How Angola's booming economy is helping Portugal

Part of a particularly interesting article in German here on how Angola's booming economy has been a boon to Portuguese citizens who have either moved there to work or do business with the country:

More and more Portuguese are seeking their fortune in the former colony of Angola. While Portugal has until May to be rescued from bankruptcy with 78 billion euros from the EU and the IMF, the economy of oil-rich Angola is showing double-digit growth rates. In 2006 just 156 visas were given to Portuguese citizens. Now, however, the economic boom in Angola is bringing Portuguese university graduates and skilled workers in droves to the former colony. Meanwhile, 100 000 Portuguese citizens have settled there, a number four times that of the number of Angolan immigrants in Portual.

After the 27-year civil war in Angola, there is a great need for roads, telecommunications, utilities and finance. Professionals are needed, and Portuguese speakers are preferred. Having a common language is not the only appeal to a Portuguese worker in Angola - a Portuguese engineer working in Angola makes four times as much as one in Portugal.

The Angolan GDP has increased by more than 400% over the past six years. In comparison, the Portuguese GDP shrunk by 2.2% this year. Naturally, Angola has been building itself up from the ground since 2002 after the civil war, while Portugual remains an industrialized country in spite of its recent difficulties.