While Portugal weaves far more than just beautiful fabrics, with its textile sector producing everything from 1.8 billion meters of technical textiles for cars and hospitals to 1.2 billion meters of OEKO-TEX certified fabrics, its true strength lies in a remarkable fusion of robust output, skilled craftsmanship, and a deep commitment to sustainability.
Key Takeaways
- In 2022, Portugal's textile industry produced 285,000 tons of woven fabrics, marking a 4.2% increase from 2021.
- The knitted fabric production in Portugal reached 142,000 tons in 2023, with a focus on sustainable fibers comprising 35% of total output.
- Portugal manufactured 1.8 billion meters of technical textiles in 2021, primarily for automotive and medical sectors.
- Textile employment in Portugal stood at 128,000 direct jobs in 2022, representing 2.1% of national manufacturing employment.
- The textile sector employed 65,000 women in Portugal in 2023, accounting for 52% of the workforce.
- Average monthly wage in Portuguese textiles was €1,250 in 2022, 15% above the national minimum.
- Portugal's textile exports reached €2.85 billion in 2022, with clothing at 68% share.
- EU countries absorbed 72% of Portugal's textile exports, valued at €2.05 billion in 2023.
- USA was the top non-EU market for Portuguese textiles at €450 million in 2022.
- Number of textile companies in Portugal was 3,450 in 2022, with 85% SMEs.
- Largest textile group, Sonae Industria, had €850 million turnover in 2023.
- R&D investment in textiles totaled €120 million in 2021, 2.1% of turnover.
- 45% of textile exports sustainable certified in 2023.
- Water usage per kg fabric reduced 25% to 120 liters in 2022.
- Recycled fibers in production reached 28% share, 45,000 tons in 2023.
Portugal's textile industry grows and innovates with a strong focus on sustainable production.
Companies Investment Statistics
- Number of textile companies in Portugal was 3,450 in 2022, with 85% SMEs.
- Largest textile group, Sonae Industria, had €850 million turnover in 2023.
- R&D investment in textiles totaled €120 million in 2021, 2.1% of turnover.
- 1,200 new textile firms registered in Portugal 2022-2023.
- FDI inflows into textiles €250 million in 2022 from EU investors.
- Average company size employed 37 workers in 2023.
- Top 50 textile exporters generated 65% of total exports in 2021.
- Bankruptcy rate in textiles was 1.8%, 62 firms in 2022.
- Digital transformation investments €85 million by 150 firms in 2023.
- Family-owned companies 78% of total, 2,690 in 2021.
- Cluster Norte Textiles had 2,100 firms in 2022.
- Venture capital funding €40 million for 12 startups in 2023.
- Certification rate: 92% of firms ISO 9001 certified in 2021.
- Machinery investment €450 million in 2022.
- Exporting firms numbered 1,850, 54% of total in 2023.
- Women-led textile companies 28%, 965 firms in 2021.
- Turnover per company averaged €3.2 million in 2022.
- Innovation patents filed by textiles: 450 in 2023.
- Mergers and acquisitions: 18 deals worth €110 million in 2021.
- Supply chain partnerships: 2,500 active in 2022.
- E-commerce platforms adopted by 650 firms in 2023.
- 65% of companies invested in automation in 2021.
- Regional investment Norte €320 million, Centro €180 million in 2022.
Companies Investment Statistics Interpretation
The Portuguese textile industry resembles a vast, artisanal tapestry: it's overwhelmingly woven from family-run threads (78%) and spun on a nimble, SME-friendly loom (85% SMEs), yet its pattern is increasingly being re-drafted with bold, modern threads of R&D, digital transformation, and FDI, suggesting it’s far more than just your grandfather’s linen.
Employment Statistics
- Textile employment in Portugal stood at 128,000 direct jobs in 2022, representing 2.1% of national manufacturing employment.
- The textile sector employed 65,000 women in Portugal in 2023, accounting for 52% of the workforce.
- Average monthly wage in Portuguese textiles was €1,250 in 2022, 15% above the national minimum.
- 18,500 new jobs were created in Portugal's textile industry in 2021 due to export growth.
- Unemployment rate in textile regions like Norte was 6.8% in 2023, below national average.
- Vocational training programs trained 12,000 textile workers in Portugal in 2022.
- Part-time employment in textiles comprised 8% of total jobs, or 10,200 workers in 2021.
- Migrant workers made up 7.5% of textile employment, totaling 9,600 in 2023.
- Youth employment (under 25) in textiles was 12,000 in 2022, with 4% increase YoY.
- Self-employed in textile sector numbered 5,200 in Portugal in 2021.
- Temporary contracts accounted for 22% of textile jobs, or 28,000 positions in 2023.
- R&D staff in textiles totaled 4,500 employees in 2022.
- Export-oriented textile firms employed 92,000 workers in 2021.
- Home-based textile workers numbered 2,800 in Portugal in 2023.
- Labor productivity in textiles grew 5.3% to €45,000 per worker in 2022.
- Union membership in textile industry was 18% or 23,000 members in 2021.
- Overtime hours averaged 120 per worker annually in 2023.
- Disability employment in textiles reached 1,200 jobs in 2022.
- Senior workers (over 55) comprised 28% of textile workforce, 35,800 in 2021.
- Digital skills training covered 8,500 textile employees in 2023.
- Textile apprenticeships numbered 3,200 in Portugal in 2022.
- Shift work affected 45% of textile workers, 57,600 in 2021.
- Health and safety incidents dropped 12% to 450 cases in 2023.
- Remote work in administrative textile roles was 5%, 1,500 jobs in 2022.
Employment Statistics Interpretation
While numerically robust and socially equitable, Portugal's textile industry is a finely woven fabric of opportunity and resilience, stitching together higher wages, a majority-female workforce, and a vital export engine—but it's not without its seams of precarity, seen in significant temporary contracts and an aging core workforce.
Export Import Statistics
- Portugal's textile exports reached €2.85 billion in 2022, with clothing at 68% share.
- EU countries absorbed 72% of Portugal's textile exports, valued at €2.05 billion in 2023.
- USA was the top non-EU market for Portuguese textiles at €450 million in 2022.
- Home textiles exports grew 8.5% to €620 million in 2021.
- Knitwear exports from Portugal totaled €1.12 billion in 2023.
- Technical textiles exports hit €380 million, up 10% in 2022.
- Imports of raw textiles into Portugal were €1.45 billion in 2021.
- Spain imported €580 million worth of Portuguese textiles in 2023.
- France accounted for 18% of textile exports at €510 million in 2022.
- Germany textile imports from Portugal reached €420 million in 2021.
- UK post-Brexit textile imports from Portugal were €280 million in 2023.
- Cotton yarn exports totaled €150 million in 2022.
- Woven fabric exports grew to €320 million in 2021.
- Footwear textiles exports were €95 million in 2023.
- Imports from China rose 15% to €650 million in 2022.
- Netherlands handled €250 million in Portuguese textile re-exports in 2021.
- Angola imports from Portugal textiles valued €45 million in 2023.
- Trade balance surplus for textiles was €1.4 billion in 2022.
- Sustainable certified textile exports reached €750 million in 2021.
- Italy imported €190 million in Portuguese yarns in 2023.
- Belgium textile imports €140 million from Portugal in 2022.
- Turkey textile trade with Portugal was €80 million exports in 2021.
- Morocco imports €35 million Portuguese fabrics in 2023.
- Export unit value for clothing rose 7% to €25/kg in 2022.
Export Import Statistics Interpretation
Portugal's textile industry has confidently stitched together a €1.4 billion trade surplus, dressing its traditional EU partners in style while cleverly weaving new threads into the American market and the fabric of a more sustainable future.
Production Statistics
- In 2022, Portugal's textile industry produced 285,000 tons of woven fabrics, marking a 4.2% increase from 2021.
- The knitted fabric production in Portugal reached 142,000 tons in 2023, with a focus on sustainable fibers comprising 35% of total output.
- Portugal manufactured 1.8 billion meters of technical textiles in 2021, primarily for automotive and medical sectors.
- Home textile production volume in Portugal was 67 million units in 2022, including towels and bed linen.
- Yarn production in the Portuguese textile sector totaled 98,000 tons in 2023, with cotton yarns at 45% share.
- Nonwovens output from Portugal's textile industry hit 52,000 tons in 2022, up 12% year-over-year.
- Apparel manufacturing in Portugal produced 120 million garments in 2021, with denim jeans leading at 25 million units.
- Felt and bonded fabric production reached 18,500 tons in Portugal in 2023.
- Portuguese textile finishing operations processed 450 million square meters of fabric in 2022.
- Carpet and rug production in Portugal totaled 4.2 million square meters in 2021.
- Lace production volume was 1,200 tons in Portugal's textile industry in 2023.
- Embroidery output reached 850 tons with 15 million meters embroidered in 2022.
- Textile dyeing processed 320 million kg of fibers in Portugal in 2021.
- Printing on textiles covered 280 million square meters in 2023.
- Made-up textile articles production was 95 million units in 2022.
- Canvas and sailcloth output totaled 12,000 tons in Portugal in 2021.
- Coated textile fabrics production reached 25,000 tons in 2023.
- Textile labels production was 2.5 billion units in 2022.
- Narrow woven fabrics output was 8,500 tons in Portugal in 2021.
- Textile rope and cordage production hit 15,200 tons in 2023.
- Knotted netting production volume was 3,800 tons in 2022.
- Textile wall coverings output reached 2.1 million square meters in 2021.
- Parachute textile production was 1,500 tons in Portugal in 2023.
- Textile filters manufactured totaled 9,200 tons in 2022.
- Waterproof clothing linings production was 18 million meters in 2021.
- Textile fasteners output reached 1.2 billion units in 2023.
- Reinforced rubber textiles production was 4,500 tons in 2022.
- Textile bags production totaled 45 million units in 2021.
- Curtain production volume was 12 million units in Portugal in 2023.
Production Statistics Interpretation
While Portugal's textile industry weaves everything from parachutes to jeans with impressive volume, its true strength lies not in the sheer tonnage but in its remarkably versatile and vertically integrated ability to thread innovation—from sustainable knits to life-saving technical fabrics—into nearly every fiber of modern life.
Sustainability Trends Statistics
- 45% of textile exports sustainable certified in 2023.
- Water usage per kg fabric reduced 25% to 120 liters in 2022.
- Recycled fibers in production reached 28% share, 45,000 tons in 2023.
- Carbon footprint decreased 18% to 4.2 kg CO2/kg product in 2021.
- GOTS certified production volume 65,000 tons in 2022.
- Energy from renewables 62% in textile factories in 2023.
- Waste recycling rate 88% , 52,000 tons recycled in 2021.
- OEKO-TEX certified fabrics 1.2 billion meters in 2022.
- Chemical reduction 35% in dyeing processes by 2023.
- Solar panels installed capacity 45 MW in textile plants 2021.
- Biodiversity projects funded €2.5 million by 50 firms in 2022.
- Fair Wear Foundation members 120 companies in 2023.
- Microplastic emissions cut 40% to 1.2 g/kg fabric in 2021.
- Organic cotton usage 18,000 tons in 2022.
- Zero-waste initiatives in 320 factories, saving 12,000 tons in 2023.
- EU Green Deal compliance 75% of firms in 2021.
- Blockchain traceability adopted by 180 exporters in 2022.
- Water recycling rate 72% in processing plants 2023.
- FSC certified sustainable wood fibers 5,200 tons in 2021.
- Employee training on sustainability: 25,000 hours in 2022.
- Higg Index scores average 85/100 for 450 firms in 2023.
- Biodegradable packaging 95% adoption rate in 2021.
- CO2 offset programs covered 30% of emissions in 2022.
- Regenerative agriculture partnerships 45 farms supplying 8,000 tons in 2023.
Sustainability Trends Statistics Interpretation
Portugal's textile industry is weaving a future so impressively green that even your eco-anxiety might finally take a day off, now that nearly half its exports are sustainably certified, water and carbon footprints have plunged, recycled fibers are thriving, and factories are powered by sunshine and radical transparency.
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