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Economy of Portugal

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Economy of Portugal
Portuguese One Euro coin
Currency1 Euro = 100 eurocent
Calendar year
Trade organisations
EU, WTO and OECD
Statistics
GDP$229.881 billion (2006)
GDP growth
1.9% (year 2007)
GDP per capita
$22,677 (2006 est.)
GDP by sector
agriculture (5.3%), manufacturing (27.4%), services (67.3%) (2005)
2.3% (2005)
Labour force
5.52 million (2005)
Labour force by occupation
services (60%), manufacturing (30%), agriculture (10%) (1999 est.)
Unemployment7.6% (2005)
Main industries
textiles and footwear; wood pulp, paper, and cork; metals and metalworking; oil refining; chemicals; fish canning; rubber and plastic products; ceramics; electronics and communications equipment; rail transportation equipment; aerospace equipment; ship construction and refurbishment; wine; tourism
External
Exports$38.8 billion f.o.b (2005 est.)
Export goods
clothing and footwear, machinery, chemicals, cork and paper products, hides
Main export partners
Spain 29%, Germany 13.4%, France 8.5%, Italy 5.2%, Netherlands 4.3%, UK 4.2% (2005)
Imports$60.35 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Import goods
machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, petroleum, textiles, agricultural products
Main import partners
UK 36.8%, United States 13.8%, Germany 9.1%, Netherlands 4.5% (2005)
Public finances
Revenues$78.84 billion (2005)
Expenses$90.27 billion (2005)
Economic aiddonor: ODA, $271 million (1995)
All values, unless otherwise stated, are in US dollars.

The Economy of Portugal is a high income mixed economy. Although being very high by world's average standards, Portugal remains the country with the lowest per capita GDP in Western Europe and is among the least wealthy in the European Union.[1] The Global Competitiveness Report 2008-2009 edition placed Portugal in the 43rd position out of 134 countries and territories.[2]

Research about quality of life by the Economist Intelligence Unit's quality of life survey placed Portugal as the country with the 19th-best quality of life in the world for the year 2005, ahead of other economically and technologically advanced countries like France, Germany, the United Kingdom and South Korea, but 9 places behind its only neighbour, Spain.[3]

In the 2000s, the Czech Republic, Greece, Malta, Slovakia and Slovenia have all overtaken Portugal in terms of GDP per head. Portuguese GDP per head has fallen from just over 80% of the EU 25 average in 1999 to just over 70% in 2007. This poor performance of the Portuguese economy was explored in April 2007 by The Economist which described Portugal as "a new sick man of Europe".[4] From 2002 to 2007, the unemployment rate increased 65% (270,500 unemployed citizens in 2002, 448,600 unemployed citizens in 2007).[5]

Corruption has become an issue of major political and economic significance for the country. Some cases are well known and were widely reported in the media, such as the affairs in several municipalities involving local town hall officials and businesspersons, as well as a number of politicians with wider responsibilities and power.[6][7]

History

Main article: Economic history of Portugal

Portuguese economic growth in the period 1950-1973 created an opportunity for real integration with the developed economies of Western Europe. Through emigration, trade, tourism and foreign investment, individuals and firms changed their patterns of production and consumption, bringing about a structural transformation. Simultaneously, the increasing complexity of a growing economy raised new technical and organizational challenges, stimulating the formation of modern professional and management teams.[8][9]

Portugal changed its political regime in 1974 due to the Carnation Revolution, culminating with the end of one of its most notable periods of economic growth, which had started in the 1960s.[9] In 1991 Portugal's GDP per capita climbed to 54.9 percent of the EC average, exceeding by a fraction the level attained just during the worst revolutionary period.[10]

Subsequent poor performance of the Portuguese economy was explored in April 2007 by The Economist which described Portugal as "a new sick man of Europe".[4] From 2002 to 2007, the unemployment rate increased 65% (270,500 unemployed citizens in 2002, 448,600 unemployed citizens in 2007).[5]

Portuguese subsidiaries of large multinational companies, such as Microsoft Portugal,[11] are still ranked among its most productive in the world for its continued high productivity records. A Siemens executive, Carlos de Melo Ribeiro, pointed to labor costs and productivity as major reasons why shipping semiconductors to Portugal for final production is more advantageous than retaining the work in Germany or Britain.[12][verification needed][13][unreliable source?]

Sectors

Business services have overtaken more traditional industries such as textiles, clothing, footwear, cork (of which Portugal is the world's leading producer).[14] and wood products and beverages.[15] At present, Portugal is exporting more technology than it imports.[15]

Portugal has a strong tradition in the fisheries sector and is one of the countries with the highest fish consumption per capita.[16]

Travel and tourism will continue to be extremely important for Portugal, with visitor numbers forecast to increase significantly over the next five years. However, there is increasing competition from Eastern European destinations such as Croatia who offer similar attractions to Portugal, and are often cheaper. Portugal must keep its focus on its niche attractions such as health, nature and rural tourism to stay ahead of its competitors.[17]

Alverca, Covilhã,[18] Évora,[19] and Ponte de Sor are the main centres of the Portuguese aerospace industry.

The insurance sector has performed well, partly reflecting a rapid deepening of the market in Portugal. While sensitive to various types of market and underwriting risks, both the life and non-life sectors, overall, are estimated to be able to withstand a number of severe shocks, even though the impact on individual insurers varies widely.[20]

Energy

Main article: Renewable energy in Portugal
File:Alqueva dam portugal.jpg
Alqueva Dam, Alentejo. A hydroelectric power generation facility which created the largest artificial lake in Western Europe.

In 2006 the world's largest solar power plant began operating in the nation's sunny south while the world's first commercial wave power farm opened in October 2006 in the Norte region. As of 2006, 66% of electricity production was from coal and fuel power plants. A total of 29% was produced by hydroelectrics and 6% by wind energy [21]. In 2008, up to 43% of the electricity consumed in the country had been produced through the renewable energies, even though the hydroelectric production had decreased due to the dryness that affected the country.[22]

Labour

Officially, in 2008 the unemployment decreased to 7.3% in the second quarter of 2008.[23] In 2008, about 8% of the people with a degree were unemployed, and a much larger proportion were underemployed.[24] Nearly 60,000 people with an academic degree are unemployed in Portugal.[24] According to Eurostat, Portugal was the 6th poorest country of the 27 member states of the European Union by purchasing power, for the period 2005-2007.[1] The last European survey of workers, published in 2007 and which formed the basis of this 2009 research study showed that Portugal is the 5th European country with lower quality of work.[25]

Competitiveness by city

A study concerning competitiveness of the 18 Portuguese district capitals, complying with World Economic Forum methodology, was made by Minho University economics researchers. It was published in Público newspaper on 30 September 2006. The best-ranked cities in the study were Évora, Lisbon and Coimbra.[26][27]

Ranking:

References

  1. ^ a b Template:Pt icon Portugueses perderam poder de compra entre 2005 e 2007 e estão na cauda da Zona Euro, Público (December 11, 2008)
  2. ^ "The Global Competitiveness Index rankings" (PDF). World Economic Forum. Retrieved 2009-03-20.
  3. ^ http://www.economist.com/media/pdf/QUALITY_OF_LIFE.pdf
  4. ^ a b "A new sick man of Europe", The Economist, 2007-04-14. http://www.economist.com/world/europe/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9009032
  5. ^ a b Luis Miguel Mota, População desempregada aumentou 65% em cinco anos, Destak.pt (6th June 2008)
  6. ^ Eurojust chief embroiled in Portuguese corruption scandal, euobserver.com (May 13, 2009)
  7. ^ People & Power, Al Jazeera, Al Jazeera (March 2008)
  8. ^ [1], Joaquim da Costa Leite (Aveiro University) - Instituições, Gestão e Crescimento Económico: Portugal, 1950-1973
  9. ^ a b Template:Pt icon Fundação da SEDES - As primeiras motivações, "Nos anos 60 e até 1973 teve lugar, provavelmente, o mais rápido período de crescimento económico da nossa História, traduzido na industrialização, na expansão do turismo, no comércio com a EFTA, no desenvolvimento dos sectores financeiros, investimento estrangeiro e grandes projectos de infra-estruturas. Em consequência, os indicadores de rendimentos e consumo acompanham essa evolução, reforçados ainda pelas remessas de emigrantes.", SEDES
  10. ^ Economic Growth and Change, U.S. Library of Congress, countrystudies.us
  11. ^ Microsoft Portugal novamente eleita melhor Subsidiária mundial da Microsoft International em 2008
  12. ^ Siemens Builds on Long History in Portugal, to the Benefit of Both, By Karen E. Thuermer, October, 1997, in Keller Publishing [2]
  13. ^ "The investment made in Portugal by the VW group has enabled “this plant to become one of the best in the VW Group and indeed in the whole automotive industry in terms of quality, productivity, absenteeism, safety, and many other decisive criteria”, Gerd Heuss upon the manufacturing of car nº 1 million in Palmela", June 2003., AICEP - Business Development Agency
  14. ^ Grande Enciclopédia Universal, p. 10543, "Portugal", para. 4
  15. ^ a b Investing in Portugal Report, Financial Times
  16. ^ Template:Pt icon PESSOA, M.F.; MENDES, B.; OLIVEIRA, J.S. CULTURAS MARINHAS EM PORTUGAL, "O consumo médio anual em produtos do mar pela população portuguesa, estima-se em cerca de 58,5 kg/ por habitante sendo, por isso, o maior consumidor em produtos marinhos da Europa e um dos quatro países a nível mundial com uma dieta à base de produtos do mar."
  17. ^ [3], Euromonitor International
  18. ^ Template:Pt icon Covilhã: Aleia vai montar avião até agora vendido em kit e jactos portugueses em 2011, 14th April 2008
  19. ^ Template:Pt icon Évora aprova isenções fiscais aos projectos da Embraer, Diário Digital (22nd August 2008)
  20. ^ Portugal: Financial System Stability Assessment, including Reports on the Observance of Standards and Codes on the following topics: Banking Supervision, Securities Regulation, and Insurance Regulation, IMF, (October 2006)
  21. ^ "IEA Energy Statistics: Portugal". International Energy Agency. 2006. Retrieved 2009-04-07.
  22. ^ Staff (2009-04-08). "Fontes renováveis originaram 43% da electricidade consumida". Diário Digital (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2009-04-17.
  23. ^ Template:Pt icon Taxa de desemprego desce para 7,3 por cento no segundo trimestre, Público (14th August 2008)
  24. ^ a b Template:Pt icon Licenciados desempregados mais do que duplicaram desde 2002, Diário Digital (19th February 2008)
  25. ^ Template:Pt icon Portugal é um dos países com pior qualidade de emprego, Destak.pt (May 28, 2009).
  26. ^ [4]
  27. ^ [5], [6]

Template:Life in Portugal

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