About Catalonia Trade & Investment

Catalonia Trade & Investment attracts a record €1.105B in foreign investment in 2025

Catalonia Trade & Investment reached a new milestone in 2025, attracting €1.105 billion in foreign investment. This marks a 5% increase over the previous record set in 2024 and is the highest figure since records began in 1985.
In total, 101 foreign investment projects were secured in 2025, creating 3,980 new jobs and maintaining 1,728 existing jobs, for a total of 5,708 jobs created and maintained. The number of projects exceeded 100 for the third consecutive year, highlighting Catalonia's continued appeal as a leading destination for international investment.

For every euro invested by the Government in foreign investment attraction, Catalonia Trade & Investment secured €307 in private investment from international companies.

Looking at a broader timeframe to smooth the inherent volatility of foreign investment flows, Catalonia Trade & Investment attracted €4.267 billion in foreign investment between 2021 and 2025, more than double (+143%) the amount secured during the previous five-year period (2016–2020). During these five years, multinational investment projects created or maintained more than 30,200 jobs in Catalonia, representing a 17% increase compared with the previous five-year period.

Breakdown of foreign investment

In 2025, 62% of the foreign investment attracted by the Government of Catalonia was industrial or technology-related. Specifically, 38% of the projects were in manufacturing industries, while 25% were in the technology sector. By industry, the largest shares of investment were in ICT and electronics (25%), followed by automotive (14%), chemicals (11%), pharmaceuticals (11%), and audiovisual and video games (6%).

Almost half of all projects (49%) were directly linked to the digital and green transitions. Together, these projects created or maintained more than 2,800 jobs, representing half of the total employment impact.

The investments originated from around 30 different countries, demonstrating Catalonia's ability to diversify its sources of international investment. The leading investor countries in 2025 were the United States (17% of projects), followed by Germany (14%), France (11%), and the United Kingdom (10%).

Of the 101 foreign investment projects secured in 2025, 29% were greenfield investments, meaning they came from companies establishing operations in Catalonia for the first time. The remaining 71% were expansion or reinvestment projects by companies already operating in the region. This balance reflects both Catalonia's ability to attract new international investors and the confidence that multinational companies already established in the region continue to place in Catalonia.

Catalonia Trade & Investment support

Catalonia Trade & Investment provides comprehensive support to international companies, helping new multinationals establish operations in Catalonia while assisting those already present with expansion and reinvestment projects. Its work covers the international promotion of Catalonia, the identification and attraction of potential investment projects, the preparation of competitive investment proposals highlighting Catalonia’s strengths, end-to-end advisory services throughout the investment process, and ongoing support once companies have established operations in the region.

In this context, the Government of Catalonia has launched a foreign investment attraction, promotion and retention strategy for 2026–2030, with the goal of securing 600 foreign investment projects worth €6 billion, including reinvestments by subsidiaries of foreign companies already established in Catalonia, and also creating or maintaining 45,000 jobs. The Government of Catalonia has also set the objective of increasing the number of foreign-owned subsidiaries operating in Catalonia to 10,000.