Is Portugal in a so-called economic crisis? What's next for Portugal?

On January 1st, 1986 Portugal formally joined the European Union and on January 1st, 1999 Portugal adopted the euro. This was extremely important for a country with very poor economic standing and has been influential in keeping the country economically balanced. Modern-day Portugal has experienced some major fluctuations in recent years, from the financial crisis in 2008 (The United States Housing crisis) to high unemployment rates, and debt beyond what you can imagine - What's next for Portugal?

Here is a brief explanation to describe the European Union to you and also explain why countries known as the "PIGS" (Portugal, Italy, Greece, and Spain) experienced a huge debt crisis.

This video was created by Bloomberg.

The unprecedented debt crisis led the Portuguese government to cut spending which in turn reduced the number of jobs available. This resulted in a huge "Brain Drain" where qualified and trained Portuguese natives found themselves searching for work outside of their own homeland, often in the colonial countries, they once discovered such as Angola and Brazil.

Circa 2013 - Portugal began losing their skilled workforce. Watch the below video from the Financial Times. It was reported that 37% of Portuguese under the age of 24 - could not find a job. A brain drain that could cause long-term economical damage.

YouTube Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfIqHp_CqYw

Despite all these economic woes, Portugal has now begun to experience a financial turnaround and is once again looking positive and moving in the right direction. Certain sectors have experienced newer innovations and this has helped boost the production in key industries like textile and olive oil. Tourism revenue continues to help the country grow and it reportedly rose 10%from last year bringing in approximately 12.5 billion euros.

YouTube Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-HCreAFVDY

YouTube Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8xKbcAoCEA

So yes, Portugal, as you can see, has had its ups and downs. Here is what you need to determine:

How do you identify Portugal?

1. A country in crisis
2. A place to grow
3. A country for sale

Provide your own comments and thoughts. I encourage you to do some research on your own to determine which of the above options applies best to Portugal. Is Portugal really a country in crisis, is it a place to grow, or perhaps it's a country that other countries can exploit? Describe in your own words.

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

Portugal has certainly faced significant economic challenges especially during the global financial ... View the full answer