INE presents “The Iberian Peninsula in Figures 2017”, with the main indicators of this area
Statistics Spain (INE) and Statistics Portugal have just presented a new edition of “The Iberian Peninsula in Figures” as an expression of a collaboration started fifteen
years ago. This publication gathers the main indicators that portray the two countries which make the largest geographical area in the European Union: the Iberian Peninsula.
According to these entities, the goal behind this publication is to further promote the use of comparable official statistics from both countries and within the context of the European Union, which result from the production, harmonization and cooperation of these two entities within the scope of the European Statistical System. These are some of the main key figures:
Labour market
About the number of hours in full time working schedule, according to the report, ehe number of hours worked per week on a full-time basis in the period 2008-2016 registered
distinct evolutions in the two Iberian countries with an almost continuous reduction in Spain (41.8 h in 2008 and 41.2 h in 2016) while oscillating in Portugal with a minimum in 2008 (41.3 h) and a maximum in 2014 (42.8 h). In 2016, in what concerns EU member countries, Greece recorded the highest value (44.6 h) and Denmark the lowest (38.7 h). The value for the European Union as a whole was 41.4 h.
About unemployment rate, in 2016, the unemployment rate in Spain (19.6%) was one of the highest in the European Union, only surpassed by Greece (23.6%). In Portugal, the rate stood at 11.2% and the lowest rate in the EU occurred in the Check Republic (4.0%). In 2016, the Iberian regions with the highest unemployment rates were Ciudad Autónoma de Melilla (30.8%) and Andalucía (28.9%). At the opposite end was the Centro region, in Portugal, with 8.6%.
Respect to minimum monthly wage, in the period 2013-2017, the values of the minimum monthly wage (considering the annual wage divided by 12) in Portugal and Spain have increased from EUR 566 to
EUR 650 in the former and from EUR 753 to EUR 826 in the latter. There is a clear contrast between the minimum and the maximum values in the EU in the same period: Bulgaria went from EUR 159 to EUR 235 and the Luxembourg from EUR 1,874 to EUR 1,999. (Not all EU countries have a minimum salary wage.)
And with respect to the level of education of employees, in 2016 was clearly higher in Spain (43.2% had a higher education degree) than in Portugal (44.0% had no more than the third cycle).
R&D expenditure
In 2016, Portugal and Spain spent very similar percentages of their GDP in research and development (1.27% and 1.19% respectively), below the EU28 value of 2.03%. The difference between the highest and lowest figures in the European Union for this indicator is large: Sweden: 3.25%; Latvia: 0.44%.
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