Spain | The Spanish economy in the 21st century

Summary

Twenty years ago, the Spanish economy started its journey into the 21st century after joining the eurozone in 1999. Since then, Spain has faced two economic expansions and two intense crises of a very different nature, with important consequences for economic policy.

Key points

• Key points:
• Following the recession of the early nineties, growth in subsequent years led to a rapid and sustained drop in the unemployment rate, from 19.6% in 1994 to 10.5% in 2001.
• From 2000 to 2007, the Spanish economy experienced a period of intense growth, but this was not sustainable due to accumulated imbalances.
• The Great Recession of 2008 and the sovereign debt crisis caused an abrupt adjustment of these accumulated imbalances, and the unemployment rate surpassed 27% at the beginning of 2013.
• The intense recovery until 2019 reduced the unemployment rate to 13.8%. Addressing the important pending challenges was necessary then and much more now to repair as soon as possible the economic and social damage caused by the COVID-19 crisis.

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