What is Portugal’s Rank in the OECD?

Welcome to another interesting journey to Portugal with a new question: what is

Portugal’s Rank in the OECD?

Portugal is emerging as a popular destination for immigrants all over the world. A lot of
people are interested in learning about the visa programs in Portugal, the vibrant cities
of Lisbon, Porto, Sintra, and Algarve, and many other things. At the same time, it is
obvious to ask: what is Portugal’s rank in the OECD?

So, let’s find out the answer to this question. This article reveals what is Portugal’s rank
in the OECD.

What is Portugal’s Rank in the OECD in 2011?

Eurostat in 2011 explained that the expenditure of General Government by main
function, as a percentage of Total Expenditure, was as follows (compared to the
Eurozone and EU averages):

Country with the Country with the

Function PortugalEurozoneEU highest % lowest %
Social Protection 36.7% 40.7% 39.9%43.8% (Denmark) 26.1% (Cyprus)
General Public Services 17.1% 13.8% 13.5%24.6% (Greece) 8.3% (Estonia)
18.1% (Czech
Health 13.8% 14.9% 14.8%Republic) 7.3% (Cyprus)
Education 12.9% 10.1% 10.9%16.9% (Estonia) 7.9% (Greece)
Economic affairs 8.2% 8.4% 8.2% 16.9% (Romania) 6.1% (Denmark)
Public order and safety 4.0% 3.7% 3.9% 7.1% (Bulgaria) 2.5% (Luxembourg)
Defence 2.7% 2.7% 3.0% 4.6% (Greece) 0.9% (Ireland)
Recreation, culture, and
religion 2.2% 2.2% 2.2% 5.0% (Estonia) 1.1% (Italy)
Housing and community
amenities 1.3% 1.8% 1.7% 5.8% (Cyprus) 0.6% (Denmark)
Environmental
protection 1.1% 1.8% 1.7% 3.3% (Netherlands) -0.9% (Estonia)

Also according to Eurostat in 2011, the expenditure of the General Government by three
of the main functions, as a percentage of GDP, was as follows (compared to the
Eurozone and EU averages):

Function Portugal Eurozone EU Country with the highest % Country with the lowest %
Social Protection 18.1% 20.2% 19.6% 25.2% (Denmark) 11.9% (Slovakia)
Health 6.8% 7.4% 7.3% 8.5% (Netherlands) 3.4% (Romania)
Education 6.35% 5.02% 5.34% 7.79% (Denmark) 3.63% (Bulgaria)

What is Portugal’s Rank in the OECD in 2023?

Apart from past years, it is necessary for you to stay updated with the latest information
about the ranking of Portugal. So, we should focus on what is Portugal’s rank in the
OECD in 2023.

Portugal has been ranked as one in the list of the economies that have expanded the
most in 2023. This ranking took place among 27 countries in the Organization for
Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and Portugal ranked fifth with a GDP
variation of 2.3%.

According to data from INE and reported by ECO, the economy of Portugal even
outperformed the average of the European Union and the Euro Zone. Both countries, EU
and EZ, have a GDP variation of 0.5%, and the OECD (1.6%). These are the only
countries that have been surpassed by Costa Rica (5.1%), Mexico (3.1%), the United
States (2.5%), and Spain (2.5%).

Portugal is one of the five countries that have showed the highest GDP growth.
However, you should not overlook the fact that from 6.8% in 2022 to 2.3% in 2023, the
economic growth of the country dramatically slowed down.

Within the setting of greater underlying inflation in the OECD region, initial annual
estimates suggest that OECD GDP growth slowed to 1.6% in 2023, compared to 2.9% in
2022, as stated in the same report.

Data is available for 27 countries of the OECD, and among them, 10 have documented a
GDP contraction in 2023. Out of those countries, 11 member countries have no
information yet. Estonia has seen the worst contraction, at -3.0%. Growth was positive
but slowed in 14 countries.

There are just three economies that have recorded higher rate of growth in 2023 as
compared to that in the previous year of 2022: Japan (1.9% compared to 1%), the
United States (2.5% compared to 1.9%), and Costa Rica (5.1% in 2023 compared to
4.6% in 2022).

Evolution of the Number of Public Employees in

Portugal (1968–2023)
Year Pop. ±%
1968 196,755 — Year Pop. ±%
1979 383,103 +94.7% 2011 727,785 +9.7%
1983 435,795 +13.8% 2012 699,901 −3.8%
1986 464,321 +6.5% 2013 674,927 −3.6%
1988 485,368 +4.5% 2014 656,376 −2.7%
1991 509,732 +5.0% 2015 659,144 +0.4%
1996 614,256 +20.5% 2016 664,168 +0.8%
1999 701,911 +14.3% 2017 669,321 +0.8%
2005 731,485 +4.2% 2018 683,165 +2.1%
2006 726,523 −0.7% 2019 699,031 +2.3%
2007 708,507 −2.5% 2020 718,940 +2.8%
2008 692,279 −2.3% 2021 733,896 +2.1%
2009 675,048 −2.5% 2022 742,260 +1.1%
2010 663,167 −1.8% 2023 745,406 +0.4%

What is Portugal’s Rank in the OECD in term of

Economy?
Here is the state of the regional economy of Portugal at the level of its local areas.

GDP per capita

As % of
Portugal
Rank Region GDP in euros € % of GDP In euros € average
1 Lisbon Metropolitan Area 87,368,251,000 36.1% 30,462 129.5%
2 North Region 71,872,968,000 29.7% 20,137 85.6%
3 Centro Region 45,028,735,000 18.6% 20,161 85.7%
4 Alentejo Region 15,157,115,000 6.3% 21,741 92.4%
5 Algarve Region 11,624,407,000 4.8% 26,754 113.7%
6 Autonomous Region of Madeira 6,020,507,000 2.5% 23,675 100.6%
7 Autonomous Region of the Azores 5,109,502,000 2.1% 21,096 89.7%
Portugal 242,340,811,000 100.0% 23,531 100.0%

The economy of Portugal is ranked 34th in the Global Competitiveness Report published
in the World Economic Forum in 2019. The European Union (EU), whose nations
accounted for 74.6% of the imports of Portugal and 71.4% of its exports in 2020, is the
hub for the vast majority of the trade of the whole world.
Portugal has been a member of the Eurozone since its founding, and its currency is
the euro (€). The main stock exchange in Portugal is Euronext Lisbon, while the central
bank of the country is the Banco de Portugal, which is a member of the European
System of Central Banks.

Employment and Wages

Now, it is a time to find out what is Portugal’s rank in the OECD when it comes to
employment and wages. First of all, let’s see how many people are unemployed in this
country which has ranked fifth in OECD overall.

The rate of joblessness was 5.9% in the first quarter of 2022.

Since the end of 2013, there has been a consistent decline in the rate of unemployment,
which represents a reversal of the trend of increasing unemployment that had been
observed since the 2000s. With the effects of the financial crisis of 2007–2008, this
negative tendency became more evident, and the rate of unemployment rose. It sets a
record in early 2013 at 17.7%.

The decline in unemployment is linked to the expansion of the economy of Portugal,

which began in the third quarter of 2014 (after decreasing in 2011, 2012 and 2013). It
continued in the second quarter of 2015 with a 1.5% annual GDP growth. The amount of
persons who left the country to find job in other countries has also positively impacted
the decline in unemployment.

This was particularly true in 2013 when the labor force fell by 1.6% during the first nine
months of the year. The methodology employed by Statistics Portugal (for example,
individuals pursuing internships or professional training do not count as unemployed),
the prior significant job loss, the rise in tourism, and the resurgence of the agricultural
sector, where many jobs were created, have all had an impact on the decline.

Although Portugal is both a developed country and a high income country, it has the
lowest GDP per capita in Western Europe. In 2018, it ranked ninth among the 27
member countries of Europe with the lowest purchasing power. All these figures have
originated from Eurostat.

Wages
The minimum amount of monthly wage in Portugal is 820 euros from 1st January,
2024). Before, that time it had been set at 760 euros. This minimum wage was
established in January 2021, having previously been raised from 580 euros in 2018. The
least amount of wage in Portugal has been increasing since 2015, where it stood at 505
euros.

After reaching 505 euros as the minimum wage in 2015, it has been rising ever since.
The average net wage is 1148 euros (US$1269), and the average gross wage is 1670
euros (US$1846), almost equal to that of Poland and Estonia. Twelve monthly salary
payments plus the compensation of one month in the form of a Christmas bonus and
one month for bonus of a holiday total fourteen times the wages of an employee.

Article 273 of the Labor Code states that the government, confederations of the
employers, and trade union confederations consult and negotiate in the Permanent
Social Conciliation Commission to determine the minimum wage in Portugal.

Year Minimum Wage Average Wage

2015 505 € 834 €
2016 530 € 846 €
2017 557 € 865 €
2018 580 € 896 €
2019 600 € 912 €
2020 635 € 968 €
2021 665 € 1,011 €
2022 705 € 1,019 €
2023 760 € 1,049 €
2024 820 € 1,090 € (Q1 2024)

Graduate Unemployment
Approximately 8% of the persons holding a degree did not have a job in 2008, and a far
higher percentage were underemployed. This was closely linked to a general lack
of employability and inadequate preparation of the students for the workforce. These
facts were observed in many of the courses in various sectors that specific departments
or higher education institutions offered.

An entirely new strategy to address the issue was the adoption of the Bologna
process and other educational changes, including as the mandatory closure of several
departments, courses, colleges, and private universities after 2005 owing to a lack of
academic rigor and low teaching standards.

In 2007, state officials looked into some major private universities and after a critical
investigation, they immediately shut down the two universities of them. Furthermore,
because to their poor quality, low demand from prospective students, or low interest
from businesses, several degrees offered by the public system were discontinued.

Under the governmental programs of XVII Governo Constitucional , secondary and post-
secondary non-higher education, which consists of technical and vocational education,
has been redeveloped since 2007. All this process was done under the leadership of
Prime Minister José Sócrates.

As of March 2014, the rate of unemployment for graduates between those of age 15 and
24 was above 35.4%, which indicates a rise when we do a comparison with January and
February 2014.

Due to the current unstable situation of the economy, 57% of young Portuguese people
intend to emigrate.
FAQs
Q1. Is Portugal an OECD country?

Portugal committed itself to fulfilling the core objectives of the Organization when it
signed the Convention establishing the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and
Development on December 14, 1960, along with nineteen other countries.

Q2. Where does Portugal rank in the world economy?

Portugal is currently ranked 50 of the major economies. However, according to the

evaluation of OECD in 2023, Portugal has ranked fifth in number.

Q3. How does Portugal compare to other countries?

Portugal outperforms other countries in the Better Life Index in a number of well-being-
related categories. Portugal scores better than average in terms of environmental
quality and home safety. In terms of income, social ties, civic involvement, and life
happiness, it performs worse than average.