Emigration figures reveal 285,000 Portuguese have left the country for good in the last four years: a further concern is that immigration has decreased.
Portugal’s Centre for Emigration reported today that "Over the past four years, the number of people who have left Portugal grew by over 50%. Only in 2013 at least 110,000 Portuguese emigrated. You have to go back to 1973 to find numbers like these."
Emigration has never ceased to exist, but "the pace of growth seen in recent years is a new phenomenon.
"Portuguese emigration did not start in recent years. Strictly speaking, it never disappeared, having grown continuously since Portugal joined the European Union after the downturn that followed the April 25, 1974 and accelerated when the Portuguese economy went into prolonged stagnation at the beginning of this century."
Other data related to the Portuguese living abroad are their remittances, which have increased by 24% in recent years.
"The growth of remittances, although significant, has not kept pace with the growth of this new emigration," said Rui Pena Pires from the Centre, adding that Portugal now has the lowest immigration and birth rates in the EU and lacks the tax income from outflowing workers.
There is no great influx of fresh blood envisaged, unlike in the 1970s when returnees from African colonies helped offset the impact of emigration from the previous decade.
Even the Bank of Portugal has spotted in a 2014 report analysing the Portuguese economy, that the flow of emigration "has a major impact."
Pires argues that the reduction in Portugal's active population will lead to the stagnation of the Portuguese economy and the destruction of jobs.
"Without growth rates and employment levels being higher than the European Union average, it is unlikely that this situation will alter. The return of significant numbers of today's emigrants is a mirage."
"A recovery in the Portuguese economy will have to incorporate public policies to promote immigration and some ambitious demographic goals, far beyond simply attracting more qualified workers or entrepreneurs."
The nature of party politics is that this serious demographic problem always will be left for someone else to fix.
Comments
Greece and Portugal need tackling to remain in the EU , many portuguese think that a srizia style party is the solution , despite already having a history of social politics , they have not got any better off with those politics , the champagne socialist and their cronies since salazar though have indeed flourished.
Its time for the EU to get hard on Portugal , perhaps a smack for Greece will have a knock on effect for PT to get its act together , but without teeth the bite is not feared.
But the big Eu partners are getting cheaper educated workers to inflate their tax incomes during shrinking birth rates and aging populations....so why would they change anything?
Portugal, by its own reckoning up to the crisis had 4 out of 5 'active working' in the private sector - many in multiple jobs - paying incorrect amounts or no tax to the state.
As we know also now many tens of thousands not paying into social security or thinking they were doing so having it stolen by their employer.
OK it may be down now to more like 50% but to describe an entire generation of Portuguese as 'tax payers' is a bit far fetched.
As a collective noun 'Potentially more useful to the EU than previous generations - but don't hold your breath' might be a bit more accurate.
The weather is great, infrastructure ok, working culture not worse that the rest of Europe.
But far too many rules, too many taxes, too much red tape. Banking is insecure, the courts are such a mess that legal contracts can't be enforced.
They can raise taxes until we all starve, but that won't balance the books.
People need hope, optimism, real opportunities. Then the educated will stay, investors will invest, and people will dare to have children.
It's not so hard; get rid of half the rules, inspections, fines, and fees. Let people work, and they will.
Here we have news of a new tax law soon to be imposed by the supposedly extreme left wing Syriza in todays ekathimerini.com that exonerates extreme tax avoidance by Greek individuals of millions of euros each. Money that would go a long way to helping the most needy.
But which these extreme left wingers - being tax avoiders themselves - don't actually care about. All of us now knowing that the Greek FinMin rents out his luxury holiday villa (not his main Athens house) for 5,000 euros a week ! Not far off the Greek minimum wage for a years work !
http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_wsite2_1_05/06/2015_550747