NUTS-3 EL431 · Greece
Ηράκλειο
Irakleio
Ηράκλειο generates €5.5bn of GDP across 301.6k residents. Its Opportunity Index of 32/100 sits in the lower tier of EU regions, led by economic growth and economic scale. Its economy has grown +4.8%/yr over five years and accelerating, with the employment rate up 13.5pp. On quality of life it ranks strongest for health (64th EU percentile) and weakest for digital connectivity (1th).
Long-run trajectory · EU percentile of real GDP per head, 1995–2024
Persistent laggard24 → 18 EU percentile since 1995 (-6 ranks)
Yearly EU-wide percentile of real GDP per head (ARDECO regional accounts, constant 2020 prices, derived over population). 50 = the EU median that year; percentiles are scale-free, so decades are directly comparable. See the backtest for what long-run prosperity ranks do — and don't — anticipate.
Mandate pillar profile · EU percentiles (screener dimensions)
Demographic outlook90
Cost advantage81
Growth momentum60
Energy cost58
Freight intensity44
Quality of life32
Connectivity30
Labour market27
Air quality22
Talent & skills18
Resilience16
Industrial base13
Economic base12
Governance8
Each bar is this region's EU percentile on a screener pillar (higher = better for siting; cost & energy are inverted so cheap scores high). These are the exact weights you tune in the Site Screener.
Opportunity Index · composite triage (experimental)
32
/ 100 · blends growth, livability, market access & scale · 4/4 pillars
Growth60.2
Livability31.9
Market access2
Economic scale34
Equal-weighted mean of four EU-percentile pillars (deliberately orthogonal: growth=trend, livability=quality, market=distance-weighted demand proxy, scale=absolute GDP). Experimental — a screening triage, not investment advice.
Resilience Index · downside / risk lens (experimental)
15.5
/ 100 · higher = more resilient to downturns · 4/4 pillars
GDP stability9
Labour stability4
Diversification24
Demographic stability25
Inverse of GDP-growth & unemployment volatility (since 2008, incl. 2009/2020 shocks), economic diversification (inverse HHI) and population stability — each EU-percentile-ranked. Higher withstands downturns better. Experimental.
Connectivity Index · transit · air · market access (experimental)
29.7
/ 100 · higher = better-connected · 3/3 facets
Transit density1
Airport access86
Market access2
Public-transport stop density, proximity to a major airport, and gravity access to surrounding economic mass — each EU-percentile-ranked. Higher = better-connected. Experimental.
Talent & Human Capital Index · skills base (experimental)
17.8
/ 100 · higher = deeper skills base than more EU regions · 4/4 facets
Young tertiary37
Lifelong learning1
Knowledge workers14
Scientists & engineers19
Young tertiary attainment (25–34), adult lifelong learning, knowledge-worker share and scientists & engineers — each EU-percentile-ranked. Higher = deeper talent pool. Experimental.
Clean-Air Score · air-quality livability (experimental)
22
/ 100 · higher = cleaner air than more EU regions · 3/3 pollutants
PM2.511.7 µg/m³
PM1027.2 µg/m³
NO213.3 µg/m³
PM2.5, PM10 & NO2 annual means from official monitoring networks, inverted (lower pollution = higher) and EU-percentile-ranked. Higher = cleaner air; ground-level ozone is shown separately. Experimental.
Quality of Life · composite (experimental)
31.9
/ 100 · EU-relative · 7/7 pillars
Economy15.5
Jobs32.5
Education38.5
Health64
Safety49.7
Connectivity1
Environment22
Equal-weighted percentile across 6 pillars vs all EU NUTS-3; lower-is-better indicators (crime, unemployment, mortality) inverted. Experimental — regional screening only.
Growth momentum · trend analytics
60.2
/ 100 momentum · EU-relative · 5/5 signals
GDP growth · 5-yr
+4.8%
CAGR, nominal
GDP growth · 10-yr
+2.8%
CAGR, nominal
Acceleration
+2.0 pp
5-yr vs 10-yr
vs country avg
+0.7 pp
inflation-adj.
Population · 5-yr
-0.4%
CAGR
Employment rate
+13.5 pp
5-yr change
Unemployment
-12.2 pp
5-yr change
Compound annual growth to the latest available year vs all EU NUTS-3; GDP is nominal EUR (“vs country avg” removes most national inflation). Screening signal, not a forecast.
Economic structure · gross value added by sector
Dominant: Trade · transport · ICT · 35.9%Diversified · HHI 2443
Agriculture 6.2%Industry 10.4%Construction 2.9%Trade · transport · ICT 35.9%Finance · real estate · prof. 23.8%Public · health · education 20.9%
Share of total GVA (latest year). HHI = sum of squared sector shares ×10,000; higher means a more concentrated, single-sector-dependent economy (more cyclicality risk).
Trends · 2009–2023
GDP (current prices)
€5,458M2023
10.4% 1y 4.8% 5y CAGR
EU percentile 34
Real GDP (2020 prices)
€4,872M2025
2.0% 1y 5.3% 5y CAGR
EU percentile 36
Population
301,5982025
0.3% 1y 0.4% 5y CAGR
EU percentile 58
Unemployment rate
5.1%2025
40.7% 1y 21.7% 5y CAGR
EU percentile 62
Employment
162,6502023
2.7% 1y 2.3% 5y CAGR
EU percentile 66
Productivity / employee
€36,8012025
4.1% 1y 7.1% 5y CAGR
EU percentile 6
Gross value added
€4,762M2023
9.2% 1y 4.9% 5y CAGR
EU percentile 33
All indicators · 88 more metrics (Eurostat, all-EU)
Economy
Gross value added, total (current prices)
€4,762M
2023 · EU pctl 33
GVA — agriculture, forestry & fishing (A)
€298M
2023 · EU pctl 74
GVA — industry (B–E)
€495M
2023 · EU pctl 13
GVA — manufacturing (C)
€360M
2023 · EU pctl 15
GVA — construction (F)
€136M
2023 · EU pctl 12
GVA — wholesale/retail, transport, ICT (G–J)
€1,709M
2023 · EU pctl 57
Net disposable household income per capita (NUTS-2 source)
€12,800
2023 · EU pctl 19 · NUTS-2 src
GDP per capita in PPS (purchasing-power adjusted)
21,600 PPS
2023 · EU pctl 12
GDP per capita (current prices, EUR)
€17,500
2023 · EU pctl 15
Gross fixed capital formation — investment (total economy)
€2,427M
2023 · EU pctl 5 · NUTS-2 src
Investment in manufacturing capex (GFCF, NACE C)
€104M
2023 · EU pctl 3 · NUTS-2 src
Compensation of employees (total wage bill)
€4,111M
2023 · EU pctl 5 · NUTS-2 src
GVA — real estate activities (L)
€533M
2023 · EU pctl 33
GVA — information & communication (J)
€96M
2023 · EU pctl 41
GVA — finance, real estate & professional (K–N)
€1,132M
2023 · EU pctl 40
GVA — public admin, health & education (O–U)
€993M
2023 · EU pctl 32
Real GDP (constant 2020 prices, incl. short-term forecast)
€4,872M
2025 · EU pctl 36
Labour productivity per person employed (EUR)
€36,801
2025 · EU pctl 6
Gross fixed capital formation, NUTS-3 (ARDECO)
€1,349M
2025 · EU pctl 37
Labour market
Employment, total persons
162,650
2023 · EU pctl 66
Self-employed persons
50,970
2023 · EU pctl 87
Employment in manufacturing (C)
9,820
2023 · EU pctl 28
Activity rate, 15–64 (NUTS-2 source)
72.0%
2025 · EU pctl 17 · NUTS-2 src
Youth unemployment rate (15–24)
12.9%
2025 · EU pctl 44 · NUTS-2 src
Unemployment rate 15-74, NUTS-3 native (ARDECO)
5.1%
2025 · EU pctl 62
Labour force aged 15+ (ARDECO)
139,100
2025 · EU pctl 55
Business demography
Active enterprises (business economy, all sizes)
28,597
2023 · EU pctl 71
Enterprise births
2,429
2023 · EU pctl 68
Enterprise deaths
820
2023 · EU pctl 44
3-year enterprise survival rate
4.0%
2023 · EU pctl 41
Innovation & R&D
R&D expenditure as % of GDP
1.7%
2023 · EU pctl 54 · NUTS-2 src
Employment in high-tech sectors (% of total)
2.8%
2025 · EU pctl 15 · NUTS-2 src
R&D personnel (% of active population, FTE)
1.7%
2023 · EU pctl 74 · NUTS-2 src
Education
Tertiary education attainment, age 25–64
28.5%
2025 · EU pctl 23 · NUTS-2 src
Tertiary attainment, age 25–34 (young talent pool)
36.5%
2025 · EU pctl 37 · NUTS-2 src
Adult participation in learning, age 25–64 (last 4 weeks)
3.1%
2025 · EU pctl 1 · NUTS-2 src
Knowledge workers — tertiary-educated & in science/tech (% of labour force)
17.7%
2025 · EU pctl 14 · NUTS-2 src
Scientists & engineers (% of labour force)
6.4%
2025 · EU pctl 19 · NUTS-2 src
Tourism
Nights spent at tourist accommodation (total)
14,052,273
2024 · EU pctl 97
Mobility
Passenger cars per 1,000 inhabitants
500 /1k pop
2024 · EU pctl 21 · NUTS-2 src
Road freight loaded (annual, thousand tonnes)
7,939 kt
2025 · EU pctl 54
Distinct public-transport stop locations within the region (GTFS feeds, deduplicated across overlapping feeds by coordinate). A measure of transit-network extent.
1
CURRENT · EU pctl 0
Public-transport stops per 100,000 inhabitants — transit service density relative to population (GTFS feeds, coordinate-deduplicated).
0
CURRENT · EU pctl 1
Motorway density (km per 1,000 km²)
1 km/1000km²
2023 · EU pctl 9 · NUTS-2 src
Distance from the region centroid to the nearest major (large) airport, in km - air-connectivity accessibility. Lower is better.
21
CURRENT · EU pctl 14
Number of major (large) airports within 100 km of the region centroid - air-hub catchment richness.
2
CURRENT · EU pctl 50
Demography
Population aged 15–64 (working age)
192,761
2025 · EU pctl 59
Population aged 65+
62,763
2025 · EU pctl 53
Population aged under 15
46,074
2025 · EU pctl 63
Median age of population
44.7 yrs
2025 · EU pctl 34
Old-age dependency ratio (65+ / 15–64)
32.6%
2025 · EU pctl 25
Crude rate of total population change
-3.0 /1k
2024 · EU pctl 24
Crude rate of net migration plus adjustment
-0.9 /1k
2024 · EU pctl 10
Crude birth rate
8.4 /1k
2024 · EU pctl 67
Crude death rate
10.5 /1k
2024 · EU pctl 30
Live births
2,544
2024 · EU pctl 64
Deaths
3,180
2024 · EU pctl 53
Total age-dependency ratio (young+old / 15-64)
56.5%
2025 · EU pctl 30
Total fertility rate (births per woman)
1.50
2024 · EU pctl 71
Population density (persons per km²)
115 /km²
2024 · EU pctl 46
Projected population, 2030–2040 (EUROPOP2019 baseline)
299,129
2100 · EU pctl 65
Health
Hospital beds per 100k inhabitants
410 /100k
2024 · EU pctl 41 · NUTS-2 src
Mortality, all causes (age-standardised rate)
966 /100k
2021 · EU pctl 37 · NUTS-2 src
Cancer mortality (age-standardised rate)
213 /100k
2023 · EU pctl 28 · NUTS-2 src
Safety & crime
Intentional homicides per 100k inhabitants
0.7 /100k
2024 · EU pctl 49
Robberies per 100k inhabitants
3.0 /100k
2024 · EU pctl 4
Burglaries per 100k inhabitants
39.3 /100k
2024 · EU pctl 5
Thefts per 100k inhabitants
222 /100k
2024 · EU pctl 14
Road traffic deaths per million inhabitants
71 /M pop
2022 · EU pctl 88 · NUTS-2 src
Governance & institutions
Government effectiveness, WGI score -2.5..2.5 (country)
0.56
2022 · EU pctl 12
Regulatory quality, WGI score -2.5..2.5 (country)
0.42
2022 · EU pctl 10
Rule of law, WGI score -2.5..2.5 (country)
0.49
2022 · EU pctl 16
Control of corruption, WGI score -2.5..2.5 (country)
0.32
2022 · EU pctl 10
Political stability & absence of violence, WGI score (country)
0.24
2022 · EU pctl 14
Energy
Industrial electricity price, 2-20 GWh band, excl. taxes (national)
€0.143/kWh
2025-S2 · EU pctl 42
Industrial gas price, 10-100k GJ band, excl. taxes (national)
€0.039/kWh
2025-S2 · EU pctl 0
Climate
Elevation at region centroid (Copernicus DEM)
476 m
CURRENT · EU pctl 80
Hot days ≥30°C (avg per year)
47 days/yr
CLIM_2014_2023 · EU pctl 91
Frost days ≤0°C (avg per year)
4 days/yr
CLIM_2014_2023 · EU pctl 6
Heavy-precipitation days ≥20mm (avg per year)
4 days/yr
CLIM_2014_2023 · EU pctl 51
Environment
PM10 (coarse particulate matter) annual mean concentration — mean across EEA air-quality monitoring stations within the region (verified E1a data). Lower is better.
27
2024 · EU pctl 97
NO2 (nitrogen dioxide) annual mean concentration — a traffic / combustion pollutant; mean across EEA monitoring stations within the region (verified E1a data). Lower is better.
13
2024 · EU pctl 55
O3 (ground-level ozone) annual mean concentration — a summer-smog pollutant; mean across EEA monitoring stations within the region (verified E1a data).
83
2024 · EU pctl 99
Industrial facilities per 100k inhabitants (E-PRTR)
8.0 /100k
2023 · EU pctl 13
Population in the 100-year river floodplain (% of residents, EFAS × census grid)
1.6%
2021 · EU pctl 33
Similar regions · nearest peers on standardised NUTS-3 indicators
Other Greece regions