This is despite the fact that the “contingencies associated with the effects of the pandemic were still present in 2022”, points out the Algarve Regional Coordination and Development Commission (CCDR) in its 2023 Regional Accounts, which have just been released.

This growth, higher than the national average, can be explained by the return to a certain “normality”, after the pandemic period, which strongly conditioned the movement of people and affected the main economic activity in the region in a very intense way.

Preliminary data for 2023 point to real growth of 3.3% compared to 2022, higher than the national average (2.5%), which allowed the Algarve to increase its contribution to national GDP, which rose to 4.92%.

The increase in GDP was mainly due to the positive performance observed in the “trade, transport and storage and accommodation and catering” sector, which represents 41% of the Gross Value Added (GVA) generated by the Algarve economy, which amounted to 11,434 million euros in 2023, corresponding to a variation rate of 10.3%, the same as that recorded in the country.

A recent publication by Eurostat, dated February 11, 2025, even highlights that the 3.3% increase in real growth was only recorded in Greater Lisbon. In neighbouring Andalusia, real growth was 2.4%.