Share of population living below national poverty lines in Portugal
Portugal: Share of population living below national poverty lines was 16.4% in 2021. ▼ Falling
Share of population living below national poverty lines in Portugal, 2003–2021
Source: World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of population.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of population living below national poverty lines in Portugal is 16.4%, measured in 2021.
That represents a change of down 10.9% on the previous year and down 8.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population living below national poverty lines in Portugal peaked at 20.4% in 2003 and was at its lowest, 16.2%, in 2019.
That places Portugal 40th out of 70 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 19 years of available data.
Share of population living below national poverty lines in Portugal, year by year
| Year | % of population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 20.4% | — |
| 2004 | 19.4% | -4.9% |
| 2005 | 18.5% | -4.6% |
| 2006 | 18.1% | -2.2% |
| 2007 | 18.5% | +2.2% |
| 2008 | 17.9% | -3.2% |
| 2009 | 17.9% | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 18.0% | +0.6% |
| 2011 | 17.9% | -0.6% |
| 2012 | 18.7% | +4.5% |
| 2013 | 19.5% | +4.3% |
| 2014 | 19.5% | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 19.0% | -2.6% |
| 2016 | 18.3% | -3.7% |
| 2017 | 17.3% | -5.5% |
| 2018 | 17.2% | -0.6% |
| 2019 | 16.2% | -5.8% |
| 2020 | 18.4% | +13.6% |
| 2021 | 16.4% | -10.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 18.7% | 17.9% | 20.4% | 7 |
| 2010s | 18.2% | 16.2% | 19.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 17.4% | 16.4% | 18.4% | 2 |
Countries ranked near Portugal
More poverty & inequality data for Portugal
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 8 surveys (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per person (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Fertility rate vs. share living in extreme poverty 1.51 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 5,309 kg per hectare (2024)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, annual growth rate -3.84 % change on previous year (2024)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 35.76 (2023)
- Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality 35.8% (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of population living below national poverty lines in Portugal?
- Share of population living below national poverty lines in Portugal was 16.4% in 2021, according to World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of population living below national poverty lines recorded in Portugal?
- The highest recorded value was 20.4% in 2003.
- What is the lowest share of population living below national poverty lines recorded in Portugal?
- The lowest recorded value was 16.2% in 2019.
- How does Portugal rank for share of population living below national poverty lines?
- Portugal ranks 40th out of 70 countries with data for 2021.
- Is share of population living below national poverty lines rising or falling in Portugal?
- Over the last ten years it is down 8.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Portugal data come from?
- The figures come from World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of population living below national poverty lines. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
National poverty headcount ratio is the percentage of the population living below the national poverty lines. National estimates are based on population-weighted subgroup estimates from household surveys.