National identity of people in Catalonia 2024
Most residents of Catalonia considered themselves equally Catalan and Spanish. This is the result of a survey conducted in March and May 2024 which revealed that approximately 34 percent of the population in this northern region identified Catalan and Spanish to the same degree. The share of the population that identified as more Catalan than Spanish or only Catalan, however, was also significant, with shares of 21.6 percent and 18.7 percent, respectively.
Catalonia in Spain
The Catalan participation in the Spanish GDP was estimated at 20 percent in 2023. This figure maintained steadily over the last few years, with an average share of about 20 percent of the total GDP of the country. The average GDP per capita in Catalonia was significantly higher than that of the rest of Spain at 34,534 euros in 2022. During the same period, Spain’s average GDP per capita was 28.276 euros. As of 2024, Catalonia was the second most populous autonomous community in Spain with about eight million people.
The Catalan language: a symbol of the region’s identity
The Catalan and Spanish languages coexist in the coastal region of Catalonia, both enjoying official and equal status. As of 2024, about 47 percent of the population of Catalonia considered Spanish their mother tongue, whereas about 40 percent reported being native speakers of Catalan. Despite the fact that the vast majority of books in Spain are published in Spanish, the Catalan language ranked second in the country’s editorial scene at about nine percent of book publications, revealing the weight of this language among other languages spoken in Spain. In fact, Catalan was one of the most translated languages in this country according to the latest studies.
