Andorra GDP Grows 3.3% in Q1 2026, Outpacing Spain and France

Andorra's economy posted real GDP growth of 3.3% in the first quarter of 2026 compared to the same period a year earlier, according to the latest Quarterly National Accounts from the Department of Statistics. The data also show a 0.7% rise from the fourth quarter of 2025 and a 6.3% increase in nominal terms year-on-year.

All economic sectors recorded positive growth, reflecting broad-based momentum. Services, which account for over 80% of activity, rose 3.7%, led by financial, real estate, professional, and technical sectors at 6%. Public administration, education, health, and social services gained 3.8%, while retail, hospitality, transport, information, and communications managed 0.4%. Among non-service areas, construction expanded 6.2%, agriculture 4.1%, and industry 0.8%, ending a run of prior declines. Gross value added excluding finance climbed 3.6% year-on-year.

The performance positions Andorra ahead of regional peers, exceeding Spain's 2.7%, France's 0.9%, and the EU average of 0.7%. This follows 6.6% full-year growth in 2025, when output neared 3,983 million euros.

A recent International Monetary Fund study highlights Andorra's growing economic ties to Spain over France. Spanish GDP now serves as the key external predictor of Andorran activity in short-term models, while French data add little value once Spanish indicators are included. The analysis, which uses high-frequency data for "nowcasting," links this shift to tourism, trade, and consumption flows from Spain.

The IMF model had forecast 2.6% growth for the first quarter, slightly below the official 3.3% figure. It also simulated impacts from the Pas de la Casa road closure in late January to early March, estimating a 10% drop in visitors could shave growth to 2.4%. Tourism remains the economy's main driver, with indicators like visitor numbers and hotel electricity use proving most predictive. The fund noted gaps in construction data, suggesting better high-frequency metrics could reveal fuller contributions from the sector.