Portugal is a privileged location, ideal for those seeking to supply the European market or expand their businesses to other parts of the world. It is an innovative country with a friendly economic environment. 

Portugal has good logistic and communication infrastructures with connections to major cities by air, land, sea, road or railway, and our communications and telephone systems are among the best in the world.

A stable democracy, and a hospitable country for business and investment, Portugal is a member of the European Union, the currency is the euro and our borders are open to the flow of trade with the other member states.

Check this site for more on the country.

Portugal has a population of only 10.6 million, but in the world there are more than 250 million Portuguese speakers, making it one of the most spoken languages. A business which invests in Portugal can more easily access these markets, in Africa and in Latin America. Portugal is also an excellent entry point, or first test-market, for a business looking to get into the European Union.

And Portugal is not only a good country to invest but also a desirable place to visit, to live and to enjoy, with a privileged nature, rich culture and high quality healthcare facilities. 

Portugal is experiencing extensive and dynamic changes. Our country is home to companies that develop some of the finest technologies that are impacting our world. And Portugal's profile is also made of recognition that some of our best traditional products - like wines and olive oil - are among the best in the world. 

For the language

For business

For higher education

Check out these photos in National Geographic.    

The Tower of Belém on a stormy night.

Photo: Nuno Cardal, My Shot.

Good communication & logistic infrastructures

• Portugal ranks high in broadband speed, household penetration and price. Broadband Internet is spreading very fast across the country, with the help of optic fiber. Portugal is ranked in the Top 20 countries with more use of optic fiber technologies. 
• Portugal has 3 international airports in the mainland and 7 in the Azores and Madeira Islands. There are also regular daily cargo flights from Portugal to major hubs in Europe and Asia.
• There are 9 main sea ports, all receiving international traffic. The port of Sines is one of the largest deep waters port in Europe, with virtually no operational restrictions.                   

• The cargo rail network includes 4 international railway lines, is operated by CP and includes 2 main container terminals, and rail-road-ports terminals throughout.

According to the recent Innovation Union Scoreboard 2010, Portugal is among the European Union's growth leaders in Innovation, with an average annual growth rate well above 5%. 

Less innovative Member States have been growing faster than the more innovative Member States.

Skilled & talented people

• Portugal has a strong pool of skilled and talented people, in a wide range of fields, especially in Business and Administration, with high motivation and adaptability. Although we have a highly qualified and motivated workforce, our wages continue to be competitive when compared to various other EU countries
• Portugal has now 35% of its youth enrolled in higher education levels and is committed to have additional 100.000 new graduates over the next 4 years. 
• Public policies are investing to qualify the current workforce, stimulating the upgrade of their qualifications to the highest levels. Public policies and incentives are also encouraging companies to hire Ph.D. graduates.
• Various steps have been taken to upgrade the academic and professional experience of the Portuguese workforce over the years. Consequently, Portugal has increased the age of obligatory schooling and developed a program of international cooperation between top-level international schools and Portuguese universities.
• Scientific work has also been boosted. Portuguese institutions produce more than 7,000 scientific papers a year.
• The Portuguese workforce is also "language skilled", with a large section of the population able to hold a conversation in, at least, one foreign language. The most widely spoken language in the country is English, followed by French and Spanish.

         Portugal's Technological Plan 

Save time & money

• It takes an average time of 46 minutes to set up your company, with a wide range of services available through the internet. Far less than the average time required in OECD countries - On the Spot Companies.
• The procedures to set up a company are not only fast but getting increasingly cheaper. The costs of set-up procedures have been reduced to a quarter of the previous level. 
• Cutting red tape is a great concern. Portugal is committed to a program that targets to reduce red tape in 25% by 2012. 
• We are an award winning country in this area. The usefulness of the Simplex program in this effort has been widely praised. Portugal is high in the rankings of availability and sophistication of public services online in Europe, according to the European Commission.
• To build an even more friendly economic environment, we have developed the PIN system (projects of Potential National Importance) to expedite the approval of investment projects that have received the “national interest” status.