Portugal Business Resources

Economy - overview:
Portugal has become a diversified and increasingly service-based economy since joining the European Community in 1986. Over the past decade, successive governments have privatized many state-controlled firms and liberalized key areas of the economy, including the financial and telecommunications sectors. The country qualified for the European Monetary Union (EMU) in 1998 and began circulating the euro on 1 January 2002 along with 11 other EU member economies. Economic growth had been above the EU average for much of the past decade, but fell back in 2001-04. GDP per capita stands at two-thirds that of the Big Four EU economies. A poor educational system, in particular, has been an obstacle to greater productivity and growth. Portugal has been increasingly overshadowed by lower-cost producers in Central Europe and Asia as a target for foreign direct investment. The government faces tough choices in its attempts to boost Portugal's economic competitiveness while keeping the budget deficit within the eurozone's 3%-of-GDP ceiling.

Agriculture
grain, potatoes, olives, grapes; sheep, cattle, goats, poultry, beef, dairy products

Airlines
Airlines in Europe
Airlines Worldwide

Airports
Airports in Europe
Airports Worldwide

Country Budget
revenues: $74.38 billion
expenditures: $79.86 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.)

Currency (code)
euro (EUR)
note: on 1 January 1999, the European Monetary Union introduced the euro as a common currency to be used by financial institutions of member countries; on 1 January 2002, the euro became the sole currency for everyday transactions within the member countries

Currency Exchange Rate
euros per US dollar - 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000)

Fiscal Year
calendar year

GDP (Gross Domestic Product)
GDP (purchasing power parity): $188.7 billion (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 1.1% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $17,900 (2004 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 5.9%
industry: 30.2%
services: 63.9% (2004 est.)

Imports / Exports
Exports: $37.68 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Exports - commodities: clothing and footwear, machinery, chemicals, cork and paper products, hides
Exports - partners: Spain 25%, France 14%, Germany 13.5%, UK 9.6%, US 6%, Italy 4.3%, Netherlands 4% (2004)

Imports: $52.1 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Imports - commodities: machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, petroleum, textiles, agricultural products
Imports - partners: Spain 29.3%, Germany 14.3%, France 9.3%, Italy 6.1%, UK 4.6%, Netherlands 4.6% (2004)

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

Investing
Forex, Foreign Exchange Market: Currency Trading

Labor Force & Unemployment Rate
Labor force: 5.48 million (2004 est.)
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 10%, industry 30%, services 60% (1999 est.)
Unemployment rate: 6.5% (2004 est.)