Spain is an important bilateral and multilateral partner, and there is a broad overlap in the convictions and fundamental values underpinning the two countries’ foreign policy. Relations are close and friendly. In 2024, there were 172,456 Spanish nationals living in Germany and 128,049 German nationals in Spain (Eurostat figures)

Political dialogue between the two countries is close and founded on mutual trust. At the last German-Spanish intergovernmental consultations held in A Coruña, Galicia, in 2022, an Action Plan for greater bilateral and EU cooperation was endorsed. As a result, senior officials meet regularly for consultations alongside high-level visits. King Felipe VI paid a state visit to Germany in October 2022.

In 2024, the bilateral volume of trade was around 92.5 billion euro. Spain ranked 11 as a source of imports to Germany and as the destination for German exports (Federal Statistical Office figures). Germany was the most important supplier of imports for Spain and the second-largest export market (Spanish Ministry of Economy, Trade and Business) According to the Bundesbank, there were 1631 German businesses in Spain in 2022 employing 296,000 people with a turnover of 117 billion euro. The German Chamber of Commerce Abroad, Germany Trade & Invest and the German National Tourist Board all have offices in Spain. In 2024, 11.9 million German tourists visited Spain (an increase of 8.2%), making German, alongside British and French tourists, the largest group of visitors (National Statistics Institute, Spain).

Spain was the European Film Market’s “Country in Focus” at the 75th Berlinale in 2025 and the Guest of Honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair in 2022. The Goethe-Institut promotes cultural exchange from its offices in Madrid and Barcelona. Spain currently has 26 schools in the Schools: Partners for the Future programme (PASCH), a worldwide network funded by the Federal Foreign Office, including nine German schools abroad. The German Academic Exchange Service, the German Archaeological Institute and three of the German political foundations (Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung) also have offices in Spain.