Madeira is an archipelago located 1 000 km away from Portugal, in the Atlantic, with 260 000 inhabitants.
The archipelago’s main assets are tourism, natural resources, the development of spatial technologies and biotechnologies. Tourism can be boosted with a better valorisation of cultural and natural resources.
The export of agricultural products (sugar, tropical fruits and wine) is an important part of the archipelago’s economy. These products can be turned into real competitive assets.
The region faces challenges: the unemployment rate of young people is more than double the EU average and low levels of qualification of the population and early school leaving remain issues.