Refuge in Africa: Many Portuguese who can't find a job in their home country are immigrating to the former colonies. Today there are around four times as many Portuguese in Angola as there are Angolans in Portugal. The search for a better lifeis also driving many Portuguese to Mozambique and Brazil.

A few years ago, unemployment among 15-to-24-year-olds wasn't a big issue in Portugal. Now the talk is of a "lost generation." Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coehlo advised young, well-educated people to try their luck abroad.

Portugal's national debt is currently many times the size of its economic output. The economic crisis has cost many jobs - people can afford less and tax revenues have nose-dived. That's why the state has tried to cut spending and raise taxes. But that, in turn, has made people spend less - a vicious circle.