The enforcement proceeding (debt recovery through the courts) has been considered one of the major problems in Portuguese justice and also one of the barriers to the development of the Portuguese economy. In 2013 the cases for legal collection amounted EUR 5.6 billion, regarding 201,000 enforcement proceedings lodged in the courts. Between January and April 9 this year, 38,924 cases were filed, valued at EUR. 1.6 billion. Portuguese courts have pending something like EUR 7.2 billion to collect, which corresponds to 4.3% of GDP.
In the recent Global Peace Index 2016, Portugal is ranked as the fifth most peaceful country in the world, in a table that organises 163 countries.
The index is based on 23 quantitative and qualitative indicators that measure the level of peace in each country. The indicators can be grouped into three general themes: level of security and protection of society; the number of international conflicts and; the degree of militarization.
Among these factors, Portugal scored in militarization (1.4 points out of 5), society and security (1.6 out of 5) and internal conflicts (1.1 out of 5). Portugal also scored in other factors such as the perception of crime, the level of violent demonstrations and crimes, the impact of terrorism or the number of displaced persons.
The index is based on 23 quantitative and qualitative indicators that measure the level of peace in each country. The indicators can be grouped into three general themes: level of security and protection of society; the number of international conflicts and; the degree of militarization.
Among these factors, Portugal scored in militarization (1.4 points out of 5), society and security (1.6 out of 5) and internal conflicts (1.1 out of 5). Portugal also scored in other factors such as the perception of crime, the level of violent demonstrations and crimes, the impact of terrorism or the number of displaced persons.