In 2024

Regional Development Composite Index of the Autonomous Region of Madeira improved slightly and approached the national average

The results of the Regional Development Composite Index (RDCI) for 2024, released today by Statistics Portugal (INE), indicate that Grande Lisboa remains the only NUTS 2 region to exceed the national average in terms of regional development, with the overall index value (aggregation of the competitiveness, cohesion and environmental quality indices) standing at 107.83, a value slightly above that of 2023 (107.77).

In the Autonomous Region of Madeira (ARM), the index stood at 98.38, reflecting a slight increase compared with 2023 (98.16), placing the ARM among the five out of nine NUTS 2 regions that improved their regional development performance — namely, in addition to the ARM and Grande Lisboa, Centro, Algarve and the Autonomous Region of the Azores (ARA). In the case of the ARA, an index of 92.95 was recorded, making it the region with the most significant increase compared with 2023 (91.79). However, among the nine NUTS 2 regions of the country, the ARA records the lowest RDCI, whilst the ARM maintains 4^th place.

The competitiveness index was the regional development dimension exhibiting the greatest territorial imbalances, with Grande Lisboa standing out from the remaining regions. This region not only recorded the highest value in the country in 2024 (116.69; 116.30 in 2023) but also remains the only NUTS 2 region to exceed the national average in this dimension. On the other hand, the ARA (83.43) and Alentejo (88.44) recorded the lowest competitiveness indices, though with differing trends compared with 2023 (83.26 and 90.81, respectively). The ARM recorded a slight improvement, with the index rising to 95.62 from 95.52 in 2023. In this index, among the nine NUTS 2 regions, the ARM maintained 5^th place.

As regards the cohesion index, the results reflect a more balanced territory than in the competitiveness index, at least at the level of mainland Portugal. In terms of performance, Grande Lisboa (108.80) is joined by Centro (100.64) as the only NUTS 2 regions to exceed the national average. The ARA recorded the lowest cohesion index in the country (83.19), despite a slight improvement relative to 2023 (82.40). The ARM also posted a value below the national average (93.79), though above that observed in the previous year (92.85). In this index, among the nine NUTS 2 regions, the ARM maintained 6^th place.

With regard to the environmental quality index, the results recorded in 2024 reveal lower dispersion compared with the cohesion and competitiveness indices. In this component, the ARA stands out for achieving the best performance among the nine NUTS 2 regions, with a value of 113.84, above that recorded in 2023 (111.04). The ARM (106.31) also exceeds the national average and maintains second place in terms of performance, recording a slight decline compared with 2023 (106.67). The Alentejo (103.64), Norte (100.91) and Centro (100.21) are the only mainland regions to exceed the national average, with Algarve (96.63) recording the lowest value.

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