Bordered by the Atlantic Ocean and Spain, Portugal invokes a romantic notion of breathtaking scenery, rich history, beautiful tiles and cobble-stone streets. The small country of Portugal is one of the oldest countries in Europe, having essentially established its current borders in the 13th century. A world power during the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal had an empire stretching from Latin America to Asia. Portuguese is the 6th most spoken language in the world. It joined the European Union in 1986 and is one of the founding countries of the Eurozone. Over the last two decades, Portugal has made various reforms, privatized and liberalized key areas of the economy, and has achieved a healthy level of growth.
To say that the United States and Portugal have been mutually supportive friends for a long time is an understatement. That friendship began over 200 years ago, when Portugal was the first independent country to recognize our newfound democracy. Our alliance today is as strong as it has ever been, and getting stronger. An important part of that relationship is commerce. The U.S. is currently Portugal’s top non-EU trading partner and a focus market for Portuguese foreign direct investment. We continue to work closely with Portugal to find ways to expand and deepen two-way trade and investment. As in many other southern European countries, personal relationships are a key component of doing business here. The U.S. Commercial Service can help your company build these personal relationships to successfully expand your international sales to Portugal. Portugal can be an excellent base of operations for doing business in Brazil, Africa and in the rest of Europe.
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Population |
10.6 million |
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Capital |
Lisbon |
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Government Type |
Parliamentary democracy |
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Literacy |
93.3% |
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GDP (2008 est.) |
$228 billion |
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Primary Import Partners (2007) |
Spain (31%); Germany (13.1%); France (8.46%); Italy (5.5%); United States (1.6%); others (40.4%). All EU-27 (75.4%) |
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Primary Imports |
Machinery and Tools (19.8%); Minerals and Mineral Products (14.0%); Vehicles and Other Transport Material (12.0%); Base Metals (9.9%); Agricultural Products (9.0%); Chemical Products (8.7%); Plastics and Rubber (5.0%); Food Products (3.6%); Textile Materials (3.1%); Clothing (2.8%); Wood Pulp and Paper (2.4%); Optical and Precision Instruments (2.1%); Minerals and Mineral Products (1.6%); Wood and Cork (1.3%); Skins and Leather (1.0%); Footwear (0.9%) |
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Primary Export Partners (2007) |
Spain (27.47%); Germany (13.2%); France (12.46%); United Kingdom (6.0%); United States (4.9%); others (35.6%) |
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Primary Exports |
Machinery and Tools (19.8%); Vehicles and Other transport Materials (12.8%); Base Metals (8.8%); Clothing (6.9%); Plastics and Rubber (5.7%); Minerals and Mineral Products (5.7%); Chemical Products (5.1%); Food Products (4.6%); Textile Materials (4.5%); Wood Pulp and Paper (4.5%); Oil Products (4.4%); Wood and Cork (4.3%); Agricultural Products (3.9%); Footwear (3.5%); Optical and Precision Instruments (0.9%); Skin and Leather (0.3%) |
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Trade with U.S. |
U.S. exports to Portugal: $1,985.8 million (2008 as of September 2008), $2,478.5 million (2007), $1,470.5 million (2006) |
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Primary Industries |
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