The Balearic Islands, the Algarve and the Canary Islands were the European regions with the greatest decreases in their real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2021, compared to pre-pandemic levels, the community agency Eurostat reported.
The economy of the Spanish community of the Balearic Islands -dependent on services, restaurants and tourism- fell by 15 percent between 2019 and 2021, as its main activities suffered the impact of social isolation and sanitary restrictions.
In second place was the Portuguese region of Algarve with a decrease of 13.8 percent; followed by the Canary Islands, which registered a fall of 13.4 percent.
By contrast, the largest increases in real GDP occurred in three territories of Ireland: the South region -with an increase of 28.4 percent-, the East and the Midlands -with an increase of 15.4 percent- and the North and East region -which grew by 14.1 percent.
The report published by Eurostat also showed the 2021 GDP per capita of each region adjusted for purchasing power parity, where only three Spanish communities exceeded the European average: the Community of Madrid -by 114 percent-, the Basque Country – by 108 percent- and Navarra -by 101 percent.
Meanwhile, Catalonia registered 98 percent compared to the European average and Andalusia, Extremadura and the Canary Islands were the three Spanish communities that were furthest away, with 62 percent.