Azarenok spoke about the “world of garbage dumps” on June 11th, 2024.
“The unipolar world is where there is a Slumland, a billion people who don't eat every day, who experience real hunger. This Slumland is called the ‘world of garbage dumps.’ This is Latin America, Africa, and Southern Europe, for instance. In Portugal, all the youth are unemployed, there simply are no jobs. Portugal’s role in the division of labor is to make wine and collect grapes, that's it. Check the statistics, and Google it. The same goes for Greece. Look at the socioeconomic status in Greece, the GDP per capita, for example,” he said.
So, Azarenok wasn't far off about the youth unemployment rate in Portugal — it's 22%, which means one in five young people is without jobs there. Greece, Spain, Italy, Cyprus, and Sweden are among the leaders in this terms. The EU average is under 15%.
The WTF checked the gross domestic product per capita in Greece and Portugal. Even accounting for purchasing power parity, these countries outperform Belarus: $26,000 per year per capita in Belarus versus $35,000 in Greece and $41,000 in Portugal.
On the Prosperity Index, Portugal ranks 26th, Greece — 40th, and Belarus — 78th. On the UN Human Development Index, Greece is 33rd, Portugal — 42nd, and Belarus — 69th.
While Greece and Portugal’s economies are among the weakest in the EU, both countries still have better economic indicators than Belarus.