000 inhabitants or as a share compared with population weight).