Introduction

The municipality of Ordes is located in the region of Ordes, in the centre of the province of A Coruña and 36 kilometres from the provincial capital, the Council of Ordes has a population of around 12,600 and an area of 157.23 square kilometres. It is a sparsely populated area, according to the Galician Institute of Statistics.

It is part of Region of Ordes Rural Development Group (GDR21).

Socio-economic information

Population and demographic structure

The population of Ordes increased by more than 1,000 inhabitants between 1996 and 2012, that is by almost 11%. From 2012 to 2022, it showed a decrease of -3%. Nevertheless, the population grew by 7.5% over the whole period, which corresponds to an increase of 30 inhabitants per year. In the last decade, from 2012 to 2022, Ordes showed a decrease of -2.9%. This demographic decline was accompanied by a progressive ageing of the population. In the ten years from 2012 to 2022, the age groups with the greatest loss were those under 64 years of age. In particular, the number of people aged between 16 and 64 fell by -10% over this period, with a loss of 800 people. The over-64 age group increased by 15%, while the under-16 age group continued to grow slightly.

The Total Dependency Ratio (TDR) reached 63% in 2022 after a continuous increase since 2005, showing a positive downward trend. Thereafter, the increase in the dependent population was remarkable, confirming the demographic decline and ageing of the municipality.

Population dynamics in Ordes.

Evolution of the total dependency ratio of Ordes, Pontevedra and Galicia.

Economy

The evolution of the Gross Disposable Product (GDP) of Ordes follows an upward trend, although with lower rates than those of the Galician municipalities and the province of A Coruña. It also has some periods of significant decline. The GDP fell by -6% over the decade, more than the -2% recorded at Galician level.

From 2014, the rate becomes positive until 2020, when it suffers a decline of -4%. The total GDP of the municipality will be 201.96 million euros in 2020, representing 0.35% of the total GDP of Galicia and 0.77% of that of A Coruña.

The Gross Disposable Income (GDI) reflected a growth of 5% between 2002 and 2019. In Ordes in 2019, the average household income was 14,100 euros per inhabitant, with a difference of 2,600 euros compared to the Galician average. With the pandemic, there was a decrease of -2%, reaching 13,840 euros in 2020.

Using the registration of social security affiliations as an estimate of municipal employment, Ordes experienced an increase of 6% between 2011 and 2022, which was lower than the 8% recorded at regional and provincial level. If we analyse the information by sector, the primary sector showed a more significant decrease of -13%. The secondary sector recorded a loss of -12.5%. In the tertiary sector, the growth is up to 22%, exceeding the 14-15% registered in the territorial groups.

In 2022, Ordes had an activity rate of almost 77% in the period 2011-2022, exceeding that of Galicia and A Coruña by 23 percentage points. There was also an increase in the employment rate, which was almost 69%. As for the unemployment rate, it fell from 18% to 10.7% in 2022, reaching the same level as in the territorial groups.

Evolution of Gross Disposable Income per inhabitant in Ordes, Pontevedra and Galicia.

Evolution of employment, unemployment, and activity rates in the municipality of Ordes.

Energy resources

Ordes has a renewable solar photovoltaic energy supply with an installed capacity of 5 kW.

The electricity consumption of Ordes in 2023 has been estimated at 30,818.99 MWh. 15,083.57 MWh is residential consumption. Services, including municipal services, consumed 8,297.24 MWh. Industry consumed 1,777.95 MWh. There is also unspecified consumption of 5,660.24 MWh.

Energy Policy Councils

Energy Policy Councils

Ordes background

Despite numerous attempts to make contact and progress with the government group and local technical staff, it has not yet been possible to activate the Local Energy Policy Council within the timeframe foreseen by EC4RURAL.