70 / 116
70 // iberian.propery / 2017
dossier// ISSUE: TOP IBERIAN cities
Barcelona, a
global success story
Throughout the past decades, Barcelona has positioned itself as one of the principal
economic drivers of Southern Europe, establishing the city as a global success story.
The capital of one of Spain’s most dy-
namic regional economies, Barcelona is
at the heart of a metropolitan area that
measures 2.500 km² and has five million
inhabitants, and it is the principal city
of a Mega region with a population of
27 million. Presenting a diversified and
consolidated corporate fabric, Catalonia
generated a GDP of 214.93 billion euros
in 2015, and was responsible for 19.9% of
the Spanish GDP, generating a GDP per
capita 14% above the European average.
Asserting itself as an increasingly inter-
national destination, where 16.6% of the
residents are foreigners, the Catalan cap-
ital currently holds great appeal to take
in companies and foreign investment.
Proving this, the Global Cities Investment
Monitor 2016 by KPMG placed Barce-
lona in the 8th position of the principal
urban areas in the world to attract major
direct foreign investment projects be-
tween 2012-2016, registering more than
500 greenfield projects. In addition, the
Attractiveness Survey Europe 2016 by
Ernst & Young ranks Barcelona as the 5th
most attractive European city for foreign
investment, directly behind London, Paris,
Berlin and Amsterdam.
A vibrant destination, with great cultural
wealth, served bymodern infrastructures
and set against a unique landscape; Bar-
celona and Catalonia continue to develop
their ability to attract business, direct for-
eign investment and talent. And not even
the threat of terrorism – materialised in
this summer’s recent attack – seems ca-
pable of stopping this growth trajectory or
breaking the confidence the international
community has in the region’ success.
10.2% of the Spanish population lives in
the Barcelona Metropolitan Area
16.6% of residents in the city of Barcelona
are foreigners
42.200 € of GDP per Capita
44.1 million arrivals at the Aeroporto de El
Prat in 2016, placing it as the Nº 1 airport
in Spain and Nº 7 in Europe, in number of
passengers
7.5 million tourists and 19.5 million
overnights in 2016
25th Most Visited City by International
Tourists in the world and the 8th most
visited in Europe, according to Top
Destination Cities by Euromonitor
International
2.7 million cruise ship passengers,
making it the principal cruise port in the
Mediterranean and Europe, and one of the
Top 5 ports in the world
ESADE, IESE and EADA are among the 25
best Business Schools in Europe