Half of the Catalan municipalities with the worst socioeconomic indicators in 2023 are concentrated in Ponent, according to the latest Territorial Socioeconomic Index from Idescat. The study sets the average for Catalonia at 100 and places 16 municipalities in the province of Lleida among the 31 that fall 20 points below that threshold.
The most extreme case is that of Barbens, in Pla d"Urgell, which occupies the last position in Lleida and all of Catalonia with an IST of 56.5. In Ponent, they are followed by la Granja d"Escarp and Seròs, in Segrià, with 63 and 65.4 points. In the Catalan aggregate, after Barbens appear Salt, with 59.8, and Sant Pere Pescador, with 62.9.
Strong concentration of the worst data in the plain of Lleida
The index gathers in a single value labor, educational, immigration and income data. Among the municipalities from Lleida below the Catalan average are also Balaguer, with 79.3, Guissona, with 70.9, Alcarràs, with 73, and the city of Lleida, with 89.9.
The concentration of low results occurs mainly in the plain area. El Pla d"Urgell, la Noguera and la Segarra also appear among the Lleida comarcas with the worst records, with 88.1, 86.6 and 85.8, respectively.
The Lleida Pyrenees is above average
Facing those data, several municipalities of the Pyrenees and the Pre-Pyrenees exceed the Catalan average. Camarasa reaches 108.3, Os de Balaguer reaches 108.6 and les Avellanes i Santa Linya registers 104.2.
Prats i Sansor and Esterri de Cardós lead the Lleida ranking with 125.9 and 125.1 points. In the case of Esterri de Cardós, the advance is notable compared to 2022, when it scored 116. Also noteworthy are la Torre de Cabdella, with 116.4, Alt Àneu, with 118.7, and Els Bòrdes, with 118.5.
Pallars Sobirà leads in Lleida and also in the Catalan whole
At a county level, Pallars Sobirà records the best average in Lleida with 107.4. After this county are Aran, with 104, and Cerdanya, with 100.3. They are the only three Lleida counties that exceed the Catalan average.
That leadership of Pallars Sobirà also repeats throughout Catalonia, where it leads the comarcal classification ahead of Baix Llobregat, with 104.1. At the opposite extreme appears Alt Empordà, with 83.7, followed by Montsià, with 85.4, and Segarra.
Matadepera maintains the first position of the Catalan ranking
In the upper part of the general classification, Matadepera revalidates the first position in Catalonia with an IST of 129.9, a leadership it has maintained for a decade. Among municipalities with more than 1,000 inhabitants, Tiana follows, with 124.7, and Sant Just Desvern, with 123.9.
Six indicators to measure the socioeconomic situation
The IST is calculated from six indicators. It includes two on employment status, two on educational level, one on immigration, and one on income. Among the variables analyzed is the employed population aged 20 to 64, where Talarn, in Pallars Jussà, occupies the last position with 37.4%, while Campllong leads this section with 81.7%.
Immigration from low or middle-income countries is also measured. At that point, Guissona registers the highest percentage in Catalonia with 52.5%. At the other extreme appear Maspujols, Monistrol de Calders, and Muntanyola, with 1.1%.
The index also incorporates the percentage of low-skilled workers, whose Catalan average is 11.6%, the population aged 20 or more with low education, with an average of 13.7%, and the young population without post-compulsory education, which stands at 22.9%.
In income, the average per person in Catalonia is 16,461 euros. La Riba leads this indicator with 28,987 euros per inhabitant.