Balearic economy is growing faster than the British

The Balearic economy is growing at a faster rate than the French, British and German and is well above the national Spanish average. During the first six months of the year, Balearic Gross National Product grew by 4.17 percent and the long term end of year growth rate is estimated to level out at 4.45. Balearic Finance Minister, Joan Mesquida, said yesterday that while the Balearic GNP is growing at a rate slightly slower than in the Canaries and Madrid, it is posting better figures than the French economy, which is expanding at a rate of 3.5 percent and the British and German economies both of which have grown by three percent this year. “We are in the midst of a large period of economic growth,” Mesquida said yesterday. The Minister said that many other regions in Europe are “envious” of the Balearics' rate of growth and that the figures show that the Balearic economy is being well managed. Broken down into islands, Ibiza is where the economy is growing the fastest at a rate of six percent per annum, followed by Minorca with 5.5 percent and finally Majorca at a rate of 4.3 percent. The service sector, intricately linked to the tourist industry, accounts for 81 percent of the region's GNP, generating some 2'365'150 million pesetas per year.