Lisbon, June 27, 2025 (Lusa) - The deputy minister for state reform, Gonçalo Matias, said on Friday that Artificial Intelligence (AI) could increase Portugal’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by between €18 billion and €22 billion in 10 years.

“In Portugal, experts point out that generative artificial intelligence could increase GDP by between €18 and €22 billion in 10 years,” said the minister at the opening of the Financial Outlook Forum in Lisbon.

Gonçalo Matias also noted that AI technologies would impact 85 million jobs worldwide, but pointed out that AI “could create 97 million new jobs”.

“This implies, or translates into, a net creation of around 12 million jobs globally and an increase in world GDP of around 15 percentage points (p.p.) by 2035,” he added.

In terms of direct impacts on the population, the minister acknowledged that “AI applications in the public sector can save between 96.7 million and 1.2 billion hours of work per year”.

The minister also stated that in the Portuguese context, this translates into “hundreds of millions of euros in annual savings”.

Gonçalo Matias stated that Portugal has room to grow in the drivers of innovation and AI worldwide, reiterating the need to invest in digital infrastructure to support the transition and promote the widespread adoption of the technology.

Regarding the government’s proposals, he mentioned in his speech the intention to launch a “digital skills pact” that guarantees “social inclusion and digital literacy for all citizens, irrespective of their location or social status, in partnership with the business sector and aimed at concrete employment opportunities”.

Speaking to journalists, he said that the government programme “is concerned with putting citizens and businesses at the centre of public decision-making and using the available tools, technology and AI as a means of simplifying, facilitating and digitising the economy”.

AJR/ADB // ADB.

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