Summary
ISDR results for 2006 show that as regards the overall indicator of regional development, only five NUTS 3 level regions out of 30 – in hierarchical order, Grande Lisboa, Pinhal Litoral, Baixo Vouga and marginally, Beira Interior Sul and Baixo Mondego - stood above the national average.
The results illustrate an asymmetric view of the country in terms of overall development and competitiveness, albeit more balanced regarding cohesion and, to a lesser extent, also more balanced regarding the level of environmental quality. Despite the more intense regional asymmetries found in competitiveness, these are the result of 17 regional converging behaviours to the national average in the 2004-2006 period.
Regarding competitiveness, the well-known contrast between Coastal and Inland regions, with the Coastal area showing higher performance, stands out. This pattern also applies to the environmental quality, although reversed in relation to competitiveness, with the interior showing better performances. As for cohesion, the indicator displays a more balanced country with some supremacy of Southern and Centre/Southern sub-regions in opposition to Northern sub-regions.