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Following its heyday
as a world power
during the 15th and
16th centuries,
Portugal lost much
of its wealth and
status with the
destruction of
Lisbon in a 1755
earthquake,
occupation during
the Napoleonic Wars,
and the independence
in 1822 of Brazil as
a colony. A 1910
revolution deposed
the monarchy; for
most of the next six
decades, repressive
governments ran the
country. In 1974, a
left-wing military
coup installed broad
democratic reforms.
The following year,
Portugal granted
independence to all
of its African
colonies.
Portugal is a
founding member of
NATO and entered the
EC (now the EU) in
1986.
Portugal has become
a diversified and
increasingly
service-based
economy since
joining the European
Community in 1986.
Over the past
decade, successive
governments have
privatized many
state-controlled
firms and
liberalized key
areas of the
economy, including
the financial and
telecommunications
sectors. The country
qualified for the
European Monetary
Union (EMU) in 1998
and began
circulating the euro
on 1 January 2002
along with 11 other
EU member economies.
Economic growth had
been above the EU
average for much of
the past decade, but
fell back in
2001-04. GDP per
capita stands at
two-thirds that of
the Big Four EU
economies. A poor
educational system,
in particular, has
been an obstacle to
greater productivity
and growth.
Portugal has
been increasingly
overshadowed by
lower-cost producers
in Central Europe
and Asia as a target
for foreign direct
investment. The
government faces
tough choices in its
attempts to boost
Portugal's economic
competitiveness
while keeping the
budget deficit
within the
eurozone's 3%-of-GDP
ceiling.
Reach family,
friends and work
colleges and make
your cheap phone
call today to
Portugal.
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