Portugal

The Portuguese Republic is in Southwestern Europe bordering Spain and the North Atlantic Ocean. It is about the size of Indiana and covers an area of 92,391 sq. kilometers. Portugal’s total population is about 10.8 million and is growing at a rate of 0.15% with 61% living in urban areas. The Portuguese capital of Lisbon has a population of about 2.1 million with the other major city being Porto (pop 1.9 mils). The people are governed by a republic and are predominately Roman Catholic. The primary language is Portuguese with small minorities using Mirandese. Portugal was a founding member of NATO, joined the EU in 1986, and adopted the Euro as currency in 1999.

Portugal has a stable diversified economy that has benefited greatly from membership in the EU, however, its economy is still below the strong European powers. Portugal is becoming increasingly overlooked as a place for foreign investment as countries have begun to look for cheaper options in Eastern Europe or Asia. Its main trade partners are Spain, Germany, France, UK, Italy, Netherlands, and the US. Its primary imports are agricultural and food products, oil products, chemical products, plastics and rubber, leather, wood and cork, minerals, textile materials, vehicles, and household goods. Exports consist of agricultural and food products, oil products, chemical products, plastics and rubber, leather, wood and cork, textile materials, minerals, vehicles, and machinery. Portugal’s GDP (Purchasing Power Parity) is $250.6 billion and is shrinking at a real rate of 3.2% with an inflation rate of 2.8%. Portugal ranked 30th out of 183 countries in the World Bank Group’s Ease of Doing Business Ranking.

Click the links below for articles with more information on Franchising in Portugal

Franchising in Portugal(2011)

Doing Business in Portugal(2010)

Reform of European Union Rules on Distribution(2010)

European Commission's New Block Exemption Rules Enter into Force June 1(2010)

* CPI Score is published by Transparency International and relates to the perceptions of the degree of corruption as seen by business people and country analysts and ranges between 100 (highly clean) and 0 (highly corrupt).

**Ease of Doing Business Ranking is determined by the World Bank Group and is ranked out of a possible 185 countries. www.doingbusiness.org

Most recent statistics have been taken from the CIA World Factbook unless noted otherwise.