Poverty in Portugal

Despite some positive macroeconomic trends, poverty and social exclusion continued to cause considerable concern in Portugal in the 90s, particularly when compared with other EU countries.

All the studies on poverty in Portugal in the 90s prove that this continued to be an important phenomenon in Portugal, both in absolute (high and intensive poverty levels and relative terms (compared with other EU countries).

In contrast to the situation at the end of the 80s, absolute poverty increased in the first half of the 90s. This increase is true for the rate, the intensity and also the severity of poverty (among other factors, the greater inequality in the distribution of income, reflected both by the Gini index and the ratio between the extreme deciles of income).


A more detailed analysis clearly shows that, in the 90s, poverty and social exclusion
are linked mainly to the following population groups: pensioners and the retired; agricultural workers; persons with disabilities; long term unemployed; women in single parent families; people with low education levels; families with three or more dependents; older persons living alone; those living in the interior of Portugal, in particular in Alentejo, etc.

The extreme poverty rate was calculated as 4.8% of Portuguese families in the mid 90s. It can therefore be said that in both absolute and relative terms, poverty and
social exclusion in Portugal reached very high levels in the 90s .....

from: THE FIGHT AGAINST POVERTY AND SOCIAL EXCLUSION IN PORTUGAL