The recovery of the economy from the blow caused by the coronavirus pandemic (when activity sank by a historic 11.3%) was more intense than what the National Institute of Statistics (INE) had initially calculated, which has revised the data by third time. . The organization has revised its calculation for last year upward three tenths, when the economy would have grown at 5.8% (compared to the 5.5% estimated until now) and points to an advance of 6.4% in 2021, almost a point higher than what it had been aiming for to date. This more positive scenario responds to the acceleration of a variable that many experts considered had been underestimated until now: household consumption.
The upward revision of GDP has important consequences from the point of view of fiscal consolidation, especially as the European Union recovers the validity of fiscal rules (the obligation for countries to adhere to deficit and debt). In the specific case of Spain, the fact that the GDP grows in volume by 20,000 million euros more than what was calculated last year allows the debt ratio to be reduced by an additional 1.6 points, so that Spain will be able to anticipate the fiscal objectives set. in the Stability Program and reduce public debt to below 110% this year, as confirmed by sources from the Ministry of Economic Affairs.
