Portugal has the second highest rate of engineering graduates in the EU

Portugal has the second highest rate (20%) in the European Union (EU) for graduates in "engineering, manufacturing and construction”, according to a bulletin released by Eurostat, under the Portuguese presidency of the Council of the EU.

The European statistical office released some data about Portugal, as since January 1st and until June 30th, Portugal holds the half-yearly presidency of the Council of the EU.

With regard to the group of 27 Member States, Portugal's relative weight in the EU area is 2.2% (92,200 km2), that of population is 2.3% (ten million inhabitants) and that of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of 1.5%.

The ‘translation’ of Portugal in numbers also highlights that the national ‘per capita’ GDP is 20,740 euros, 79% of the EU average (31,160 euros). Portugal has an investment rate of 18.2% (EU 22.1%). The tax burden, measured in tax revenue as a percentage of GDP, is also lower in Portugal (36.8%) than in the EU average (41.1%).

In the scope of science and technology, expenditure in this area is 1.4% of GDP (EU 2.19%), with the population employed in high and medium-high technology industrial activities being 3.3% (EU 6.2%).

Emissions of greenhouse gases have increased 18.9% in Portugal since 1990, in contrast to the average of 27, which shows a decrease of 20.74%, however Portugal has a higher than average performance in the contribution of renewable energies to final consumption (30.3%, compared to 18.9 in the EU).

"Time to act: for a fair, green and digital recovery" is the motto of the Portuguese semiannual presidency of the EU, which has as main objectives a Resilient, Green, Digital, Social and Global Europe.