Portugal has been a member of the European Union since 1986 and
was one of the first country's to adopt the Euro in 1999. However, the country continues to be
one of the least developed in Western Europe and faces mounting economic problems.
A recent report by Portugal's Central Bank concluded that, in the absence of major policy
changes, the country's budget deficit could reach 6.8% of GDP in 2005. The new government
has responded by increasing VAT and cutting public spending in a bid to reduce this deficit
to 6.2%, however these measures are unlikely to prove popular with the public.
Furthermore the government has taken steps designed at tackling the country's growing
unemployment problem. In the first quarter of 2005 the level of unemployment had reached 7.5%.
Key Industries
Mining and manufacturing continue to be country's two main industries, accounting
for around 31% of the workforce. Forestry is also an important business and Portugal remains
the world's largest producer of Cork.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $151.4 billion (1999 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 3.2% (1999 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $15,300 (1999 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 4% industry: 36% services: 60% (1999 est.)
Population below poverty line: NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.4% (1999 est.)
Labor force: 4.75 million (1998 est.)
Labor force - by occupation: services 60%, industry 30%, agriculture 10% (1999 est.)
Unemployment rate: 4.6% (1999 est.)
Budget: revenues: $48 billion expenditures: $52 billion, including capital expenditures of $7.4 billion (1996 est.)
Industries: textiles and footwear; wood pulp, paper, and cork; metalworking; oil refining;
chemicals; fish canning; wine; tourism.
Industrial production growth rate: 2.9% (1999 est.)
Electricity - production: 38.581 billion kWh (1998)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 63.14% hydro: 33.46% nuclear: 0% other:
3.4% (1998)
Electricity - consumption: 36.18 billion kWh (1998)
Electricity - exports: 3.7 billion kWh (1998)
Electricity - imports: 4 billion kWh (1998)
Agriculture - products: grain, potatoes, olives, grapes; sheep, cattle, goats, poultry, beef,
dairy products
Exports: $25 billion (f.o.b., 1998)
Exports - commodities: clothing and footwear, machinery, chemicals, cork and paper products,
hides
Exports - partners: EU 82% (Germany 20%, Spain 16%, France 14%, UK 12% Netherlands 5%,
Benelux 5%, Italy ), US 5% (1998)
Imports: $34.9 billion (f.o.b., 1998)
Imports - commodities: machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, petroleum, textiles,
agricultural products
Imports - partners: EU 77% (Spain 24%, Germany 15%, France 11%, Italy 8%, UK 7%,
Netherlands 5%), US, Japan (1998)
Debt - external: $13.1 billion (1997 est.)
Economic aid - donor: ODA, $271 million (1995)
Currency: 1 Portuguese escudo (Esc) = 100 centavos
Exchange rates: euros per US$1 - 0.9867 (January 2000), 0.9386 (1999); Portuguese escudos
(Esc) per US$1 - 172.78 (January 1999), 180.10 (1998),
175.31 (1997), 154.24 (1996), 151.11 (1995) note: on 1 January 1999, the EU introduced a
common currency that is now being used by financial institutions in some member countries at
a fixed rate of 200.482 escudos per euro; the euro will replace the local currency in
consenting countries for all transactions in 2002. |
