The Caribbean coast state of Quintana Roo easily recorded the highest economic growth among Mexico’s 32 federal entities in the first quarter of 2024, with GDP increasing more than 20% on an annual basis.
Data published by the national statistics agency INEGI on Monday shows that 25 entities recorded annual growth in the first quarter of the year, while the economies of six states contracted. The economy of Baja California was stagnant, with GDP unchanged in annual percentage terms.
The national economy grew 1.6% annually in the first three months of the year.
Secondary sector drives growth in Quintana Roo
Annual data shows that the Quintana Roo economy expanded 20.1% in the first quarter of 2024.
The state’s primary sector recorded growth of 3.4%, while the tertiary sector — which includes Quintana Roo’s large tourism industry — expanded 5.5%.
Quintana Roo’s secondary sector, which includes manufacturing and construction, grew a whopping 125.6% compared to the first three months of 2023.
The state’s economy has benefited from the construction of large infrastructure projects, including the US $20 billion Maya Train railroad, as well as urban projects in cities such as Cancún and Playa del Carmen.
Governor Mara Lezama celebrated Quintana Roo’s position at the top of Mexico’s economic growth rankings in a video posted to social media.
The INEGI data “positions us as the leading state in economic growth in the entire country,” she said.
“… We continue to work so that all this [growth] is reflected in the social wellbeing of every family in Quintana Roo. [We want] prosperity, but shared prosperity,” said the Morena party governor.
The Quintana Roo economy also performed well in 2023, growing 12% in annual terms.
Which other states recorded strong economic growth in Q1?
Campeche, another state that has benefited from the construction of the Maya Train railroad, recorded the second highest economic growth among Mexico’s 32 federal entities in the first quarter of the year.
The state’s economy grew 5.8% in annual terms between January and March, according to INEGI. Campeche’s secondary sector expanded 89.8% annually in the first quarter of the year.
Ranking third to 10th for overall economic growth in the first quarter were:
- Durango: annual growth of 5.3%
- Baja California Sur: 4.7%
- Hidalgo: 3.9%
- Sinaloa: 3.9%
- Yucatán: 3.9%
- Puebla: 3.4%
- Veracruz: 2.8%
- San Luis Potosí: 2.7%
Guanajuato, México state and Nuevo León all recorded growth above 2%, while the economies of seven states – Querétaro, Sonora, Oaxaca, Morelos, Tamaulipas, Tlaxcala and Aguascalientes – expanded by 1.1%-1.9%.
Nayarit recorded annual growth of 0.4% in the first quarter, while the economies of Michoacán and Mexico City expanded by 0.2%.
Which states recorded economic contractions in Q1?
While the economy of Baja California was stagnant with annual growth of 0.0%, the economies of six states went backwards.
Coahuila recorded the biggest contraction, with GDP declining 3.1% in the northern border state.
The other states that recorded annual economic contractions in the first quarter of 2024 were:
- Tabasco: -1.7%
- Zacatecas: -0.8%
- Guerrero: -0.7%
- Jalisco: -0.6%
- Chihuahua: -0.2%
With reports from La Jornada Maya and Excélsior
