Portugal Economy
Is Portugal a rich country?
Portugal has become a diversified and increasingly service-based economy since joining the European Community - the EU's predecessor - in 1986. Over the following two decades, successive governments privatized many state-controlled firms and liberalized key areas of the economy, including the financial and telecommunications sectors. The country joined the Economic and Monetary Union in 1999 and began circulating the euro on 1 January 2002 along with 11 other EU members.
The economy grew by more than the EU average for much of the 1990s, but the rate of growth slowed in 2001-08. After the global financial crisis in 2008, Portugal’s economy contracted in 2009 and fell into recession from 2011 to 2013, as the government implemented spending cuts and tax increases to comply with conditions of an EU-IMF financial rescue package, signed in May 2011. Portugal successfully exited its EU-IMF program in May 2014, and its economic recovery gained traction in 2015 because of strong exports and a rebound in private consumption. GDP growth accelerated in 2016, and probably reached 2.5 % in 2017. Unemployment remained high, at 9.7% in 2017, but has improved steadily since peaking at 18% in 2013.
The center-left minority Socialist government has unwound some unpopular austerity measures while managing to remain within most EU fiscal targets. The budget deficit fell from 11.2% of GDP in 2010 to 1.8% in 2017, the country’s lowest since democracy was restored in 1974, and surpassing the EU and IMF projections of 3%. Portugal exited the EU’s excessive deficit procedure in mid-2017.
Portugal Economy Data
What is the GDP of Portugal?
| Currency Name and Code | Euro (EUR) |
| GDP - Gross Domestic Product (PPP) | $281,400,000,000 (USD) |
| GDP - official exchange rate | $197,500,000,000 (USD) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 1.6% |
| GDP Per Capita | $27,800.00 (USD) |
| GDP by Sector- agriculture | 2.3% |
| GDP by Sector- Industry | 21.6% |
| GDP by Sector- services | 76.1% |
| GDP - composition, by end use |
household consumption: 66.2% government consumption: 18.5% investment in fixed capital: 15.3% investment in inventories: 0.3% exports of goods and services: 41.4% imports of goods and services: -41.7% |
| Population Below Poverty Line | 18% |
| Inflation Rate | 1.1% |
| Labor Force | 5,570,000 |
| Labor Force By Occupation- agriculture | 11.7% |
| Labor Force By Occupation- industry | 28.5% |
| Labor Force By Occupation- services | 59.8% |
| Unemployment Rate | 10.7% |
| Fiscal Year | calendar year |
| Annual Budget | $93,610,000,000 (USD) |
| Budget Surplus or Deficit - percent of GDP | -5.1% |
| Public Debt (% of GDP) | 69.4% |
| Taxes and other revenues - percent of GDP | 43.5% |
| Major Industries | textiles and footwear; wood pulp, paper, and cork; metalworking; oil refining; chemicals; fish canning; wine; tourism |
| Industrial Growth Rate | 0.9% |
| Agriculture Products | grain, potatoes, olives, grapes; sheep, cattle, goats, poultry, beef, dairy products |
| Exchange Rate per US Dollar | euro (EUR) |
| Child Labor - % of children ages 5-14 | 3% |
| Child Labor - # of children ages 5-14 | 36,569 |
| Child Labor - note | note: data represents children ages 6-14 |
| Commercial Bank Prime Lending Rate | 6% |