Politics: a stable context
The liberal Luis Montenegro succeeded Antonio Costa as Prime Minister in April 2024. The former minister, who resigned, has benefited from the success of his choices: a policy of demand-led recovery, supported by a social policy. Since taking office in 2015, he had pledged to turn the page on austerity: he raised the minimum wage, reviewed civil servants' pay and the pension system. Household consumption has risen, benefiting in particular from programs to combat job insecurity. The revival of export-oriented industries (automotive, footwear, textiles) underpinned the recovery, while Portugal welcomed a growing number of foreign companies willing to invest. Chinese investment groups have become shareholders in Portugal's largest insurance company, the REN electricity network and the country's leading private bank. The service sector (68.3% of the working population) confirms its dominant position in the Portuguese economy through its predominant activity, tourism, which has grown from 6.5 million visitors in 2009 to... 32.5 million in 2023. A spectacular figure when compared with Portugal's population (10.3 million).
Economy: a great dynamic
On the brink of bankruptcy in 2011, Portugal has managed, in just a few years and unlike other southern European countries, to reduce its budget deficit and unemployment (stabilized at 6.5% in December 2023), attract investors and return to sustained growth (1.8% in 2023). The booming tourism industry has been hit hard by the health crisis, and is also developing perverse side-effects, chief among them soaring property prices. The visible consequence is that residents, particularly from the middle classes, are being driven out of the city centers. More surprisingly, the country has become a paradise for start-ups and digital nomads, who have chosen Lisbon as the venue for the annual Web Summit. The fact remains that the Portuguese minimum wage, although raised, is still low (€822) compared to that of some of its European neighbors, and is still not convincing young graduates, geeks or not, to stay and work in the country... In the energy field, Portugal is still heavily dependent on fossil fuel imports (74.2% of imports in 2019), but it is developing an ambitious program of solar power plants and is one of the first countries in the world to aim for carbon neutrality by 2050! Alentejo is home to one of the country's two largest power plants: it is located in Amareleja (Beja district), and covers 250 hectares. At full capacity, its 262,000 photovoltaic panels deliver a maximum output of over 46 MW - enough to supply 30,000 homes!
