Preliminary data from the National Institute of Statistics (INE) indicate that purchasing power in Portugal increased by 1.3 percentage points between 2023 and 2024, to 82.4% of the European average, maintaining the country's 15th position among the 20 countries of the eurozone and 18th in the European Union.

The Portuguese National Institute of Statistics (INE) considers per capita Individual Consumption Expenditure (PCE) to be “a more appropriate indicator to reflect the well-being of families,” which reached 85.7% of the European Union average in 2024, 0.2 percentage points higher than the previous year.

“These data are very positive. They show that we are still far from the European average, but that, in 2024, Portugal made progress in this direction,” argues the Minister of Economy and Territorial Cohesion in a statement released today.

Castro Almeida emphasizes that the Government's main objective “is to increase the income of the Portuguese people and create better living conditions for families,” therefore, “it will continue to adopt the necessary measures so that Portugal can follow a trajectory towards the European Union average.”

In an analysis by region, INE data indicates that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita in purchasing power parities for Greater Lisbon is the only one that exceeds the European Union average, reaching 128.9%.

Nevertheless, “the other regions registered increases, approaching the European Union average, except for Alentejo, which maintained the 2023 index,” the executive highlights.

Noting that “82.4% is the national average,” the Minister of Economy and Territorial Cohesion acknowledges that “great inequalities persist within the country”: “While Greater Lisbon has a GDP per capita higher than the European average (128.9%), the Tâmega e Sousa sub-region remained at 53.1% of the average,” he specified.