New stats

The EU’s research agency, Eurostat, has released research that suggests that, when analysed as a percentage of total consumer expenditure, the Portuguese are the EU’s biggest spenders on food and non-alcoholic beverages. On average, 18.5 per cent of total Portuguese domestic expenditure in 2000 was spent at these products, while housing, water and gas bills accounted for only 10.6 per cent. According to the Eurostat 2003 Statistical Yearbook, the Portuguese rank sixth in terms of expenditure on restaurants and hotels (9.8 per cent) and spend four per cent of household budgets on alcohol and tobacco. The research also revealed that Portuguese companies invest 22 per cent on ongoing workplace training, the second lowest in Europe after Greece.