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  • 14-01-2021 12:15

EU/Presidency: Portugal has second highest rate in EU of 'Engineering, manufacturing, construction' graduates


Brussels, Jan. 14, 2021 (Lusa) – Portugal, with 20%, has the second highest rate in the EU of graduates in "Engineering, manufacturing and construction", according to a bulletin released on Thursday by Eurostat under the Portuguese presidency of the EU Council.

In order to make Portugal better known, the European statistical office has released some data, based on 1 December 2020, on the country that holds the six-month presidency of the EU Council from 1 January to 30 June.

Besides the second highest rate of engineering graduates, Portugal is the main producer of bicycles in the EU, the largest exporter of olives and has the fourth largest fishing fleet (7,700 vessels).

Portugal's relative weight in the EU area is 2.2% (92,200 km2), its population is 2.3% (ten million inhabitants) and its GDP is 1.5%.

The 'translation' of Portugal in figures also highlights that 'per capita' GDP is €20,740, 79% of the EU average ('31,160).

Portugal has an average annual inflation rate of 0.3% (EU 1.4%) and an investment rate of 18.2% (EU 22.1%).

The tax burden, measured as tax revenue as a percentage of GDP, is also lower in Portugal (36.8%) than in the EU average (41.1%).

Portugal has a population density of 113 people per km2, above 109 in the EU, with a higher proportion of the population over 65 (21.8%, compared to 20.3% in the EU) and a lower proportion of under 15 (13.7%, compared to 15.2% in the EU).

The youth unemployment rate is 18.3% (EU 15.0%) and the risk of poverty or social exclusion is 21.6% (EU 20.9%), while the employment rate for men is 79.9% (EU 79.0%) and for women 72.7% (EU 67.3%).

As regards education, despite good performance in engineering degrees, the rate of higher education is 36.2% of the population aged 30 to 34 (EU 40.3%).

Early school leaving covers 10.6% of the population aged 18-24 (EU 10.2%).

Spending on science and technology is 1.4% of GDP (EU 2.19%) and the rate of population employed in high and medium-high tech industrial activities is 3.3% (EU 6.2%).

Greenhouse gas emissions have increased by 18.9% in Portugal since 1990, in contrast to the average of the 27, which decreased by 20.74%, but Portugal has a higher-than-average contribution of renewable energy to final consumption (30.3% compared to 18.9 in the EU).

However, energy dependence - the share of imports in energy consumption - is 75.6% in Portugal, remaining at 58.2 the EU average.

"Time to act for a fair, green and digital recovery" is the motto of the six-monthly Portuguese presidency of the EU Council, whose main objectives are a Resilient, Green, Digital, Social and Global Europe.

IG/AYLS // AYLS

Lusa