A new report from the Portuguese Data Center Association (Portugal DC), working with Pb7 Research, says the country's data center and digital infrastructure industry could add €3.7 billion to the national economy by 2031.
This would make it a big part of Portugal's economic growth.
The report, called "Market Outlook Data Centers Portugal 2025," says the industry already made 2,800 jobs directly and indirectly in 2024, along with 670 more jobs that come from related activities.
It predicts there will be more than 9,400 full-time jobs by 2031. This growth is because of new technology, use of clean energy, and money from international investors. Portugal's location near the Atlantic Ocean and its connections through undersea cables like EllaLink, Equiano, 2Africa, Nuvem, Medusa, and PISCES help it become a major link between Europe, the Americas, Africa, and Asia.
The report also says that the growing need for artificial intelligence and powerful computing requires better, more efficient infrastructure.
Portugal has lots of renewable energy, good energy prices, and plenty of land, which makes it a good place for big projects. The industry is aiming to be carbon neutral by 2045, which is earlier than the EU’s goal. This could give Portugal a global advantage as the need for electricity from new areas like data centers, green hydrogen, and electric vehicles is expected to reach 8.5 TWh per year by 2031.
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