Portugal Government News Headlines

In the 4th quarter of 2025, national airports handled 16.7 million passengers, corresponding to a year-on-year increase of 4.7% (+4.6% in the 3rd Q 2025).

In the same quarter, 61.2 million passengers travelled by train (+6.7%; +14.3% in the 3rd Q 2025). Metro transport totalled 74.1 million, corresponding to a year-on-year decrease of 3.5% (+1.7% in the 3rd Q 2025). 

Passenger transport by inland waterways carried 5.6 million passengers, representing a decrease of 3.5% compared to the same period last year (-0.2% in the 3rd Q 2025).

Regarding the transport of goods, there were decreases by road (-4.1%; -5.1% in the 3rd Q 2025) and by air (-6.2%; -0.1% in the 3rd Q 2025) and by sea (-18.0%; +3.7% in the 3rd Q 2025), while by rail recorded an increase (+4.3%; +9.3% in the 3rd Q 2025).

Preliminary results for the entire year of 2025 pointed to a growth in passenger transport by air (+4.7%; +4.3% in 2024), by train (+9.7%; +9.2% in 2024) and by metro (+0.6%; +9.0% in 2024). Conversely, the transport by inland waterways recorded an annual decrease of 0.5% (+6.8% in 2024).

Regarding the transport of goods, the annual preliminary results indicate decreases in transport by air (-0.5%, after +14.2% in 2024) and by sea (-6.3%; +4.3% in 2024). By land, rail transport grew 5.9% (-8.1% in 2024), while road transport decreased 7.1% (-8.4 % in 2024).

In 2025, pipeline transport increased by 2.1% compared with the previous year (+1.1% in 2024). In the transport of gas by pipeline, there were decreases in input (-2.9%; -10.3% in 2024) and output (-2.9%; -10.4% in 2024).

According to the results of the Survey on Living Conditions and Income carried out in 2025, 79.5% of the population aged 16 and over reported having had at least one general and family medicine consultation in the 12 months prior to the interview, 59.6% a dental consultation and 53.3% a consultation with another specialty. In all three cases, women reported having had more medical consultations than men: 84.1% in the case of general and family medicine, 62.4% for dental care and 59.9% for other specialties (respectively, 74.5%, 56.4% and 46.0% for men).

The proportion of people who reported having had medical consultations, whether in general and family medicine, or in other specialties, increased as the age group advanced, the same was not true in the case of dental care, where the proportion of users is substantially higher in the younger age groups. Oral health monitoring was higher for higher education levels and for the employed population, and lower for the population at risk of poverty.

The results for 2025 reveal that, in Portugal, the proportion of people whose need for examination or treatment was not met was 3.8% for medical care and 10.2% for dental care. The main reason for not having medical exams/treatments was waiting lists (1.5% in relation to the total number of persons aged 16 and over), while the main reason for not having dental exams/treatments was lack of financial availability (7.7%).

The proportion of households that assessed the financial burden of dental care as heavy in 2025 (47.2%) was higher than that observed for the costs of medicines (45.7%) and, above all, medical care (39.3%). The negative assessment of the weight of financial burdens with dental care and medicines was higher in the case of households at risk of poverty and in households with elderly people.

December 2025 (definitive estimates):

• The unemployment rate stood at 5.6%, down by 0.1 percentage points (pp) from November 2025, by 0.4 pp from September of that year and by 0.8 pp from December 2024.

• The labour underutilisation rate was estimated at 9.7%, down from the previous month (0.1 pp), from three months earlier (0.5 pp) and from the same month of 2024 (1.1 pp).

January 2026 (provisional estimates):

• The unemployment rate stood at 5.6%, as in December 2025, and down from October (0.2 pp) and from January of that same year (0.7 pp).

• The labour underutilisation rate was estimated at 9.6%, down from the previous month (0.1 pp), from three months before (0.5 pp) and from a year earlier (1.1 pp). This rate corresponds to the lowest since February 2011.

• The youth unemployment rate decreased by 0.4 pp from the previous month, standing at 18.2%, the lowest value since April 2023, when it reached the same estimate.

The trade turnover index registered a year-on-year increase of 2.1% in January, representing an acceleration of 0.5 percentage points (p.p.) compared with the previous month. Retail trade turnover rose by 4.6%, up from 2.8% in December. Meanwhile, wholesale trade recorded a slight decrease of 0.2%, following a growth rate of 2.9% in the previous month.

The employment index increased by 0.4% year-on-year, maintaining the same rate recorded in December. Wages and salaries index grew by 5.2%, decelerating from the 5.8% increase recorded in the previous month.

In 2023, the environmental goods and services sector regained relevance in the Portuguese economy, representing 5.8% of production, 3.8% of Gross Value Added (GVA), 4.5% of employment and 4.3% of national exports.

Energy savings and management activities stood out (33% of the sector’s GVA), driven by the growth of construction and renovation of Nearly Zero Energy Buildings (NZEB). They were followed by energy from renewable sources (17.8%) and waste management (10.5%).

In that year, Portugal ranked as the fifth Member State with the highest share of environmental goods and services exports in total national exports (8.2%).

Industrial Production year-on-year change rate was 1.2%, in January (1.7% in December). Excluding the Energy grouping, the variation was -0.6% (-0.7% in the previous month). Manufacturing Industry year-on-year change rate was -1.7% (-1.8% in December). The monthly change rate of the total index was 4.2% (-2.2% in the previous month).

In January 2026, the tourist accommodation sector accounted for 1.7 million guests (+3.8%) and 3.7 million overnight stays (+2.0%), resulting in EUR 276.8 million in total revenue and EUR 199.5 million in revenue from accommodation, both growing by 5.6%.

The increase in overnight stays was driven by positive contributions from both residents and non-residents, although at different growth rates. Overnight stays spent by residents rose by 4.7% (+6.0% in December) to 1.3 million, while those by non-residents increased by 0.7% (+1.2% in December) to 2.4 million.

Among the top 10 inbound markets for overnight stays in January, the Canadian stood out again with the largest increase (+12.5%), while the largest decline was observed in the French (-8.3%).

In this month, the revenue per available room (RevPAR) was EUR 33.8 (+1.3%) and the average daily rate (ADR) amounted to EUR 92.1 (+3.4%).

In 2024, 119,046 people died in the country, 0.1% more than in 2023 (118,947): 118,396 were residents in the country (99.5% of the total) and 650 lived abroad (0.5% of the total).

Diseases of the circulatory system and malignant neoplasms accounted for almost half of the mortality in 2024, having been at the origin of, respectively, 30,055 and 28,280 deaths of residents in Portugal (25.4% and 23.9% of the total mortality of residents in Portugal).

In the group of diseases of the circulatory system, cerebrovascular diseases, also known as strokes, and ischemic heart diseases stood out, causing 9,007 deaths of residents (7.6% of total deaths of residents) and 6,470 deaths (5.5% of total).

In the group of malignant neoplasms, 4,488 deaths caused by malignant neoplasms of the trachea, bronchi and lung stood out, which represented 3.8% of the total deaths of residents. Malignant neoplasms of the colon, rectum and anus accounted for 3.0% of resident mortality in 2024, with 3,564 deaths (2.1% less than in the previous year).

Diseases of the respiratory system caused 14,022 resident deaths, 7.0% more than in the previous year and leading to an increase in the mortality rate from 123.9 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2023 to 131.1 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2024. About 26% of the increase in deaths caused by diseases of the respiratory system was associated with the increase in deaths from pneumonia, with 5,283 deaths in 2024.

In the fourth quarter of 2025, Gross Domestic Product (GDP), in volume, recorded a year-on-year rate of change of 1.9%, a rate 0.3 percentage points lower than that observed in the previous quarter. The negative contribution of net external demand to the year-on-year growth rate of GDP was less pronounced in the fourth quarter, with the slowdown in imports of goods and services more than offsetting the decrease in exports of goods and services. The positive contribution of domestic demand to the year-on-year growth rate of GDP declined from 3.7 percentage points in the third quarter to 2.9 percentage points. 

Compared to the third quarter of 2025, GDP increased by 0.9% in volume, following a 0.6% increase in the previous quarter. The contribution of net external demand to the GDP quarter-on-quarter rate of change moved from -0.9 percentage points to +1.1 percentage points, reflecting decreases both in exports of goods and services and in imports of goods and services, more intense in the latter case. On the other hand, the contribution of domestic demand was -0.2 percentage points (+1.5 percentage points in the previous quarter), with a decrease in investment and a deceleration in final consumption expenditures. 

In 2025, GDP grew by 1.9% in volume, after increasing by 2.2% in 2024. Domestic demand presented a positive contribution to the annual growth rate of GDP, higher than that observed in the previous year, with an acceleration of final consumption expenditures. The contribution of net external demand was more negative in 2025, with exports of goods and services in volume slowing down more intensely than imports of goods and services. 

In nominal terms, GDP increased by 5.9% in 2025 (7.2% in 2024), reaching around 307 billion euros.

Based on the information available until the date of this press release, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) annual rate is estimated to have increased to 2.1% in February 2026 (1.9% in January). The core inflation index, which excludes energy and unprocessed food products components presented a rate of change of 1.9% (1.8% in the previous month). The annual rate of change of the index for energy products remained at -2.2%, and the estimated index for unprocessed food presented a rate of change of 6.6% (5.8% in the previous month). 

The CPI monthly rate is estimated to be 0.1% (-0.7% in January and -0.1% in February 2025), while the CPI 12-month average rate was estimated to be 2.3% (the same value as in the previous month). 

The estimate of the Portuguese Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) annual rate of change was 2.1% (1.9% in the previous month). 

The February CPI final results will be released on March 11th, 2026.

In 2024, there were 42,561 companies belonging to a group in Portugal, corresponding to 7.9% of all companies. These accounted for 40.6% of persons employed, 63.6% of turnover, 59.3% of gross value added (GVA) and 67.6% of gross operating surplus (GOS). Compared to 2023, the number of companies belonging to groups increased by 2.7%. In the same period, there was growth of 4.1% in persons employed, 5.3% in turnover, 6.4% in GVA and 3.3% in GOS.

In 2024, 27.4% of companies in the Financial services sector belonged to a group. This was followed by the sectors of Manufacturing and energy (11.9%) and Information and communication (9.9%). In these sectors, companies belonging to groups accounted for 80.3%, 66.1%, and 78.4% of the GVA generated, respectively.

In absolute terms, the Construction and real estate activities sector aggregated the highest number of companies integrated into groups (9,964 companies), an increase of 3.8% compared to 2023.

The Consumer confidence indicator decreased in February, after increasing in the previous two months. The decrease observed in the reference month was driven by negative contributions from all components: expectations on the future evolution of major purchases by households, of the country’s economic and, to a lesser extent, of opinions on the past evolution and perspectives on the future evolution of households’ financial situation. 

The balance of Consumer opinions on past price developments increased in January and February, after decreasing in the previous two months, while the balance of expectations on future price developments increased significantly  between December and February, following the decreases recorded in the previous three months.

The economic climate indicator increased slightly in February, after having decreased the previous month. The confidence indicators increased in Services and in Manufacturing Industry, having decreased in Trade and in Construction and Public Works.

The confidence indicator of Services increased in February, driven by the significant positive contributions from the perspectives on the evolution of demand and opinions on the evolution of the order books. The confidence indicator in the Manufacturing Industry also increased in the reference month, reflecting the expressive positive contribution of the production perspectives over the next three months. Conversely, the Trade confidence indicator decreased in February, reflecting the negative contributions from opinions on the volume of sales and activities perspectives over the next three months. In turn, the confidence indicator of Construction and Public Works decreased in the last month, reflecting the negative contribution of the perspectives on employment.

In February, the entrepreneurs’ expectations regarding the future evolution of selling prices increased in Services sectors, having decreased in Manufacturing Industry, in Trade and in Construction and Public Works sectors.

The median value of bank appraisals on housing reached €2,105 per square meter in January 2026, €24 more than in the previous month (an increase of 1.2%). On a year-on-year basis, the rate of change stood at 18.7% (19,1% in December 2025). It should be noted that the number of bank appraisals decreased 9.2% when compared to the previous period, to around 31.3 thousand, 11.2% less than reported in the same period of the previous year.

The results of the Survey on Living Conditions and Income (EU-SILC) carried out in 2025 on income from the previous year (2024) show a distribution of net monetary income per equivalent adult concentrated around the lowest values, with 15.4% of the population at risk of poverty living with an annual net monetary income per equivalent adult of less than €723 per month.

The Gini coefficient data show a positive and relatively stable contribution of direct taxes and compulsory social contributions to the alleviation of inequality in the income distribution.

In 2023, Portugal had the seventh highest S80/S20 ratio in the European Union. The contribution of taxes to the reduction of inequality in the distribution of income measured by the S80/S20 ratio was greater than the contribution of social transfers – in the case of taxes, higher than the European average and, in the case of social transfers, lower than that observed for the European Union as a whole.

On the European Day for Victims of Crime, which is observed on February 22, Statistics Portugal (INE) and the Directorate-General for Justice Policy (DGPJ) present some official statistical indicators on recorded crime statistics.

This day, created in 1990 by the Victim Support Europe, which brings together victim support services from various European countries, aims to raise awareness of the protection and safeguarding of the rights of victims of crime, as well as to publicize the mechanisms that people can use if they are victims of crime or have witnessed it, regardless of its nature. Portugal is one of the Member States that has implemented the number 116 006 to support victims of crime, providing initial information and assistance to all victims on social, legal, and psychological issues.

The Interactive Application presented in this press release includes the most relevant indicators for monitoring the evolution of the Portuguese economy. This interactive dissemination tool is designed to provide a comprehensive, intuitive, and continuously updated overview of the main short¿term indicators, thereby enhancing the accessibility and exploratory dynamics of statistical information.

Interactive Application (only available in Portuguese)

The implicit interest rate for all housing loan agreements decreased from 3.130% in December 2025 to 3.111% in January 2026. For the contracts that were closed in the previous three months, the interest rate decreased from 2.850% to 2.847%. The average value of owed capital increased 724 Euros, reaching 75,994 Euros. The average value of loan repayments increased 2 Euros to 399 Euros, the same value observed in January 2025. In the last month, interest represented 48.9% of the average repayments. In the contracts signed in the last 3 months, the average value of loan repayments increased 1 euro from the previous month to 676 euros (12.5% higher than in the same month of the previous year).

The Industrial Producer Price Index (IPPI) recorded a year-on-year change rate of -2.1% in January, 1.2 percentage points (p.p.) less negative than that observed in the previous month. This development was driven by price decreases in Energy, Intermediate Goods and Consumer Goods, with contributions of -1.5 p.p., -0.6 p.p. and -0.3 p.p., respectively.

The monthly rate of change stood at -0.1%, 1.2 p.p. higher than the recorded in January 2025.

Of the total of 773.0 thousand self-employed workers in 2025, 14.3% (110.9 thousand; 0.7 percentage points (pp) less than in 2024) had a client which represented 75% or more of their income (after taxes), an indicator of economic dependence. From that total, 11.4% (87.9 thousand; same share as in 2024) stated that their working hours are determined by their clients, an indicator of organisational dependence. Combining these two types of dependence, it can be said that 1.9% (14.8 thousand; 0.8 pp less) of the self-employed workers were, simultaneously, economically and organisationally dependent.

Of the total of 8,035.2 thousand people aged 16 to 74, 11.9% (957.1 thousand; 0.2 pp more than in 2024) attended formal education and 30.7% (2,465.7 thousand; up 2.0 pp) attended a non-formal education course in the last 12 months. Combining these two types of education, it was observed that 37.4% (3,006.4 thousand; up 1.9 pp) of that population participated in at least one type of education and training activities in the past 12 months.

Of the total of 5,275.3 thousand employed people, 51.1% (2,696.0 thousand; 0.4 pp more than in 2024) assessed their general health status as good. Nevertheless, 0.7% (38.6 thousand; down 0.1 pp) considered themselves to be severely limited by health problems, for at least 6 months, to perform activities or tasks considered usual for most people.

In the context of Portugal 2030 Strategy, the share of unemployed adults aged 25 to 64 with a learning experience in the last four weeks stood at 19.5%, 0.5 pp from the minimum target of 20% set for 2025.

In 2021, approximately 1.8 million people (17.0% of Portugal’s resident population) lived in the 68 municipalities where a state of calamity was declared, which also accounted for 19.0% of the country’s dwellings. In 2024, these municipalities represented 15.8% of non-financial enterprises and, in 2025, were responsible for 15.2% of national exports of goods.