Economy of Portugal

Forests are the major natural resource of Portugal, covering about 34% of the country. The most important forest resources are the pine trees (13,500 km2), cork oaks (6800 km2), holm oaks (5,340 km2), and eucalyptus (2,430 km2). Cork is a major production, with Portugal producing half of the world's cork. Significant mining resources are lithium, tungsten, tin, and uranium.

Portugal is a traditional wine grower, and has exported its wines since the dawn of western civilization; Port Wine, Vinho Verde and Madeira Wine are the leading wine exports. Portugal is also a quality producer of fruits, namely the Algarve oranges, cherries (large production in Cova da Beira and Alto Alentejo), Oeste region's pêra rocha (a type of pear) and Alcobaça’s apples (maçã de Alcobaça). More recently, niche crops such as blueberry and raspberry have seen great increase in production, mainly for exporting. Other exports include horticulture and floriculture products, beet sugar, sunflower oil, cork, and tobacco.

The Portuguese fishing industry is fairly large and diversified. Fishing vessels classified according to the area in which they operate, can be divided into local fishing vessels, coastal fishing vessels and long-distance fishing vessels. These vessels are usually equipped to use more than one fishing method, such as hooks, gill nets and traps, and constitute the so-called polyvalent segment of the fleet. Their physical output is low but reasonable levels of income are attained by virtue of the high commercial value of the species they capture: octopus, black scabbardfish, conger, pouting, hake and anglerfish. This fishery represents 37% of total landings. Portugal's Exclusive Economic Zone has 1,727,408 km2, being the 3rd largest of the EU and the 20th largest in the world.

Presently, the major industries in Portugal include: machinery, electrical and electronics industries, automotive and shipbuilding industries, injection moulding, plastics and ceramics industries, textile, footwear and leather industries, oil refinery, petrochemistry and cement industries, beverages and food industries and furniture, pulp and paper, wood and cork industries. Automotive and other mechanical industries such as bicycle industry are primarily located in and around Setúbal, Porto, Lisbon, Aveiro, Braga and Mangualde. Coimbra and Oeiras have growing technological-based industries, including pharmaceuticals and software. Sines has the largest oil refinery in the country and is a major petrochemical centre, as well as the busiest port in Portugal. Maia has one of the largest industrial parks of the country, including noted wood processing and food industries. Figueira da Foz and Setúbal are major centres of pulp and paper industry. Marinha Grande is the most reputed glass making centre of Portugal.

In 2013, 61.7% of the energy produced was renewable, including 30.4% hydroelectric, 24.1% from wind, 5.2% from biomass, 0.9% solar energy and 1.1% from other renewable energy sources, particularly geothermical energy in the Azores. Thanks to this energetic strategy, during 2013 Portugal had reduced to only 5% the energy that it imports. Fossil fuels are still the source of 38.3% or the energy produced, but the trend is to diminish. In 2013, the increase in the production of clean energy helped to save 806 million Euros in the imports of fossil fuels and CO2 emission licenses. In May 2016, Portugal became the second country in the world to be able to have all its energy consumption fully covered by renewable energy alone, for four consecutive days.

The tertiary sector has grown, producing 74.4% of the GDP and providing jobs for 65.9% of the working population. The most significant growth rates are found in the trade sector, due to the introduction of modern means of distribution, transport and telecommunications. Financial tertiary companies have benefited from privatisation, also gaining in terms of efficiency. Tourism in Portugal has developed significantly, generating 17.3% of GDP in 2017 and forecasted to reach 20.5% of GDP in 2018. In 2017, the number of foreign tourists jumped 12 percent to 12.7 million. Including domestic tourists, the total is about 21 million. Some large Portuguese companies in the services' sector have committed themselves to internationalize their services, like the retailer Jerónimo Martins, which holds the largest supermarket chain in Poland and is also investing in Colombia. Worth to notice is also TAP Portugal, a company often used by transit passengers traveling between Europe, Africa and Latin America (mainly Brazil), which is particularly regarded by its safety record.