Economy of Portugal
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| Economy of Portugal | ||
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| Portuguese One Euro coin | ||
| Currency | 1 Euro = 100 eurocent | |
| Fiscal year | Calendar year | |
| Trade organisations | EU, WTO and OECD | |
| Statistics | ||
| GDP (PPP) | $229.881 billion (2006) (34th) | |
| GDP growth | 1.3% (year 2006) | |
| GDP per capita | $22,677 (2006 est.) | |
| GDP by sector | agriculture (5.3%), manufacturing (27.4%), services (67.3%) (2005) | |
| Inflation (CPI) | 2.3% (2005) | |
| Labour force | 5.52 million (2005) | |
| Labour force by occupation |
services (60%), manufacturing (30%), agriculture (10%) (1999 est.) | |
| Unemployment | 7.6% (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) | |
| Gross External Debt | {{{gross external debt}}} | |
| Public finances | ||
| Public debt | {{{debt}}} | |
| Revenues | $78.84 billion (2005) | |
| Expenses | $90.27 billion (2005) | |
| Economic aid | donor: ODA, $271 million (1995) | |
| Main data source: CIA World Factbook All values, unless otherwise stated, are in US dollars |
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The Economy of Portugal is a market economy. The Global Competitiveness Report for 2005, published by the World Economic Forum, places Portugal on the 22nd position, ahead of countries and territories like Spain, Ireland, France, Belgium, Hong Kong and Turkey. On the Technology index, Portugal was ranked 20th and on the Public Institutions index Portugal is the 15th best.
The major industries include: oil refineries, petrochemistry, cement production, automotive and ship industries, electrical and electronics industries, machinery, pulp and paper industry, injection moulding, textile, footwear, leather, furniture, ceramics, beverages and food industry and cork (world's largest producer). Manufacturing accounts for 33% of exports. Portugal is the world's fifth-largest producer of tungsten, and the world's eighth-largest producer of wine.
The tertiary sector has grown, producing 66% of the GDP and providing jobs for 52% of the working population. The most significant growth rates are found in the trade sector, due to the introduction of modern means of distribution, transport and telecommunications. Financial tertiary have benefited from privatisation, also gaining in terms of efficiency. Tourism has developed significantly and generates approximately 5% of the wealth produced in Portugal.
Most imports come from the European Union countries of Spain, Germany, France, Italy, and the United Kingdom. Most exports also go to other European Union member states.
Although being very high by world's average standards, Portugal's GDP per capita is among the lowest in Western Europe. However, research about standard of living by the Economist Intelligence Unit's (EIU) Quality-of-life Survey places Portugal as the country with the 19th-best quality of life in the world, ahead of other economically and technologically advanced countries like France, Germany, the United Kingdom and South Korea.
In April 2007, The Economist described Portugal as "a new sick man of Europe".[1] During the same year, the unemployment rate in Portugal reached 8.4% - a two decades record high.
Contents |
[edit] History
[edit] Portuguese Colonial Empire
During the Portuguese Empire period, started in the 15th century, until the Carnation Revolution of 1974, the economy of Portugal was centered in trade and raw materials related activities within its vast colonial possessions, mainly in Asia (spices, silk, dyes, porcelain and gems), Africa (ivory, timber, oil and diamonds) and South America (sugar cane, dyes, woods and gold). The country, with a transcontinental empire with plenty of natural resources and vast unexploited areas, was among the most powerful nations in the world. In 1822, the Portuguese colony of Brazil became an independent country, however, until 1974, Portugal managed to preserve its colonies in Africa, which included Angola and Mozambique, territories that would experience high rates of economic growth and unmatched levels of development until the departure of the Portuguese in 1975.
[edit] The military coup of 1974
The post Carnation Revolution period was characterized by chaos and negative economic growth as industries were nationalised and the negative effects of the decoupling of Portugal from its former territories were felt. Heavy industry came to an abrubt halt. All sectors of the economy from manufacturing, mining, chemical, defence, finance, agriculture and fishing went into free fall. Portugal found itself overnight going from the country in Western Europe with the highest growth rate to the lowest - in fact it experienced several years of negative growth. This was amplified by the mass emigration of skilled workers and enterpreneurs due to political intimidation, and the costs of accommodating in Portugal thousands of refugees from the former overseas provinces in Africa - the retornados.
After the Carnation Revolution's turmoil of 1974, the Portuguese economic basis changed deeply. The Portuguese economy had changed significantly by 1973 prior to the leftist military coup, compared with its position in 1961 - total output (GDP at factor cost) had grown by 120 percent in real terms. Clearly, the pre-revolutionary period was characterized by robust annual growth rates for GDP (6.9 percent), industrial production (9 percent), private consumption (6.5 percent), and gross fixed capital formation (7.8 percent). The growth rate of Portuguese merchandise exports during the period 1959 to 1973 was notable - 11 percent per annum. In 1960 the bulk of exports was accounted for by a few products - canned fish, raw and manufactured cork, cotton textiles, and wine. By contrast, in the early 1970s (before the 1974 military coup), Portugal's export list reflected significant product diversification, including both consumer and capital goods. Several branches of Portuguese industry became export-oriented, and in 1973 over one-fifth of Portuguese manufactured output was exported.
There was a 16-percentage-point increase in the participation of the services sector from 39 percent of GDP in 1973 to 55.5 percent in 1990. Most of this growth reflected the exacerbated proliferation of civil service employment and the associated cost of public administration, together with the contribution of tourism services during the 1980s to the detriment of more sustainable and reproductive activities like manufacturing, exporting and technology/capital-intensive industries.
[edit] EU membership
Membership in the European Union (EU), achieved in 1986, contributed to stable economic growth and development, largely through increased trade ties and an inflow of funds allocated by the European Union to improve the country's infrastructure. After a recession in 1993, the economy grew at an average annual rate of 3.3%, well above EU averages but well behind the growth of the Portuguese economy before the military coup of 1974. In order to qualify for the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), Portugal agreed to cut its fiscal deficit and undertake structural reforms. The EMU brought to Portugal exchange rate stability, falling inflation, and falling interest rates. Falling interest rates, in turn, lowered the cost of public debt and helped the country achieve its fiscal targets.
In 1999, it continued to enjoy sturdy economic growth, falling interest rates, and low unemployment. The country qualified for the Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union (EMU) in 1998 and joined with 10 other European countries in launching the euro on January 1, 1999. The three different designs chosen for the national side of the Portuguese euro coins were drawn by the artist Vitor Manuel Fernandes dos Santos. The ispiration came from the three seals of the first king, Dom Afonso Henriques. Portugal's inflation rate for 1999, 2.4%, was comfortably low.
Household debt has expanded rapidly. The European Commission, OECD, and others have advised the Portuguese Government to exercise more fiscal restraint. Portugal's public deficit exceeded 3% of GNP in 2001, the EU's self-imposed limit, and left the country open to either EU sanctions or tighter financial supervision. The overall rate of growth slowed in late 2001 and into 2002, making fiscal austerity that much more painful to implement.
Portugal has made significant progress in raising its standard of living to that of its EU partners. GDP per capita on a purchasing power parity basis rose from 51% of the EU average in 1985 to 78% in early 2002. By 2005 this had dropped to 72% (of the average across all of now 25 EU members, including seven with GDP per capita lower than Portugal) as GDP per capita rose in other EU countries. Unemployment stood at 4.1% at the end of 2001, which was low compared to the EU average.
GDP growth in 2006, at 1.3%, was the lowest not just in the European Union but in all of Europe. Since 2000 the Czech Republic, Greece, Malta and Slovenia have all overtaken Portugal in terms of GDP per head. And Portuguese GDP per head has fallen from just over 80% of the EU 25 average in 1999 to just over 70% last year. 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".[1]
[edit] Employment and wages
Although unemployment is about 8% today, the number of unemployed people is increasing since 2000.
As of May 2006, over 420,000 people were unemployed in Portugal. The unemployment rate in the country was 7.7%. In 2007 the unemployment rate reached 8.4%, the highest unemployment rate in Portugal since 1987. The average European Union unemployment rate decreased to a record low of 7.3% in 2007. In the Portuguese sub-region of Vale do Ave, the unemployment rate has reached 15%, and in the Península de Setúbal sub-region 12.5%.
[edit] Wages
The average wage in Portugal is 804.22€ per month, and the minimum wage, which is regulated by law, is 403€ per month.
[edit] Graduate unemployemnt
In 2008, about 8%[2] of the people with a degree were unemployed, and a much larger proportion were underemployed. This directly was correlated with a general lack of employability and student preparation for the workplace seen among many courses in a number of fields offered by certain higher education institutions or departments. The implementation of the Bologna process and other educational reforms, such as the compulsory closing of a number of courses, departments, colleges and private universities after 2005 due to a lack of academic rigour and low teaching standards, tried a totally new approach in order to tackle the problem. In 2007 alone, some major private universities were investigated by State agencies and two were immediately closed. In addition, a number of degrees of the public system were also discontinued due to lack of quality, low demand by potential students or scarce interest showed by potential employers in fresh graduates on these fields. Secondary and post-secondary non-higher education (intermediate education - ensino médio), involving technical and vocational education, has been redeveloped since 2007, through the government's policies of the XVII Governo Constitucional (headed by Prime-Minister José Sócrates).
Nearly 60,000[2] people with an academic degree are unemployed in Portugal. This group includes a large proportion of young adults.
[edit] Economy by sector
Fisheries and agriculture now account for about 4% of the GDP, down from approximately 25% in 1960, while still employing 13% of the labour force. On the other hand, the tertiary sector has grown, producing 66% of the GDP and providing jobs for 52% of the working population. The remaining 30% of the GDP is mainly produced by the building and energy sectors.
[edit] Natural resources
Natural resources such as forests cover about 34% of the country, namely pine trees (13,500 km²), Cork Oak (6800 km²), Holm Oak (5,340 km²), and Eucalyptus (2,430 km²). Cork is a major production, Portugal produces half of the world's cork. Significant mining resources are tungsten, tin, and uranium.
[edit] Agriculture
A considerable part of continental Portugal is dedicated to agriculture, although it does not represent most of the economy. The south has developed an extensive monoculture of cereals and olive trees and the Douro Valley in vineyards. Olive trees (4,000 km²; 1,545 sq mi), vineyards (3,750 km²; 1,450 sq mi), wheat (3,000 km²; 1,160 sq mi) and maize (2,680 km²; 1,035 sq mi) are produced in vast areas. Portuguese wine and olive oil are especially praised by nationals for their quality, thus external competition (even at much lower prices) has had little effect on consumer demand. Portugal is a traditional wine grower, and has exported its wines since the dawn of western civilization; Port Wine, Vinho Verde and Madeira Wine are the leading wine exporters. Portugal is also a quality producer of fruits, namely the Algarve oranges, and Oeste region's pêra rocha (a type of pear). Other exports include horticulture and floriculture products, beet sugar, sunflower oil, cork, and tobacco.
[edit] Industry
The major industries include: oil refineries, petrochemistry, cement production, automotive and ship industries, electrical and electronics industries, machinery, pulp and paper industry, injection moulding, plastic products, textile, footwear, leather, furniture, ceramics, beverages and food industry and cork (leader producer). Automotive and other mechanical industries are primarily located in and around Setúbal, Porto, Lisbon, Aveiro, Braga, and Santarém.
[edit] Services
The tertiary sector has grown, producing 66% of the GDP and providing jobs for 52% of the working population. The most significant growth rates are found in the trade sector, due to the introduction of modern means of distribution, transport and telecommunications. Financial tertiary have benefited from privatisation, also gaining in terms of efficiency. Tourism has developed significantly and generates approximately 5% of the wealth produced in Portugal.
[edit] Competitiveness
[edit] Portugal's competitiveness in the world
The Global Competitiveness Report for 2005, published by the World Economic Forum, places Portugal on the 22nd position, ahead of countries like Spain, Ireland, France, Belgium and Hong Kong. This table shows that Portugal has stepped two places regarding the 2004 ranking. On the Technology index, Portugal was ranked 20th, on the Public Institutions index Portugal is the 15th best and on the Macroeconomic index, Portugal is placed on the 37th position. [1]
[edit] 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 30th September 2006. The best-ranked cities in the study were Évora, Lisbon and Coimbra. [2], [3], [4]
Ranking:
- 1.Évora: 7,293
- 2.Lisbon: 6,454
- 3.Coimbra: 6,042
- 4.Beja: 5,660
- 5.Leiria: 5,609
- 6.Castelo Branco: 5,608
- 7.Aveiro: 5,452
- 8.Guarda: 5,178
- 9.Santarém: 5,037
- 10.Portalegre: 4,711
- 11.Viseu: 4,628
- 12.Vila Real: 5,514
- 13.Bragança: 4,271
- 14.Setúbal: 4,070
- 15.Braga: 4,055
- 16.Faro: 3,971
- 17.Viana do Castelo: 3,859
- 18.Porto: 3,577
[edit] Domestic problems
- Forest Fires: Like in other countries with very hot summers and seasonal drying of soils and vegetation, every year large areas of the Portuguese forest is destroyed. This has an important impact on the economy because many people and industries depend on forestry related activities. It is also a very dramatic ecological problem and a safety issue for the populations.
- Portugal's Public Debt: The public debt exceeds 60% of GDP. This problem is a threat to the Portuguese economy and the State's financial sustainability.
- Over-dimensioned Public Sector: The public sector has been generally considered a very large, expensive and inefficient part of the economy. An excess of public employees and useless bureaucracy results in the loss of millions of euros every year. Since the XVI Governo Constitucional government, headed by Prime Minister José Durão Barroso, to the XVII Governo Constitucional government, headed by Prime Minister José Sócrates (which created new rules and implemented reforms aiming at better efficiency, rationalized resource allocation, fight civil servant excedentary overcapacity (excedentários) and less bureaucracy for both citizens and companies - eg: empresa na hora [5], PRACE - Programa de Reestruturação da Administração Central do Estado [6], and SIMPLEX - Programa de Simplificação Administrativa e Legislativa [7], among others), the "public expenditure problem" has been a major concern in Portugal.
- Corruption: Although being generally considered an honest hard-working people, corruption has become an issue of major political and economic significance for the Portuguese. The responsible authorities are trying to combat corruption before it increases further. Many abusive lobbies and corruption schemes are related to concessions, unclear approvals to contractors and economic groups, or job creation for and commercial agreements with friends and family members, mainly involving the huge public sector and companies. Some cases are well known and were widely reported in the media, such as the affairs in several municipalities involving town hall officials and businesspersons.
[edit] See also
- OECD's Portugal country Web site and OECD Economic Survey of Portugal
- Economy of Europe
- Portugal
- Economic history of Portugal
[edit] References
- ^ a b "A new sick man of Europe", The Economist, 2007-04-14. http://www.economist.com/world/europe/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9009032
- ^ a b (Portuguese) Licenciados desempregados mais do que duplicaram desde 2002, Diário Digital (19th February 2008)
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