Portugal

Portugal ranks far better on Comparative Liveability (25th) than on Economic Competitiveness (46th). The country’s exceptionally low performance on education indicators contrasts with high levels of reported satisfaction among the Portuguese with their freedom of choice. Overall, Portugal ranks 33rd.

After a decade of impressive economic growth during the 1990s, Portugal has struggled to keep up with its EU peers. Economic growth averaged only 0.7% annually from 2002-06, according to the IMF. GDP per capita, meanwhile, is just two-thirds of the European average. With industrial supplies constituting a third of all exports, Portugal has struggled to fend off competition from lower-cost countries in Central Europe and Asia.

Portugal’s economic convergence with other EU states is hampered by its ill-equipped mass education system. The average employee in the Portuguese workforce possesses a mere 1.12 years of secondary school education, the lowest level of all developed countries (although this in part reflects the country’s late start in growth -- low levels of education among older workers, who entered the workforce prior to the country’s period of rapid development, drag down the average). Portuguese show considerable entrepreneurship, with business ownership rates among the highest in the Eurozone.

Portugal fails to translate its entrepreneurial drive into concrete indicators of innovation. For example, the number of patents issued is comparable with or worse than some of Europe’s former Soviet Bloc countries. However, government effectiveness and regulatory quality are good, suggesting a strong foundation for growth. Another sign of hope that growth will continue, which is common to most EU members, is the amount of capital investment now coming into the Portuguese economy.

The Portuguese place considerable weight on their political and civic freedoms, having endured the military-led ‘Estado Novo’ regime for a large part of the last century. Since the return of democracy in 1976 and entry into the EU (then, the European Community) ten years later, a high quality of democracy and rising incomes have allowed the country to flourish. Unsurprisingly, the Portuguese report high levels of satisfaction with their freedom of choice on the Gallup World Poll.

Portugal scores comparatively well on health-adjusted life expectancy and satisfaction with air quality, but badly in terms of satisfaction with healthcare. Revamping health services is one of the top priorities for the government, but some of its reforms, such as the increased cost of admission into public hospitals, have provoked considerable public opposition.

Portugal is the only one of the EU’s 27 member states to post a negative score for leisure, indicating that the Portuguese report relatively few hours of leisure time each day. The Portuguese are also highly sceptical that hard work will enable them to get ahead, according to Gallup.

The most concerning aspect of Comparative Liveability is the apparent atomisation of community life. On Gallup and World Values Survey indicators, Portugal scores poorly on everything from social trust and volunteering (both at 12%^g) to low levels of community involvement and charitable giving.