The Ocean Economy (OE) GVA represented 3.3% and 3.5% of the national economy total GVA, in 2020-2021, a two year period strongly marked by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022 and 2023, the relative importance of the OE in the national GVA increased to 4.2% and 4.3%, respectively, essentially reflecting the greater dynamism of tourism-related activities. During the period under analysis (2020-2023), the GVA of the OE grew above the national economy GVA.

The relative importance of OE employment, measured in Full-Time Equivalent (FTE), in total national employment amounted to 3.5% in the 2020-2021 biennium, and 3.6% in 2022.

The Autonomous Region of the Azores (RAA) and the Autonomous Region of Madeira (RAM), together, generated 9.9%, 11.7% and 12.1% of the total OE GVA, in 2020, 2021 and 2022, respectively, which represents 5.7, 7.3 and 7.5 percentage points more than the weight that these regions have globally in the national GVA.

In 2022, the Recreation, sports, culture and tourism group became dominant in the GVA structure of both Autonomous Regions, surpassing the relative importance of the Fisheries, aquaculture, processing, wholesale and retail of its products group in the RAA.

In 2022, Portugal occupied the sixth and eighth positions in the rankings of European countries, in terms of the relative importance of GVA and employment in the national economy.

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