EUROACE’s territory covers an area of approximately 92,500 sq. km, equivalent to 16% of the territory of the Iberian Peninsula. On the other hand, the population is much smaller, around 3.9 million inhabitants, the equivalent of 39% of the Portuguese population or 7% of the total for the peninsula.
Its strategic location in the southwestern peninsula and in relation to large metropolitan areas of the Iberian Peninsula (Madrid, Lisbon, Seville, Porto), as well as the Atlantic façade, gives EUROACE a privileged position.
Its territorial structure has a good network of medium and small cities, with adequate public services and easy extra-regional accessibility, which will shortly be increased by the high-speed trains.
The natural heritage represents one of the most important assets of the EUROACE border area. This is confirmed by the fact that these regions share the management of the first cross-border Natural Park, in the surroundings of the Tagus River.
ALENTEJO
Alentejo (regional capital: Évora) is the largest Portuguese region with a territorial area equivalent to about 31.500 km², which corresponds to approximately one third of the country’s territory. Alentejo includes the NUT’s III of Baixo Alentejo, Alto Alentejo, Alentejo Central and Alentejo Litoral, in a total of 47 municipalities and borders with the Portuguese regions of Centro, Algarve and the Spanish regions of Extremadura and Andalusia.
According to provisional data from the 2021 census, the population is 468 802 and the population density slightly higher than 22 people per km², which is the lowest population density among the Portuguese regions.
CENTRO REGION
The Centro Region, whose capital is Coimbra, extends over 28,000 km². In 2018, the region had 2,216,569 inhabitants (Eurostat, 2020), which represents approximately 31% of the total area of Portugal and 21.6% of the population living in the country.
The Centro Region fully comprises the districts of Coimbra, Castelo Branco and Leiría, most of the districts of Aveiro, Viseu and Guarda, the northern part of the District of Lisbon and about a third of the District of Santarém. Located in the central part of Portugal, the region has a strategic position as it is located between the two main national urban centers: Lisbon and Porto.
EXTREMADURA
Extremadura is a Spanish autonomous community located in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula. It is made up of two provinces: Cáceres and Badajoz, whose capitals are its two most populated cities. The region has its capital in Merida.
Its territory covers an area of 41,634 km², approximately 8% of the total area of the country. In 2019, the region had 1,065,424 inhabitants (Eurostat, 2020), making it one of the least populated areas and continuing the negative trend in the natural growth rate recorded in recent years.