Portugal, a country lying in southwestern Europe, is famous among investors especially tourists for its beautiful scenery and landscapes. But now the country is also being particularly known for its innovation-driven property market. A large number of foreign investors are attracted to Portugal tech hub and Portugal real estate market. They want to invest in Portugal because they want a stable future for themselves. And their families in cities like Lisbon and Porto where the tech markets are continuously growing.
Why is Portugal Considered the Silicon Valley of Europe?
Lisbon, the capital city of Portugal has emerged as the number one destination for investors from around the world. The country especially has become an iconic star for tech entrepreneurs and real estate developers inspired by sustainable architecture. The mix of technology driven development projects including residential and commercial has led to a revolution. By maintaining its unique and historical identity, Portugal has become the Silicon Valley of Europe. The European Commission recognized Lisbon as a leader for European Capital of Innovation by awarding 1 million Euros. Moreover, Portugal also won 19 awards at the 31st World Travel Awards held in 2024 in Vietnam.
The state-of-the-art tech infrastructure, improved bureaucracy and adoption of e-governance helped Lisbon host the Web Summit in 2016. Which was scheduled to be hosted by Dublin. MedTech Forum, Portugal Investment Owners Club forum and IFA Global Conference. Are some of the other highlights the country has hosted in recent times. These tech inspired events also brought almost 2000 tax and investment advisors from all over the world to Portugal.
In 2024, Braga was named as “European Rising Innovative City”. Because of its development for a vibrant environment in tech, innovation, and featuring industries that impact the economy, and strong partnerships with public authorities. These cities of Portugal make it a powerhouse for tech developers and entrepreneurs.
STEM Talent and Digital Infrastructure Portugal
Around 90,000 people graduate every year from STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) institutes in Portugal. Including hundreds of developers graduating every year from the universities of Lisbon. Like Instituto Superior Tecnico and Nova School of Science and Technology, this large number of graduates ranks Portugal. Among the top three countries in Europe for producing most engineering graduates. This shows that Portugal has a large and best educational sector in Europe. Which makes it a key factor of attraction for investors looking for a country. That will provide better education to themselves and their families.
The country also offers the best digital infrastructure in Europe. Portugal’s National Network of Incubators and Accelerators (RNI), a community of incubators across Portugal, has more than 150 Portuguese incubators. And accelerators that are enabled and distributed throughout the country. This provides training on entrepreneurs skills through workshops and mentorships and also builds a network of investors and customers making it beneficial for growth of young students and researchers.
Portugal Digital Transformation Drives Investors Confidence
Portugal is quickly becoming one of Europe’s most dynamic hubs for tech innovations and is therefore gaining the confidence of a large number of foreign investors who want to live in a country known for its tech innovation. According to Ernst & Young, one of the big four accounting firms, the rate of foreign investment in Portugal has particularly increased from the Eurozone and the UK.
The growing economic activities have helped Portugal challenge the UK in terms of GDP growth.
The statistics from the European Commission highlight the growing GDP of Portugal from 2.0% to 2.3% from 2024 to 2025. In fact, it’s not just the UK, Portugal’s GDP is also higher than countries in the Eurozone.
Portugal Startup Ecosystem
According to Startup Blink, the startup investments in Lisbon have increased by 30% which is two times greater than the average startup investment in Europe. The statistics show that a large number of investors are seeking Portugal residency by investment program because of the growing tech and innovation in Portugal.
Data Centre Portugal
Considering the tech investment in Portugal, according to Portugal DC, which is a Portuguese Data Center Association, Portugal is expected to attract an investment of more than 20 billion euros in data centres in the coming 5 years and around 80% of this investment will be for AI driven infrastructure.
Tech Growth and ICT Sector in Portugal
ICT Sector
The Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector of Portugal is a highly innovative sector that employs almost 80,000 people in Portugal and they rank among the top engineering students in Europe. According to a US government agency named International Trade Administration, the ICT sector of Portugal represents almost 10% of Portugal GDP reaching almost USD 20 billion. The prediction says that the Software Development Market of Portugal will generate 905.7 million euros by 2023.
Global Tech Companies
We know that the United States is a pioneer in tech due to the availability of an educated tech force, however the cost is a concern for tech investors. The low cost of operating businesses, qualified young talent in IT, digital services and technology related fields has pushed global tech companies to shift their offices to Portugal. This includes tech giant companies like Google, Microsoft, Amazon, BMW, Siemens, and Cisco. These companies also enjoy low taxes as Portugal’s tax rate is the lowest in entire Europe. This provides the investors the opportunity to explore huge tech companies in one country.
Top Unicorn Startups
A country’s progress in business can also be inferred from the number of businesses turning to unicorns. There are almost eight businesses in Portugal that have achieved unicorn status including Sword Health, OutSystems, Remote, Talkdesk, Feedzai, Indie Campers, and Sound Particles. According to the International Trade Administration, these unicorn startups make up to 40 billion euros in Portugal’s economy.
Portugal Real Estate Market
Since 2020, Portugal real estate is continuously growing due to many reasons including, low tax benefits, increasing confidence of global investors, and golden visa programs. According to the real estate market forecast for 2025, Portugal real estate market is likely to grow by 5.8% whereas the real estate market of the EU may decline by 2.5%. Real estate in Portugal and some of its cities like Porto, Algarve, Lisbon, Algarve have gained almost 2.1 billion euros from foreign investors.
Portugal Golden Visa
Another reason for increasing growth of Portugal in the innovation sector is its popular Golden Visa which is residency by investment program which largely contributes to Portugal’s economy. According to records, Portugal’s Golden Visa made over 7 billion euros. Individuals can get a golden visa by investing a minimum 500,000 euros in an approved government development fund and can also involve their family members in the application.
Portugal residency by investment program provides a 5 year residency permit, high return on investment, visa free travel to Schengen States, and better infrastructure to foreign investors. They can get citizenship in Portugal by just a 7 day stay per year.
Stannard praised Portugal Golden Visa RBI Program
Paul Stannard, the founder and chairman of Portugal Investment Owners Club and Portugal Pathways said, ”Portugal has created a unique environment for likeminded people to be able to create sustainable investments in key sectors of country’s economic strength, allowing value creators as well as qualified talent to prosper through a combination of tax incentives, quality of life, and investment.”
He further added, “The Golden Visa residency by investment program has been a major contributor to supporting Portugal’s important industry sectors. Especially tech and media where Portugal has been making strides through its thriving creative industry sectors.”
Conclusion
Portugal has become a global choice for entrepreneurs and foreign investors. The reason behind this growth in investment is its digital transformation, golden visa programs, growing real estate market. Beautiful landscapes, and tech emerging cities like Lisbon, and Porto. If you are looking to invest in a country where you can grow educationally as well as financially Portugal has a lot of global opportunities for you.
