IPIC 2025: Valongo Tops the Ranking of Municipalities with the Strongest Online Presence
Update 28.04.2026
Since 1999, the University of Minho has tracked the online evolution of Portugal’s 308 municipalities. What began as a snapshot of a country undergoing digitalization has become, in its 13th edition, a benchmark tool for assessing the digital maturity of local governments. The 2025 results, presented in Guimarães by ARTE, UMinho, and UNU-EGOV, confirm a steady growth trend and reveal areas with potential for development.
IPIC 2025
Valongo
University of Minho
Online Presence
In Detail
One index, four criteria:
The IPIC evaluates each municipality across four equally weighted dimensions: quality of available content, website accessibility and usability, capacity to provide online services, and mechanisms for citizen participation. The final score ranges from 0 to 1.
The 2025 results
The national average increased to 0.487, improving by approximately 1.67% compared to 2023 and aligning with the growth trend observed in recent editions. Notably, the lowest recorded score increased from 0.169 to 0.278, reflecting greater standardization of quality levels among Portuguese municipalities.
Valongo (0.773) took first place at the top of the global ranking, followed by Águeda (0.714) and Coimbra (0.702). Valongo was the most consistent municipality in the study, leading in three of the four criteria: content, accessibility, and participation. Águeda stood out as the country’s best municipality for providing online services, earning a score of 0.768.
The participation criterion recorded its highest average score since 2016 (0.390), driven by a growing social media presence and commitment to transparency and open data.
The new focus is cybersecurity.
This edition included an analysis dedicated to the security of municipal websites for the first time. With an average score of 65.9 out of 100, the results revealed opportunities to improve communication security, especially in updating protocols and managing vulnerabilities. Twenty municipalities achieved the maximum score, including Sintra, Viseu, and Paços de Ferreira. This demonstrates that high security standards are achievable.
A Path of Continuous Evolution
In the last 26 years, Portugal has transitioned from half of its municipalities having no online presence to a constantly evolving digital ecosystem. IPIC 2025 recognizes this progress and identifies online services and e-participation as areas with significant growth potential. Initiatives such as gov.pt and the Ágora Design System, developed at the national level, play a pivotal role in supporting municipalities in these areas.