Publications circulate on social networks stating that Portugal is in the last European position in the productivity ranking. “It was a tough fight, but we did it”say the messages in an ironic tone, published mainly at the end of April.

But that is false, as the most up-to-date data from the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) shows on the gross domestic product recorded for each hour of work, that is, how much money each person generates on average. ., in 60 minutes of work. The most recent data reveals that Portugal occupies the 7th worst position within the European Union, occupies the 3rd worst position in the Eurozone and the 8th lowest among the countries of the European continent.

Analyzing only the countries of the European Union, only Bulgaria (26 dollars, the reference currency), Romania (33), Croatia (33), Greece (34), Latvia (39) and Hungary (39) produce less value per hour of work than Portugal, which registered in 2020 a productivity of 40 dollars, the equivalent of 37.97 euros. In the eurozone, only Latvia and Greece manage to be below.

And looking at all of Europe, the country is not second only to the European Union countries mentioned above and Russia ($28). A report published just over a year ago by the Pordata platform confirms that in 2019 Portugal was “one of the six countries with the lowest productivity, that is, they generate less wealth per hour of work.”

still so, it does not occupy the last place in any of the considered lists. Within the European Union, the last place belongs to Bulgaria (26 dollars). In the euro zone, the worst position is that of Greece (34 euros). And even if all the countries that geographically belong to Europe are analyzed, Bulgaria still occupies the last place. Portugal, although always below the OECD average and very close to the bottom of the tables, remains at least two positions above it.

conclusion

It is not true that Portugal has the lowest productivity in Europe, the European Union or the Eurozone, contrary to what the analyzed publications affirm. The worst classifications, depending on the set of countries considered, belong to Bulgaria or Greece. Although the country is among the worst ranked in these metrics, it is not at the bottom of the tables.

Thus, according to the Observer classification system, this content is:

WRONG

In the Facebook classification system this content is:

FAKE: the main content claims are factually inaccurate. In general, this option matches “false” or “mostly false” ratings on fact-checking websites.

NOTE: This content was curated by The Observer as part of a fact-checking partnership with Facebook.