Creative Industries Portugal

Global Development Portugal at Red Yellow Blue (RYB)

Cultural and Creative Industries

A creative people

Remarkable books, touching movies, fascinating music and dance. Inspiring design, painting that defies the senses, touching sculpture and an architecture that defies the limits.

The Portuguese create magnificent works. Works that break the statu quo. Works that change perspective. Works that renew reality. And that is why they are so successful.

The Portuguese Cultural and Creative Industries surprise the artistic community and are therefore invited to participate in world-class events.
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Economy

fast-growing, high-income European economy; EU and NATO member; higher hydrocarbon energy costs due to cessation of Russian gas; major tourism, banking, and telecommunications sectors; high public debt and inflation; major renewable energy producer

Portugal has become a diversified and increasingly service-based economy since joining the European Community – the EU’s predecessor – in 1986; since 2008, the center-left minority Socialist government has unwound some unpopular austerity measures while managing to remain within most EU fiscal targets.

Economy – overview:
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.