"Geographical situation
Portugal is situated at the crossroads of the main Atlantic traffic routes between Europe and North, Central and South America and Africa, and is therefore exceptionally well situated with relation to the main trade and tourist flows of the world of today.
Climate and soil
The climate is markedly Mediterranean, though subject to frequent Continental influences. The soil is mainly composed of old geological areas with important granite outcrops north of the Tagus and basalt outcrops south of it. As a natural consequence, therefore, the main crops include tipically Mediterranean products, olive oil, wine, almonds, figs, and the country's wealth in forestry yelds the products of the cork-oak, the pine and eucalyptus. It should be added here that cotton and tobacco are not grown in Metropolitan Portugal for historical reasons only.
The country's long coastline is bordered by a continental shelf very rich in fish, and the coast itself has many natural harbours.
In the subsoil, only ores typical of old geological areas are to be found: wolfram, tin, pyrites, coal and also uranium and radium.
Population
Main features:
Total population = 9,000,000
Working population = less than 4,000,000
Gross birth rate: 23 per thousand
Death rate: 11 per thousand
Average annual migratory balance = -35,000
Average annual increase in the working population = +20,000
The population of Portugal is one of the youngest in Europe, the non-working part of it bearing heavily on the distribution of the income produced by the working population.
It remains to be said that in the last 30 years there has been an increase of 150 per cent in the school population, the main developments having occured in technical and university teaching.
Number of students who completed their courses, 1961:
Primary level = 170,358
Technical courses = 15,638
Secondary level = 30,540
University level = 2,054
National income
The development of the components of national income shows that, in relation to 1956, the following increases had occurred in 1961:
Private consumption = 23 per cent
Private investment = 34 per cent
Public consumption = 58 per cent
Public investment = 59 per cent
The rate of growth of public and private investment in relation to the rate of growth of consumption should be noted; this fact bears witness to the success of the policy of intensive investment arising from the Development Plans. Moreover, in spite of the very high rate of development of public investment, private investment is still the most important, having attained in 1961 Escudos 11.4 billion, whereas public investment did not exceed Escudos 1.5 billion.
National income per capita, in Portuguese official statistics, is about U.S.$220; however, and for reasons of calculation, this figure becomes meaningless when compared with the corresponding figure for other countries. For comparison purposes, and estimated income of over U.S. $470 per capita should be entered, this being the figure reached by O.E.C.D. experts.
National production between 1947 and 1956 increased at an average annual rate of 4 per cent; the following are the annual figures for 1956-1960:
1957 = 4.0 per cent
1958 = 1.0 per cent
1959 = 4.5 per cent
1960 = 3.2 per cent
1961 = 7.0 per cent
1962 = 6.0 per cent (based on provisional figures)
It seems, therefore, that the expected rate of progress of national production is at least 4 per cent, since the figures for 1958 and 1960 are noticeably affected by a succession of bad farming years.
National production
Roughly speaking, the sources of Portuguese national production are the following:
25 per cent: primary sector (farming, forestry and fisheries)
40 per cent: secondary sector (manufacturing and building)
35 per cent: tertiary sector (trade and services)
The continued decline in the primary sector since 1958 and up to 1961 is mostly due to extremely unfavorable weather condiions which greatly affected crops. Together with farming, fishing occupies an outstanding place in the primary sector in Portugal, being an important source of income and foreign exchange earnings.
Manufacturing
Industrial expansion and the devlopment of the tertiary sector are taking place at a satisfactory annual rate, an average of 4.4 per cent and 4.6 per cent respectively.
Power
Though the 1961 power output greatly exceeded that of 1953, it is still far from representing the full utilization of the capacity already instaled; furthermore, some power stations of great capacity are still in course of construction. In consequence, the existing output capacity greatly exceeds the present consumption of the country. The annual effective output of hydro and thermo-electric power is more than 3,500,000,000 Kwh.
Transport and Communications
Transport is one of the main factors in the formation of the gross product in the tertiary sector (Services) and continues to be an equally important factor in the gross formation of capital. In land transport, the railway network has been progressing through the renovation of rolling stock and track and special mention should be made of the electrification of the main railway lne of the country, connecting the two most important industrial and population areas, Lisbon and Oporto.
Road transport, perhaps the one taht has expanded most within this sector, is a powerful competitor of the railway while also supplementing it.
As regards sea transport, the long coastline, its natural harbours, the geographical situation of the country, make Portugal one of the focal points of navigation in the Atlantic.
As for air transport, the situation of Continental and Insular Portugal in the same way makes Portuguese airports points of call for all the great North and South American and European airline companies that connect the three continents with each other and with the Middle East and Africa.
As regards communications, the Portuguese Post Office, Telegraph and Telephone Services are in a position to meet all modern requirements and are well known for their high technical standard.
External trade and balance of payments
The external trade of Continental Portugal with foreign countries represents about 33 per cent of the gross national product, of which only 11 per cent is accounted for by exports. Exports are still little diversified, as 70 per cent of their value is composed of fish preserves, wins, timber, ores, raw cork, cork products and cotton textiles. They are mainly absorbed by Western European countries (Common Market and E.F.T.A.) and the U.S.A. (United States of America). In 1961, 21,7 per cent of Portuguese exports went to E.E.C. countries and 27,7 per cent to E.F.T.A. countries while 38 per cent of Portuguese imports originated from the E.E.C. and 23,4 per cent from other E.F.T.A. countries."
In The Foreign Investor in Portugal, Banco Português do Atlântico, 1963
