Economy of Spain

A 2015 survey by the World Economic Forum proclaimed the country's tourism industry as the world's most competitive. The 2017 survey repeated this finding. By 2018 the country was the second most visited country in the world, overtaking the US and not far behind France. With 83.7 million visitors, the country broke in 2019 its own tourism record for the tenth year in a row. The size of the business has gone from approximately €40 billion in 2006 to about €77 billion in 2016. In 2015 the total value of foreign and domestic tourism came to nearly 5% of the country's GDP and provided employment for about 2 million people. The headquarters of the World Tourism Organization are located in Madrid.

The automotive industry is one of the largest employers in the country. In 2015 Spain was the 8th largest automobile producer country in the world and the 2nd largest car manufacturer in Europe after Germany. By 2016, the automotive industry was generating 8.7 percent of Spain's gross domestic product, employing about nine percent of the manufacturing industry. German companies poured €4.8 billion into Spain in 2015, making the country the second-largest destination for German foreign direct investment behind only the U.S. The lion's share of that investment —€4 billion— went to the country's auto industry.

Spain is one of the world leaders in renewable energies, both as a producer of renewable energy itself and as an exporter of such technology. In 2013 it became the first country ever in the world to have wind power as its main source of energy.

Agribusiness has been another segment growing aggressively over the last few years. At slightly over 40 billion euros, in 2015 agribusiness exports accounted for 3% of GDP and over 15% of the total Spanish exports. By 2012 Spain was by far the biggest producer of olive oil in the world, accounting for 50% of the total production worldwide. By 2013 the country became the world's leading producer of wine; in 2014 and 2015 Spain was the world's biggest wine exporter. Spain is the largest producer and exporter in the EU of citrus fruit (oranges, lemons, and small citrus fruits), peaches, and apricots. It is also the largest producer and exporter of strawberries in the EU.

In 2020, the food distribution sector was dominated by Mercadona (24.5% market share), followed by Carrefour (8.4%), Lidl (6.1%), DIA (5.8), Eroski (4.8), Auchan (3.4%), regional distributors (14.3%) and other (32.7%).

In 2019, the country was the 7th largest producer of gypsum and the 10th world's largest producer of potash, in addition to being the 15th largest world producer of salt. Copper (of which the country is the second producer in Europe) is primarily extracted in the Iberian Pyrite Belt. The province of Granada features two mines of Celestine, making the country a major producer of strontium concentrates.