Updated the 5th of March 2019

Regional gap in GDP per capita, 2000-16 Index of regional disparity in GDP per capita, 2016

Differences between Portuguese regions in terms of GDP per capita have decreased over the last sixteen years. This decrease is due to a fall in GDP per capita in Lisbon metropolitan region since 2010 and moderate growth in the region North since 2013. Portugal recorded the 3rd largest reduction in regional economic disparities between 2000 and 2016 among OECD countries and had the 4th lowest regional economic disparities in 2016 among 30 OECD countries with comparable data.

With a productivity growth of 1.9% per year over the period 2000-16, Madeira had the highest productivity growth among Portuguese regions, narrowing the gap with the Lisbon metropolitan region. While Lisbon metropolitan region had the lowest productivity growth of all seven Portuguese regions (0.2% per year), it remains the most productive region in Portugal.

Youth unemployment rates are above the OECD average in all Portuguese regions. The North region has the highest youth unemployment rate in 2017 at 25.9%, ten percentage points above the OECD average, but has managed to half youth unemployment since 2013.

Productivity trends, most and least dynamic regions, 2000-16 Youth unemployment rate, 15-24 years old, 2007-17

Source: OECD Regional Database. Notes: (1) Figure on regional gap in GDP per capita: OECD regions refer to the administrative tier of subnational government (large regions, Territorial Level 2); Portugal is composed of seven large regions. (2) Figure on index of regional disparity: top (bottom) 20% regions are defined as those with the highest (lowest) GDP per capita until the equivalent of 20% of national population is reached, this indicator provides a harmonised measure to rank OECD countries, using data for small regions (Territorial Level 3) when available. (3) Productivity is measured as GDP per employee at place of work in constant prices, constant Purchasing Power Parities (reference year 2010).

10 000

15 000

20 000

25 000

30 000

35 000

40 000

45 000

2000 2005 2010 2016

GDP per capita in USD PPP

Lowest regionNorth

Highest regionLisbon

22 980 USD

35 812 USD

27 198 USDPortugal

1

2

3

4

Top 20 % richest over bottom 20% poorest regionsRatio

Country (number of regions considered)

Small regions(TL3)

Large regions (TL2)

2016 2000

Portugal

40 000

45 000

50 000

55 000

60 000

65 000

70 000

75 000

80 000

2000 2005 2010 2016

GDP per worker in USD PPP

Lisbon Metropolitan: lowest productivity growth (+0.2% annually)

Madeira: highest productivity growth (+1.9% annually)

Lisbon Metropolitan: highest productivity in 2016 and lowest productivity growth(+0.2% average annual growth over 2000-16)

OECD

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

2007 2012 2017

rate (% )

Lowest rateCentral Portugal

Highest rateNorth

20.8%

25.9%

23.9%Portugal

Regions and Cities at a Glance 2018 – PORTUGAL http://www.oecd.org/regional

Economic trends in regions

Updated the 5th of March 2019

Relative ranking of the regions with the best and worst outcomes in the 11 well-being dimensions, with respect to all 402 OECD regions. The eleven dimensions are ordered by decreasing regional disparities in the country. Each well-being dimension is measured by the indicators in the table below.

All seven Portuguese regions are among the top 35% of OECD regions in environment (air quality). The largest regional disparities are found in health and access to services: regarding the former, Lisbon ranks among the top 35% of OECD regions and Azores in the bottom 15%.

The high performing Portuguese regions fare better than the OECD median region in life expectancy, mortality rate, broadband access, homicide rate, rooms per person, employment rate, air pollution, and worse than the OECD median region in the other six indicators. In the high performing regions, 63.4% of the labour force has at least an upper secondary degree, 18 percentage points below the OECD median region.

Source: OECD Regional Database. Visualisation: https://www.oecdregionalwellbeing.org. Notes: (1) OECD regions refer to the first administrative tier of subnational government (large regions, Territorial Level 2); Portugal is composed of seven large regions. (2) Household income per capita data are based on USD constant PPP, constant prices (year 2010).

LisbonMetropolitan

LisbonMetropolitan

Azores

CentralPortugal

Azores

Algarve

Azores

LisbonMetropolitan

LisbonMetropolitan

LisbonMetropolitan

Lisbon Metropolitan

Azores

Alentejo

Madeira

Madeira

Alentejo

Madeira

CentralPortugal

Azores Azores

North

CentralPortugal

Health Access toservices

Safety Housing Community Jobs Environment CivicEngagement

Education Income LifeSatisfaction

Top region Bottom region

Ra

nkin

g o

f O

EC

D r

eg

ion

s(1

to

40

2)

top

20

%b

otto

m 2

0%

mid

dle

60

%

Lisbon Metropolitan Regions

Top 20% Bottom 20%

Health

Life Expectancy at birth (years), 2016 81.3 80.4 81.7 80.0

Age adjusted mortality rate (per 1 000 people), 2016 7.6 8.1 7.3 8.5

Access to services

Households w ith broadband access (%), 2017 76.0 78.0 85.0 69.9

Safety

Homicide Rate (per 100 000 people), 2016 0.6 1.3 0.5 0.9

Housing

Rooms per person, 2016 1.9 1.8 2.1 1.9

Community

Perceived social netw ork support (%), 2013 86.3 91.4 87.9 82.6

Jobs

Employment rate 15 to 64 years old (%), 2017 67.7 67.7 69.8 65.2

Unemployment rate 15 to 64 years old (%), 2017 9.3 5.5 7.5 10.3

Environment

Level of air pollution in PM 2.5 (µg/m³), 2015 7.1 12.4 6.1 9.5

Civic engagement

Voters in last national election (%), 2017 or lastest year 56.7 70.9 60.1 48.0

Education

Labour force w ith at least upper secondary education (%), 2017 52.0 81.7 63.4 46.3

Income

Disposable income per capita (in USD PPP), 2016 14 495 17 695 17 624 12 631

Life Satisfaction

Life satisfaction (scale from 0 to 10), 2013 5.3 6.8 5.4 5.1

Portuguese regionsCountry

Average

OECD median

region

Differences in well-being across regions

Updated the 5th of March 2019

OECD population is concentrated in cities* Percentage of population in cities, 2016

Source: OECD Metropolitan Database. Number of cities: 12 in Portugal and 1 138 in the OECD.

In Portugal, 56% of the population lives in cities of more than 50 000 inhabitants. The share of population in cities with more than 500 000 people is 40% compared to 55% in the OECD area.

Importance of metropolitan areas, 2016 Cities above 500 000 people, 2016

GDP growth, 2000-16

Taken together, Lisbon and Porto account for 47% of national GDP and 41% of employment.

Lisbon metropolitan area ranks in the bottom 40% of OECD metropolitan areas in terms of GDP per capita while Porto ranks among the bottom 20%.

The metropolitan areas of Porto and Lisbon have lower air pollution levels than the OECD median region.

OECD Metropolitan areas ranking Cities above 500 000 people

GDP per capita, 2016

Air pollution (PM2.5), 2017

Source: OECD Metropolitan Database. Number of metropolitan areas with a population of over 500 000: two in Portugal compared to 327 in the OECD.

* Note: Cities are defined here as functional urban areas, which are composed by high-density urban centres of at least 50 000 people and their areas of influence (commuting zone). For more information, see: http://www.oecd.org/cfe/regional-policy/functionalurbanareasbycountry.htm.

40%

3%13%

44%

United States

people in citieswith population above 500 000

peopleoutside cities

United States

people in cities withpopulation between50 000 and 250 000

10.3 million people - 56% live in cities

United StatesPortugal

people in cities with population between 250 000 and 500 000

OECD average

1.2 billion people - 70%live in cities

people in citieswith population

above 500 000

people in cities withpopulation between

50 000 and 250 000

peopleoutside cities

55%

9%

30%

people in cities with populationbetween 250 000 and 500 000

6%

47%41% 40%

63%58% 55%

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

% of nationalGDP

% of nationalemployment

% of nationalpopulation

Portugal OECD average%

0

20 000

40 000

60 000

80 000

100 000USD PPP

Top 20% richest metropolitan areas

Bottom 20% poorest metropolitan areas

0

10

20

30

Lev el of air pollution in PM 2.5 (µg/m³)

Top 20% least polluted metropolitan areas

Bottom 20% most polluted metropolitan areas

Metropolitan areas in the national economy

Updated the 5th of March 2019

Subnational government expenditure by function As a share of total subnational government expenditure, 2016

Subnational government expenditure amounts to USD 1 734 per capita in Portugal compared to an OECD average of USD 6 817. In Portugal, this is equivalent to 12.6% of total public expenditure and to 5.7% of GDP. In comparison, across the OECD, subnational government expenditure accounts for 40.4% of total public expenditure and for 16.2% of GDP. General public services and function ‘Other’ (housing and community amenities, recreation, culture and religion; environment; public order and safety) are the two largest spending items for subnational governments in Portugal: together they represent 54% of subnational expenditure compared to 29% in the OECD area.

In Portugal, 52% of total public investment was carried out by subnational governments compared to an OECD average of 56.9%.

Role of subnational governments in public investment Subnational government public investment per capita, 2016

Source: OECD Subnational Government Structure and Finance Database.

OECD Regions and Cities at a Glance 2018

The 2018 edition of OECD Regions and Cities at a Glance shows how regions and cities contribute to national growth and the well-being of societies. It updates its regular set of region-by-region indicators, examining a wide range of policies and trends and identifying those regions that are outperforming or lagging behind in their country.

Consult this publication on line: https://oe.cd/pub/2n9

Health 7% 18% Health

Education 14% 25% Education

Social protection 7% 14% Social protection

Other 25% 15% Other

Economic affairs 18% 14% Economic affairs

General public servicesGeneral public services 29% 14%

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Portugal OECD average

Subnational expenditure per capita: USD 1 734 USD 6 817

0

200

400

600

800

1 000

1 200

1 400

Total public investmentUSD 463 per capita1.5% of GDP

Total public investmentUSD 1 278 per capita3.0% of GDP

Subnational governmentinvestmentUSD 241 per capita52.0% of public invest.

USD per capita

Subnational government investmentUSD 727 per capita 56.9% of public invest.

OECD averagePortugal

Subnational government finance