Portugal is considered a developed nation. A nation's stage of development is determined by a number of factors including, but not limited to, economic prosperity, life expectancy, income equality and quality of life. As a developed nation, Portugal is able to offer its citizens social services such as public education, health care and law enforcement. Citizens of developed countries enjoy a high standard of living and longer life expectancies than citizens of developing countries. Portugal exports about US$61 billion and imports about US$59 billion each year. 7.9% of the country's population is unemployed. The total number of unemployed in Portugal is 813,004. In Portugal, 19% of the population lives below the poverty line. The percentage of citizens living below the poverty line in Portugal is quite high, but not a cause for great concern in terms of investment. Potential lenders should look at other economic indicators, including GDP, the rate of urbanization and the strength of the currency, before making investment decisions. Government spending on education is 5.2% of GDP. The country's Gini index is 34.2. Portugal is experiencing good equality. The majority of citizens in Portugal fall within a narrow income bracket, although some cases can show significant differences. Portugal has a Human Development Index (HDI) of 0.822. Portugal has a high HDI score. This suggests that the majority of citizens will be able to live a worthwhile life while providing significant help and support to citizens with lower living standards. The Global Peace Index (GPI) for Portugal is 1.344. Due to the strong presence of the law enforcement authorities and the high level of social responsibility, Portugal is very safe in international comparison. The Index of Strength of Legal Rights for Portugal is 2. Overall, it is considered to be rather weak – bankruptcy and collateral laws fail to protect borrowers' and lenders' rights in the event of credit-related complications; Credit information, if any, is scarce and difficult to access.
Currency
The currency of Portugal is the euro. There are several plural forms of the name "euro". These are euros, euros. The symbol used for this currency is €, abbreviated to EUR. The euro is divided into cents; 1 euro is 100.
Credit rating
The depth of credit information index for Portugal is 7, which means that for the most part the information is adequate and fairly detailed. Accessibility is not a problem. According to the credit rating agency S&P, Portugal has a credit rating of BB and the prospects for this rating are positive. According to the rating agency Fitch, Portugal has a credit rating score of BB+ and the prospects for this rating are positive. According to the rating agency Moody's, Portugal has a credit rating of Ba2 and the prospects for this rating are negative.
Central bank
In Portugal, the institution that manages the state's currency, money supply and interest rates is called the Bank of Portugal. Locally, the central bank of Portugal is called the Banco de Portugal. The average interest rate on deposits offered by local banks in Portugal is 2.4%.
National debt
Portugal has a public debt equivalent to 38.8% of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) as estimated in 2012.
Tax information
Corporate tax in Portugal is 21%. Personal income tax ranges from 14.5% to 48% depending on your specific situation and income level. VAT in Portugal is 23%.
