More than one in four people (28 percent) in the European Union lives in a region with a GDP per capita below 75 percent of the European average, but economic disparities are lessening in Portugal, according to the 9th cohesion report .
According to the 9th report on cohesion, released today by the European Commission, economic disparities remain in the European Union (EU), with 28 percent of European citizens living in regions with a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per inhabitant below 75 percent of the EU average, most in the east, but also in PortugalGreece and Spain.
The report notes, on the other hand, that regional disparities have reduced in Portugal due to “the relatively weak performance of some developed and previously dynamic regions”, with Lisbon being the only one that is above the European average.
Portugal presents a big difference between the Lisbon region (GDP per capita between 100 percent and 125 percent) and the others: 50 percent to 75 percent in almost the entire continental territory and Madeira, less than 50 percent in the Azores and between 90 percent and 100 percent in the Algarve.
The employment rate, another indicator that Brussels analyzes, also shows differences in Portugal: 78 percent to 82 percent in almost the entire continental territory, with the exception of the northern region (between 74 percent and 78 percent) and the Azores and Madeira (70 percent to 74 percent), with the objective set to have at least 78 percent of people between the ages of 20 and 64 employed.
Every three years, the Commission publishes its cohesion report, a document that assesses the current state of economic, social and territorial cohesion in the EU.
The report is data-based, tracking the evolution of cohesion according to a wide range of indicators, such as prosperity, employment, education levels and governance.
