Alentejo Region () is one of the seven NUTS 2 regions of Portugal. It covers all of the historical Alentejo Province and part of the historical

Ribatejo The Ribatejo () is the most central of the traditional provinces of Portugal, with no coastline or border with Spain. The region is crossed by the Tagus river (''Ribatejo'' translates to "upper Tagus", or more precisely, "up the Tagus" relative ...

and Estremadura provinces. The greater region is defined within Portugal by the land bordering the left bank of the river

Tagus The Tagus ( ; ; ) is the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula. The river rises in the Montes Universales between Cuenca and Teruel, in mid-eastern Spain, flows , generally westward, and empties into the Atlantic Ocean in Lisbon. Name T ...

to the North and extending to the South where it borders the

Algarve The Algarve (, , ) is the southernmost NUTS statistical regions of Portugal, NUTS II region of continental Portugal. It has an area of with 467,495 permanent inhabitants and incorporates 16 municipalities (concelho, ''concelhos'' or ''município ...

region. The origin of its name, "além" + "Tejo" combined as Alentejo, literally translates to "Beyond-the-Tagus". However, a large part of the subregion

Lezíria do Tejo The Comunidade Intermunicipal da Lezíria do Tejo (; "Tagus Floodplain") is an administrative division in Portugal. It was established as an ''Associação de Municípios'' in 1987, converted into a ''Comunidade Urbana'' in 2003, and converted int ...

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" (). Alentejo includes the regions of Alto Alentejo Province, Alto Alentejo and Bai ...

is completely located beyond the left margin of the Tagus River. Its main cities are

Évora Évora ( , ), officially the Very Noble and Ever Loyal City of Évora (), is a city and a municipalities of Portugal, municipality in Portugal. It has 53,591 inhabitants (2021), in an area of . It is the historic capital of the Alentejo reg ...

Elvas Elvas (), officially the City of Elvas (), is a Portuguese municipality, former episcopal city and frontier fortress of easternmost central Portugal, located in the district of Portalegre in Alentejo. It is situated about east of Lisbon, and ab ...

, Portalegre, Beja, Moura,

Serpa Serpa (), officially the Municipality of Serpa (), is a Municipalities of Portugal, municipality in the Districts of Portugal, district of Beja District, Beja in Alentejo region, southern Portugal. The population in 2011 was 15,623, in an area of ...

, and

Sines Sines () is a town 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 ...

Subdivisions

The region is subdivided into five intermunicipal communities ( NUTS 3 regions): * Alentejo Litoral *

Alentejo Central The Comunidade Intermunicipal do Alentejo Central (; "Intermunicipal communities of Portugal, Intermunicipal Community of Central Alentejo") is an administrative division in Portugal. It was created in 2009. The seat of the intermunicipal community ...

* Alto Alentejo * Baixo Alentejo

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 densely 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 Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the total market value of all the final goods and services produced and rendered in a specific time period by a country or countries. GDP is often used to measure the economic performanc ...

(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:NUTS2 Alentejo 2024.png, Location of Alentejo in Portugal File:LocalNUTS3AltoAlentejo.svg, Alto Alentejo (NUTS III) File:LocalNUTS3BaixoAlentejo.svg, Baixo Alentejo (NUTS III) File:LocalNUTS3AlentejoLitoral.svg, Alentejo Litoral (NUTS III) File:LocalNUTS3AlentejoCentral.svg,

(NUTS III)

References

External links

{{Authority control Alentejo NUTS 2 statistical regions of the European Union NUTS 2 statistical regions of Portugal