The Catalan ICT sector ended 2023 with a contribution to GDP of 9%, according to the Technology Sector Barometer in Catalonia 2024, produced by the Cercle Tecnològic with support from the Government of Catalonia and Barcelona City Council. The rise in turnover (12.5%) places the ICT sector ahead of the chemical industry, the automotive industry and construction in Catalonia. This is the largest increase in turnover in the last five years.

This dynamism is also evident in the number of companies, which increased by 0.2% to 17,854 companies. The increase is in contrast with a decline of 0.7% in Spain over the same period. According to the most recent figures in the report, 20% of Spain’s 72,521 ICT companies are based in Catalonia.

The number of employees also increased, to 135,200 professionals, 8.59% more than in 2022. The ICT workforce accounts for 4% of the employed population, above the figure for Spain of 3.5%.

AI and sustainability – the focus for ICT companies

Artificial intelligence (AI) is the technology that aims to bring about the biggest changes. And 33.3% of the respondents believe it is the area that will experience the greatest demand for professionals in the coming years. It is also the area that is expected to have the biggest impact on turnover.

Sustainability is another trend that has taken root in the technology industry. This is confirmed by 95% of participants in the Cercle Tecnològic survey, who say that measures to reduce the environmental footprint caused by ICTs are a priority in their company. They are mainly working to save energy and achieve more efficient waste management, and to continue teleworking (with the associated reduction in travel) as a factor contributing to energy savings.

Despite growing concern, the study concludes that there is still a need for greater collective awareness of the energy consumption involved in the computing power and data storage required by AI and big data.

Methodology of the study

A total of 1,537 professionals took part in the sixteenth Technology Sector Barometer in Catalonia, 21% more than in the 2023 report; 106 of them from Human Resources departments, and 698 from technical and managerial areas from a total of 804 companies. The other 733 participants came from non-technology companies: 366 were from companies with an ICT department, and 367 from companies without an ICT department.

This edition used the SmartDelphi system for the first time. This online tool is based on the Delphi method, which asynchronously gathers and synthesises the opinions of various groups of experts on five issues related to the Catalan ICT sector. This methodology was used to consult a total of 35 experts in five different subject areas: talent, knowledge transfer, areas of knowledge, the impact of technology on the economy, and the impact of technology on society.