In 2018, the environmental goods and services sector generated 2.6% of the national Gross Value Added (GVA), 3.8% of exports and 2.2% of employment. Compared to the previous year, exports increased by 8.3% in nominal terms, a higher pace than total exports in economy (6.5%). Portugal was the eighth country in EU28 with the largest share of environmental goods and services sector GVA in the national GVA and the fifth with the largest share of exports in the national total.
In the same year, National Expenditure on Environmental Protection (NEEP) amounted to 2,935.7 M € (1.4% of GDP), an increase of 7.9% compared to the previous year (change of 18.9% in 2017).

Despite the circumstances determined by the COVID-19 pandemic, INE calls for better collaboration by companies, families and public entities in responding to their requests. The quality of official statistics, particularly its ability to identify the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, depends crucially on this collaboration that INE is grateful for in advance.