Portugal: Visió econòmica i política
Portugal's economy is open to foreign trade, which represents 75.4% of its GDP (World Bank, latest data available). While the country has traditionally exported agricultural products, textiles and clothing, it has begun to export an increasing amount of technological equipment. In 2020, the country mainly exported motor vehicles and their parts, petroleum oils, and footwear; importing chiefly the same category of products (petroleum oils, motor vehicles and their parts), medicaments and petroleum gas.
Data from Statistics Portugal (INE) shows that in 2020 the main trading partners were Spain (25.4% of total exports), France (13.6%), Germany (11.9%) and the UK (5.7%). Exports to the United Kingdom, the main destination outside the EU, fell by 15.6%. Portugal’s main suppliers were Spain (32.4%), Germany (13.3%), France (7.5%), and the Netherlands (5.5%). The main extra-EU supplier of goods to Portugal continued to be China, with imports from this partner increasing by 3.9% (4.5% of total imports). The largest deficits continued to be registered with Spain (EUR -8,453 million), Germany (EUR -2,709 million) and China (EUR -2,500 million).
The country has a structural trade balance deficit. In 2020, Portugal exported goods worth USD 61.5 billion (-8.2% year-on-year), with imports decreasing at a faster pace (-13.3, at USD 77.6 billion). However, Portugal is a net service exporter (USD 25.3 billion of exports against USD 15.6 billion of imports - data by WTO). The country’s overall balance of trade turned negative in 2020 (-2.1% of GDP) after seven consecutive years in positive territory. In the accumulated period January to October 2021, compared to the same period one year earlier, exports increased by 17.9% (+4.3% compared to the same period in 2019, before the pandemic) and imports rose by 18.1% (-0.8% vis-à-vis 2019 – data INE).
Foreign Trade Values | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
Imports of Goods (million USD) | 78,763 | 89,060 | 89,538 | 77,600 | 97,713 |
Exports of Goods (million USD) | 62,130 | 68,361 | 67,063 | 61,531 | 75,181 |
Imports of Services (million USD) | 16,350 | 18,756 | 19,811 | 15,606 | 20,807 |
Exports of Services (million USD) | 33,951 | 39,171 | 39,313 | 25,335 | 32,000 |
Source: World Trade Organisation (WTO) ; Latest available data
Foreign Trade Indicators | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
Foreign Trade (in % of GDP) | 84.4 | 86.4 | 86.6 | 76.2 | 86.2 |
Trade Balance (million USD) | -15,102 | -18,415 | -18,226 | -14,236 | -18,745 |
Trade Balance (Including Service) (million USD) | 3,351 | 2,168 | 1,836 | -4,388 | -6,766 |
Imports of Goods and Services (Annual % Change) | 8.1 | 5.0 | 4.9 | -11.8 | 13.3 |
Exports of Goods and Services (Annual % Change) | 8.4 | 4.1 | 4.1 | -18.6 | 13.5 |
Imports of Goods and Services (in % of GDP) | 41.7 | 43.0 | 43.1 | 39.2 | 44.6 |
Exports of Goods and Services (in % of GDP) | 42.7 | 43.4 | 43.5 | 37.0 | 41.6 |
Source: World Bank ; Latest available data
Foreign Trade Forecasts | 2022 | 2023 (e) | 2024 (e) | 2025 (e) | 2026 (e) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Volume of exports of goods and services (Annual % change) | 7.7 | 1.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.7 |
Volume of imports of goods and services (Annual % change) | 2.1 | 2.1 | 2.4 | 2.6 | 2.6 |
Source: IMF, World Economic Outlook ; Latest available data
Note: (e) Estimated Data
Main Customers (% of Exports) |
2021 |
Spain | 26.7% |
France | 13.1% |
Germany | 11.0% |
United States | 5.6% |
United Kingdom | 5.2% |
Italy | 4.5% |
Netherlands | 3.9% |
Belgium | 2.5% |
Angola | 1.5% |
Poland | 1.4% |
Morocco | 1.4% |
Sweden | 1.2% |
Brazil | 1.1% |
China | 1.1% |
Switzerland | 1.0% |
Türkiye | 1.0% |
Denmark | 0.8% |
Czech Republic | 0.7% |
Romania | 0.7% |
Finland | 0.7% |
See More Countries | 38.3% |
Main Suppliers (% of Imports) |
2021 |
Spain | 32.8% |
Germany | 12.4% |
France | 6.7% |
Netherlands | 5.3% |
Italy | 5.1% |
China | 4.7% |
Belgium | 3.1% |
Brazil | 3.1% |
United States | 2.4% |
Poland | 1.8% |
Nigeria | 1.7% |
Türkiye | 1.4% |
Russia | 1.3% |
United Kingdom | 1.2% |
India | 1.1% |
Sweden | 1.0% |
Ireland | 1.0% |
Japan | 0.7% |
Czech Republic | 0.7% |
Hungary | 0.7% |
See More Countries | 37.6% |
Source: Comtrade, 2022. Because of rounding, the sum of the percentages may be smaller/greater than 100%.
Source: Comtrade, 2022. Because of rounding, the sum of the percentages may be smaller/greater than 100%.
To go further, check out our service Import Export Flows.
Source: United Nations Statistics Division, 2023. Because of rounding, the sum of the percentages may be smaller/greater than 100%.
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Actualitzacions: January 2023
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