South Africa and Portugal - Interesting Facts

Intro

The South African President, Mr. Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa in his welcoming address to the visiting Portuguese President, Mr. Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa stated that South Africa has a lot to learn from Portugal’s energy self-sufficiency.

The SA President was being very kind and generous. Portugal has indeed made huge strides concerning the use of alternative energy. Portugal share of energy from renewable sources is at 34%, one of the highest in the world but Portugal is still reliant on imported fossil fuels, above the average of the EU with 65% of imports – all oil, natural gas and coal in Portugal are imported.

A few interesting Facts about the two Countries

What was the GDP of South Africa and Portugal in 2022?

405.7 billion USD (SA) and 371 billion USD (Portugal).

Area size of South Africa and Portugal

1,22 million km² (SA) vs 92 212 km² (Portugal).

Population (2022)

60.6 million (SA) vs 10.2 (Portugal).

Safety – How many Murders

2022/23 annual murder rate in South Africa: 44 murders per 100 000 people vs Portugal homicide rate of 0.8 cases per 100 000. Portugal is considered one of the safest countries in the world to live and visit. The 2022 Global Peace Index ranked Portugal as the 6^th safest country to visit, trailing only Iceland, New Zealand, Ireland, Denmark, and Austria.

How many Portuguese are in SA?

South African authorities estimate that up to 700,000 people (including descendants) living in South Africa are of Portuguese ancestry.

How many people (of all nationalities) have left South Africa?

According to the United Nations report, by the end of 2020, 914,901 South Africans were living in other countries and territories, up from 786,554 in 2015.

Which country has the most South Africans?

The South African diaspora consists of South African emigrants and their descendants living outside South Africa. The largest concentrations of South African emigrants are to be found in the United Kingdom, Australia, the United States and the United Arab Emirates.

Where do most South Africans live in Portugal?

The South African community in Portugal is not that big, and often the available expats that are present are quite scattered all over the country. However, the Algarve and Cascais are the most popular locations for South African communities and also other expats as well.

Credit Rating

South Africa’s junk status history (1994 – 2023): South Africa entered full junk status territory on March 27, 2023, when Moody’s downgraded the country to junk status, joining S&P and Fitch in this regard.

Moody’s Investors Service changed on May 19th 2023 Portugal’s sovereign credit rating outlook to ‘positive‘ from ‘stable’ and affirmed the debt grade at ‘Baa2’, as the outlook for the country’s growth and budget improved.

Both South Africa and Portugal are Top Travel Destinations

South Africa is Africa’s top tourist destination. ‘Africa’ has a seductive appeal for many would-be travellers, and South Africa’s reputation as a destination that offers an extensive variety of breathtaking holidays and experiences throughout the year, combined with its First World infrastructure makes it Africa’s favourite travel destination.

Portugal is the best country destination in the world for a second year in a row. In 2022 the Condé Nast Traveler’s Readers’ Choice Award went to Portugal as the best country to travel to. The Iberian country gathered 91.22 and inched over Japan (91.17) to take the top spot.