Statistics Portugal releases the Regional Statistical Yearbooks, which are the key publications regarding statistical data disseminated at regional and municipal levels, aiming to support the knowledge of regional developments and the analysis of territorial-based issues.
The topics analysed in this press release emphasised the following territorial disparities:
Population: in a context of a slight slowdown of the trend in population decline, it was possible to register an increase in the number of municipalities with positive crude rates of increase (21 municipalities in 2014 and 46 in 2015), and an increase in population ageing in all of the NUTS 3 level regions, as well as an increase in the ageing ratio disparity between population living in urban areas and in rural areas;
Health: population aged 15 years old and over living in urban and in rural areas show a different pattern of behaviour in terms of smoking and drinking alcohol every day - the share of population drinking alcoholic beverages every day was higher in rural areas, whereas smoking was higher in urban areas;
International trade: in a context of export growth between 2014 and 2015 in all NUTS 2 level regions (with the exception of Área Metropolitana de Lisboa and of Região Autónoma da Madeira), it was possible to register an increase of the import-export coverage rate in Portugal, being this indicator higher than 100% in 18 of the 25 NUTS 3 level regions, with the regions of Alto Minho, Terras de Trás-os-Montes, Região de Coimbra, Viseu Dão Lafões and Médio Tejo also registering an increase of the value of exports relative to imports.