Alentejo Region () is one of the seven
NUTS 2 regions of Portugal
The Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS) is developed by Eurostat, and employed in both Portugal and the entire European Union for statistical purposes. The NUTS branch extends from NUTS1, NUTS2 and NUTS3 regions, with the comp ...
. It covers all of the historical
Alentejo Province
Alentejo Province () is one of the six historical provinces of Portugal. The province took its name from the Portuguese ''além Tejo'', meaning "Beyond the (River) Tagus". It covers the historical and cultural region Alentejo. It was created in ...
and part of the historical
Ribatejo and
Estremadura provinces.
The greater region is defined within Portugal by the land bordering the left bank of the river
Tagus to the North and extending to the South where it borders the
Algarve region. The origin of its name, "além" + "Tejo" combined as Alentejo, literally translates to "Beyond-the-Tagus". However, a large part of the subregion
LezÃria do Tejo is located on the right bank of the Tagus. The
Alentejo
Alentejo ( , ) is a geographical, historical, and cultural region of south–central and southern Portugal. In Portuguese, its name means "beyond () the Tagus river" (''Tejo'').
Alentejo includes the regions of Alto Alentejo and Baixo Alent ...
is completely located beyond the left margin of the Tagus River.
Its main cities are
Évora,
Elvas,
Portalegre,
Beja,
Moura,
Serpa,
Sines
Sines () is a city and a municipality in Portugal. The municipality, divided into two parishes, has around 14,214 inhabitants (2021) in an area of . Sines holds an important oil refinery and several petrochemical industries. It is also a popular ...
and
Santarém.
Subdivisions
The region is subdivided into five
intermunicipal communities (
NUTS 3 regions):
*
Alentejo Litoral
*
Alentejo Central
*
Alto Alentejo
*
Baixo Alentejo
*
LezÃria do Tejo
Demographics
The resident population of the Alentejo stands at around 759,000 (fourth quarter, 2008 – 2 700 less than the fourth quarter of 2007), with 49% men and 51% women. It is the least populated region in the country, representing over one third of national territory but only 7.1% of its population. It is also the region with the oldest population, 22.9% being 65 years of age or more (while the national average is 17.5%).
The population is still declining – especially in the east of the Alentejo. Locals are said to migrate from the villages to the towns and from the towns to cities beyond the Alentejo. Some migration into the Alentejo is from Northern Europeans looking to escape their overcrowded regions, though not always permanently, just for sunny holiday retreats. People from China, Brazil, and mostly from (South-)Eastern Europe add to curbing population decline.
Economy
In 2006, the region had an estimated GDP per inhabitant rating of 17,200 EUR. In 2018, the
Gross domestic product (GDP) of the region was 13.1 billion euros, accounting for 6.4% of Portugal's economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was 21,700 euros or 72% of the EU27 average in the same year. The GDP per employee was 73% of the EU average.
Maps
File:Provincia Alto Alentejo.png, Alto Alentejo Province 1936
File:Provincia Baixo Alentejo.png, Baixo Alentejo Province 1936
File:LocalRegiaoAlentejo.svg, Alentejo Region (NUTS II)
File:LocalNUTS3LeziriaDoTejo.svg, LezÃria do Tejo (NUTS III)
File:LocalNUTS3AltoAlentejo.svg, Alto Alentejo (NUTS III)
File:LocalNUTS3BaixoAlentejo.svg, Baixo Alentejo (NUTS III)
File:LocalNUTS3AlentejoLitoral.svg, Alentejo Litoral (NUTS III)
File:LocalNUTS3AlentejoCentral.svg, Alentejo Central (NUTS III)
References
External links
{{Authority control
Alentejo
NUTS 2 statistical regions of the European Union
NUTS 2 statistical regions of Portugal