The metropolitan Barcelona specializes in health and social services

From a metropolitan area that was left with the factories Barcelona didn't want to another that claims its leadership in fields such as healthcare and social services. "It's a global hub," defends the Deputy Mayor for Economy of the Barcelona City Council and Vice President of the Social and Economic Development Area of the Barcelona Metropolitan Area (AMB), Jordi Valls. This is demonstrated by the fact that it concentrates almost 60% of the companies in these sectors in all of Catalonia.

The recent investment by Qiagen in Esplugues de Llobregat is a good example of this industrial reconversion. The Dutch multinational has located itself in the old Braun factory, where minipimers were previously made and now tests to detect infectious diseases will begin to be produced. A metropolitan environment that is reinforced with new projects such as the future Hospital Clínic and the rare diseases center of Sant Joan de Déu or the expansion of the Alba Synchrotron, as the supply of industrial warehouses has been declining in this area for years.

These are some of the data that emerge from the second edition of the report promoted by the AMB to x-ray the 36 municipalities that comprise it, with a population of 3.3 million inhabitants densely distributed over an area of 636 square kilometers. Prepared together with the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce, the study aims to put black on white about the economic contribution of metropolitan Barcelona, always overshadowed by the headlines starring the Catalan capital.

About 111,000 companies are located in the Barcelona metropolitan area. The Catalan capital plays a major role, taking almost 64% of the companies, followed by L'Hospitalet de Llobregat (5%), Badalona (4.6%), Sant Cugat del Vallès (2.8%) and Cornellà de Llobregat (2.2%). One of the main characteristics of these companies is their size, with 41% having workforces of more than 250 employees, an unusual dimension at the Catalan level, with much more weight of SMEs.

The 36 metropolitan municipalities generate almost 56% of the Catalan GDP, a figure that translates into about 163,000 million euros, despite only concentrating 42% of the population and 45% of the companies. "Of every euro generated in the country, more than half is produced here," summarizes the president of the Barcelona Chamber, Josep Santacreu.

The evolution of metropolitan GDP has remained parallel to that of Catalonia, but has accelerated in GDP per capita compared to the territory as a whole. Barcelona and the 35 municipalities that form the AMB registered an average income per citizen of 45,000 euros in 2023, 35% more than in 2015, while in Catalonia it stood at 37,000 euros, 29% more for the same period. This per capita income places the Barcelona metropolitan area at a similar level to cities like Berlin (43,000 euros) or regions like Tyrol (45,600 euros) and Lombardy (46,000 euros).

Vallès and Baix Llobregat also innovate

Barcelona's leadership in the startup ecosystem is clear, accounting for 68% of all startups in Catalonia, but it is followed by Vallès Occidental, with 9.5%, and Baix Llobregat, with almost 6%, meaning that 87% of Catalan emerging companies are in the metropolitan area. With focal points such as the Llobregat axis and the B-30 corridor, there is ground to cover in future innovation hubs like Besòs and pending projects such as the Tres Xemeneies in Sant Adrià de Besòs.

A trend that is replicated in the concentration of foreign subsidiaries, with 82% located in the metropolitan area. There are more than 9,600 multinational headquarters in Catalonia, with the bulk remaining in Barcelona, with almost 6,000, but Vallès Occidental and Baix Llobregat have managed to attract a thousand each. A rising internationalization that is also replicated in the exports of Barcelona companies, with 78,600 million euros sold abroad in 2023.

There are also storm clouds on the horizon, such as the automotive crisis, another of the area's strengths with Seat in Martorell and the new Ebro in the old Nissan. Other brakes for metropolitan society are a gender pay gap of 17.6% and difficulties in accessing housing. A relevant fact here is that the metropolitan area concentrates 61% of all subsidized housing in Catalonia, but it had reached 80%.