Cádiz remains far from average income despite its potential, according to a study

GDP per capita in the province of Cádiz was 21,344 euros in 2023, 69 % of the national average. That is the gap identified in the report "Infraestructuras y crecimiento económico en Cádiz (2015-2025): propuestas de futuro", prepared by the Colegio de Economistas de Cádiz and the Consejo General de Economistas de España (CGE) and promoted by the Diputación de Cádiz. The study notes that the province has a strategic geographical position, great port capacity and 3,410 megawatts of installed renewable power, but these strengths do not translate into income and employment comparable to the country as a whole. Unemployment fell from 38.3 % in 2015 to 18.7 % in 2025, although it remains the highest of the thirteen provinces analysed. Only Jaén has a lower GDP per capita in Andalucía, and 28.4 % of the population of Cádiz lives below the low-income threshold, compared with 21.3 % for Spain as a whole.

Average Social Security affiliation rose from 335,058 people in 2015 to 427,851 in 2025, 27.69 % more. Average income per person grew from 8,489 to 12,335 euros between 2015 and 2023, although it remained 2,701 euros below the Spanish average. The business fabric reached 64,838 active companies in 2025, 12.15 % more than ten years earlier, but 95.3 % had fewer than ten employees. The weight of manufacturing industry fell from 10.3 % to 6.9 % between 2015 and 2023. The accumulated real value of public infrastructure decreased by 6 % between 2015 and 2022, meaning investment did not offset its depreciation. In 2022 ports accounted for 43.5 % of investment, compared with 9.2 % for rail; in Spain the figures were 8.4 % and 24.6 %, respectively. Real investment in public infrastructure fell by 19 % between 2015 and 2022. Among the bottlenecks, the report cites the single-track Algeciras-Bobadilla railway line, the lack of an efficient rail connection with Madrid, the sections of the N-IV (between 60 and 66 kilometres) and of the N-340 between Vejer and Algeciras (close to 70 kilometres) still awaiting dualling, and limitations on access to the electricity grid for new industrial projects. It also identifies needs for productive land, water, connectivity at the Aeropuerto de Jerez and conservation of what already exists. The study sets out 20 proposals in eight areas (governance, energy, rail, roads, ports and productive land, airport, water and conservation and digital connectivity), with a timetable and those responsible. As its central axis it proposes a Provincial Infrastructure Plan with a 2045 horizon and a technical monitoring office. According to the consultations carried out, 89 % of respondents consider the pace of execution of the committed investments insufficient and 94 % support a twenty-year provincial plan. The president of the Diputación, Almudena Martínez del Junco, has called for "unity and consensus" and has cited actions such as the dualling of the N-IV and the N-340, the electrification of the Algeciras-Bobadilla line, the Nudo de Tres Caminos or the rail connection between the bays of Cádiz and Algeciras. She has announced that the 2027 provincial budget, which will go to the Pleno next week, includes an item for investment in and maintenance of the provincial roads.