Foreign investment in Andalucía increased by 41% in 2024 and these are the countries that invested the most

The figure for the region is 22 points above the national average in Spain

Europa Press

Malaga

Tuesday, 25 March 2025, 22:38

The Junta de Andalucía's regional minister of economy, finance and European funds Carolina España has announced the foreign investment balance of 2024. According to the analysis, the region generated 837 million euros in foreign direct investment, which is the second best figure of the last decade, representing a growth of 41% compared to 2023 (595 million). The comparison on a national level is also striking, given that the average growth in Spain was 19%.

España attributed these figures to the fact that "the Andalusian brand is becoming more prestigious and solid, which translates into greater interest and investment". The regional minister pointed that the six-year figure from 2019 to 2024 (5 million euros) is double the one recorded in the 2013-2018 period (2.6 million euros) and 54% above the nearly 3.3 million of 2007-2012, which "until now was the best six-year period of foreign interest in the region".

According to España, "the economic transformation promoted by president Juanma Moreno's office has provided the region with stability and legal and political security, which makes Andalucía a safe haven for investment".

There were five countries above the 80 million investment mark in 2024: the US, the UK, France, Denmark and Germany.

The US was the main investor, with 193 million euros (23% of the total) in construction and activities auxiliary to financial services. The UK came second, with a total of 128 million (15.3%) in investments in management of sporting activities and retail trade of food products, in addition to other professional, scientific and technical activities.

France ranked third, with 87 million (10.4%) in metal product manufacturing, while Denmark, with 85 million (10.1%), almost entirely in energy supply, reached its best historical record in the region. Germany, on the other hand, amounted to 82 million (9.8%), with a significant share in accommodation services.

From a sectoral perspective, the regional government highlighted the construction of buildings, followed by energy supply, wholesale trade and intermediaries, sports and recreational activities and manufacture of metal products.

In terms of the type of investment, acquisitions were once again the main type of investment. They reached 431 million (51.5% of the total), ahead of other expansions (29.1%) and new investments (19.4%). In terms of the type of investor, 48% corresponded to investments by companies, ahead of investments made by private collective investment institutions (29.3%), individuals (21.8%) and public or sovereign investment funds (0.9%).

Impact on employment

According to the latest data (2022), 165,435 jobs are linked to foreign direct investment, a figure that is growing by 2.4% year-on-year and which represents 5.1% of the employed population in the region. Andalucía continues to be the third largest employer in Spain, with 9.3% of the national total.

The nine main investor countries - France, the US, Germany, the UK, Italy, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Ireland and Sweden, plus the subsidiaries of Spanish companies abroad, account for 82% of employment in foreign-owned companies in Andalucía. The UK, Luxembourg, Ireland and the US have shown notable increases in their employment levels in the last year.

In the last five years (2020-2024), 143 projects related to Andalucía have been announced each year on average, with an annual investment of more than 2.8 billion euros per year and the generation of more than 9,500 local jobs per year.

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