After the independence restoration the provision of steady regional development in Latvia has again become one of the actual problems as significant territorial differences in terms of socio-economic development have been observed. These include insufficient economic development and economic activity in some areas, difference in employment and income levels, as well as social and cultural conditions. In the first chapter of the Thesis “The notion essence and analysis of the regional competitiveness” the evolution of the competitiveness as an economic notion was studied, the nature of the region was defined and different definitions of the regional competitiveness were critically evaluated. After the research the author of the Thesis gives her own improved definition of the regional competitiveness. The factors influencing regional competitiveness have also been studied and summarized in this chapter and the graphic model of factors influencing regional competitiveness developed by the author has also been recommended. In the second chapter “Evaluation possibilities of the regional competitiveness and development of Regional competitiveness index” the author of the Thesis analyses the most world-known regional competitiveness evaluation methods and proposes the complex system for the regional competitiveness evaluation. The selection of regional competitiveness influencing indicators for the planning regions of Latvia, the defining of the factor relative scale and normalisation of the indicators are in the bases of this system. In this chapter the function of the Regional Competitiveness Index (RCI), criteria for evaluation of competitiveness level and matrix of competitiveness level / increase rate were developed. The position of the competitiveness factors in this matrix allows evaluating the competitiveness facilitating, hindering, as well as the potentially facilitating or potentially hindering factors. The third chapter “The competitiveness indexes of the Latvian regions and development opportunities of the regions” has been made as the calculation of the Regional Competitiveness Index and the analysis of its influencing indicators. The author of the Thesis has compiled the competitiveness facilitating and hindering factors for each planning region by using the obtained results from the matrices of competitiveness influencing factors. The author has summarized main conclusions and has defined six recommendations of the Regional Competitiveness Index use in Latvia. Total scope of the Promotion Thesis is 172 pages, not including the Appendices. The Thesis contains 104 figures, 49 tables and 10 appendices. The Sources of Reference contain 113 sources.