Last year 18.3% of people were at risk of monetary poverty (after social transfers) in Portugal, above the European average of 16.9%.

As for the severe material deprivation rate, in 2017, Portugal was consistent with the EU at 6.9%. And 8% of people aged 0-59 in Portugal lived in households with very low work intensity, which is under the EU’s 9.3%.

Against 2008, the risk of poverty or social exclusion rate increased in ten Member States between 2008 and 2017, with the biggest rise experienced in Greece (6.7 percentage points, to 34.8%), in Italy (3.4 points, to 28.9%), in Spain (2.8 points, to 26.6%) and the Netherlands (2.1 points, to 17.0%).

The most significant decreases were in Poland (-11 points, to 19.5%), in Romania (-8.5 points, to 35.7%), in Latvia (-6.0 points, to 28.2%) and in Bulgaria (-5.9 points, to 38.9%).

In the EU, the overall rate of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion dropped from 23.7% in 2008 to 22.5% in 2017.