Spanish gross domestic product surpassed that of Italy first the first time in 2017 according to statistics from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The updated figures show that Spaniards have an average income of $38,285 (about 31,023 euros), compared to $38,140 (30,904 euros) for Italians.
The ‘sorpasso’, according to the estimates of the IMF, will be consolidated throughout 2018, when the international institution calculates an average income per capita in 2019 of $40,289 in the case of Spain and 39,499 in that of Italy, widening the gap between Spanish and Italian workers from 0.4% in 2017 to 2% in 2018.
This evolution of GDP per capita measured by purchasing power reflects the diverging fortunes of the two economies.
The IMF’s latest growth forecasts place Spain as the fastest growing large economy in Europe, with a rate of 2.8% in 2018 and 2.2% in 2019, while in the case of Italy it anticipates growth of 1.5% this year and 1.1% the next.
In the longer term, the IMF forecasts point to an increasingly wider differential, with an average per capita income of $42,124 in Spain, compared to $40,824 in Italy.
According to the figures, Spain had the eighth largest economy in the eurozone, measured by purchasing capacity. Luxembourgers, with an average income of $106,373 on average are the highest paid in the Eurozone, ahead of the Irish, with $75,538, and the Dutch, with $53,634.
According to the IMF forecasts, by 2023 Luxembourgers will remain the richest in the eurozone, with an estimated average income of $127,321 ahead of the Irish, with $97,936 and the Dutch, with $67,645.
