Moving to Portugal
Portugal country facts, largest cities, hub labels and reports.
Across 198 passports, 93 passports enter visa-free and 105 passports need a visa for Portugal. Check your passport below.
- Visa-free
- 93
- Visa required
- 105
Visa and entry rules
Sources checked through 3 Sept 2026.
Work and income
What is the unemployment rate in Portugal?
The national unemployment rate was 6 % in 2025. Source: Eurostat — Unemployment by sex and age — annual data (une_rt_a)15
This is the Eurostat labour-force survey series used as the canonical national answer. Other published definitions exist and are shown in the table below.
What is the median gross salary in Portugal?
The median gross salary was 1,099 EUR/month in 2022.
Half of employees earn less than this. Mean gross and national-accounts averages use different definitions and are shown in the table below. national-accounts average — shown in the table below.
Typical city (median): about 2.3%
Unemployment rate (%)
Typical city (median): about €6.20
Net rent (€/m²/month)
Typical city (median): about 6.3 µg/m³
Annual PM2.5 (µg/m³)
Typical city (median): about 2,720 incidents per 100,000 residents
Recorded incidents per 100,000 residents
Public employment service in Portugal
Official job-search, registration, counselling and training routes. Private recruitment agencies are not included.
Instituto do Emprego e Formação Profissional — Public employment service
A national service does not prove that an office exists in every city. City pages show an office only after an exact address is linked to that city. Sources checked through 10 Aug 2026.
Taxes in Portugal
National rates and comparable published scenarios. Personal tax depends on income, household and residence circumstances.
What does an average earner take home in Portugal?
A single person on an average wage keeps about 18,207 EUR/year of about 24,254 EUR/year gross per year — 75.1% of pay.
Standardized OECD Taxing Wages (standardized scenario): single person, no children, earning the average wage. The same scenario is published for every covered country, so take-home shares compare directly.
| Component | Amount / year |
|---|---|
| Net wage earnings, kept | 18,207 |
| Income taxes | −3,379 |
| Employee social contributions | −2,668 |
| Gross wage earnings | 24,254 |
- Gross-to-net pay for a sample household: single person no children — 24,254 gross → 18,207 net a year (2025, national currency) · Taxing Wages 2026 — labour taxation decomposition
Benefits newcomers may qualify for in Portugal
Public schemes where an official source defines an eligible migration or residence status. Amounts and conditions are kept in their native terms.
| Programme | Published amount | Source and application |
|---|---|---|
Abono de família para crianças e jovens — Family and child support | 88.43–190.98 EUR / Monthly | |
Eligibility and amount detailsMonthly child/family allowance for children aged 36 months or younger: EUR 190.98 in income tier 1, EUR 161.65 in tier 2, EUR 132.07 in tier 3 and EUR 88.43 in tier 4. The official gov.pt practical guide section ‘Para crianças e jovens’ requires children and young people to reside in Portugal or be treated as residents; the official service section ‘Durante quanto tempo vou receber o abono de família para crianças e jovens?’ says the benefit ends when the residence-title validity period ends for a child or young person of foreign nationality. This is the bounded profile of a foreign-national child with a valid Portuguese residence title, subject to the published child, study/work and household-income conditions. | ||
Acolhimento de requerentes de proteção internacional — Arrival and reception support | In-kind support | |
Eligibility and amount detailsThe current AIMA FAQ describes an in-kind apoio social package of accommodation, food and health care for an international-protection applicant who needs reception support because of economic hardship. The retained official materials do not publish one fixed national cash rate; no fixed EUR amount is asserted. The official AIMA responsibilities page states that AIMA ensures a unified reception and integration system for requerentes de proteção internacional and guarantees apoio aos requerentes de proteção internacional até à decisão do pedido. AIMA's retained reception FAQ further limits material reception support to an applicant who needs it because of economic hardship, and the support package is subject to the source-defined assessment and duties. | ||
Porta 65 Jovem — Housing support | Percentage-based / Monthly | |
Eligibility and amount detailsPortaria n.º 238/2024/1, Article 2(2) and Annex Table I: the monthly subsidy is calculated as a percentage of the lower of the reference maximum rent and the rent paid, with score- and duration-dependent bands of 50%, 40%, 30%; 35%, 30%, 20%; and 25%, 20%, 10%. The subsidy is paid 12 times per year. The official Portaria n.o 238/2024/1, Article 7(1)(c), requires the complete identification of each member of the young household for a Porta 65 Jovem application, including the number and validity of an identity card, citizen card or ‘autorização de residência ou de permanência’ (residence or stay authorisation). Eligibility is bounded to the residence/stay-authorisation document and the programme's separate age, permanent-home, income, rent and household conditions; it does not generalise to every foreign resident. | ||
Rendimento Social de Inserção (RSI) — Minimum-income support | 123.78–247.56 EUR / Monthly | |
Eligibility and amount detailsThe official One Value 2026 RSI page gives EUR 247.56 per month for the holder, EUR 173.29 (70%) for each adult household member and EUR 123.78 (50%) for each minor; the payable amount is calculated from the household reference amount and counted resources. The official ePortugal RSI service states that applicants must have legal residence in Portugal. It defines the migrant rule as: ‘Pessoas dos restantes países - têm de ter residência legal há um ano, no mínimo.’ The same page separately states that EU/EEA and free-movement-agreement nationals and people with refugee status need legal residence. The benefit retains the severe-poverty, household-resource, work-availability and insertion-contract conditions; it does not generalize to all foreign residents. | ||
Subsídio de desemprego — Unemployment support | Amount set per household by formula / Monthly | |
Eligibility and amount details65% of reference remuneration, calculated on a 30-day month; 2026 limits are minimum EUR 537.13 (1 IAS), maximum EUR 1,342.83 (2.5 IAS), and minimum EUR 617.70 (1.15 IAS) where the national-minimum-wage condition applies. The formula remains subject to the official exceptions and net-reference-remuneration ceiling. The official gov.pt eligibility section states: ‘Residir em Portugal’ (reside in Portugal), ‘Ter tido um emprego com contrato de trabalho’ (have had an employment contract), and ‘Ter o prazo de garantia exigido - 360 dias de trabalho por conta de outrem com registo de remunerações nos 24 meses anteriores à data do desemprego’ (the required qualifying period of 360 days of insured employment with recorded remuneration in the previous 24 months). | ||
ImmigrationDB shows published rules; it does not decide personal eligibility. Confirm your status, contribution record and household circumstances with the responsible authority before applying. Sources checked through 12 Aug 2026.
Can migrants receive medical care in Portugal?
Yes — migrants can receive medical care in Portugal when the official insurance or residence conditions are met.
Language courses and integration in Portugal
Government programmes, public integration services and exact provider records. The section expands only from fields present in the source; missing prices, refunds or contacts are not replaced with estimates.
PLA search route through Portal da Oferta Formativa — State Language Course
AIMA / Portal da Oferta Formativa
For migrants seeking Portuguese as a non-native language.
Português Língua de Acolhimento (PLA) — State Language Course
AIMA / DGEstE public-school network / IEFP / Centros Qualifica
For migrants aged 16 or older whose mother tongue is not Portuguese, residence-permit holders, people with pending residence/protection/NISS evidence.
Lisbon Social Development Plan 2025–2030 — PLA target — Municipal language course
Câmara Municipal de Lisboa and local partners
For migrant parents, children of migrant families.
Operação Português Língua de Acolhimento — Região de Lisboa — Job-related language course
IEFP / FAMI 2030
For third-country nationals in the Lisboa region.
Living and moving context for Portugal
Life expectancy was 82.4 years in 2024, with 5.851 doctors per 1,000 people. Annual PM2.5 was 18.2 µg/m³ in 2025. The 2024 groceries price level index was 84 on an EU27=100 basis. Monthly estimates put groceries at €269 and utilities at €76; household electricity was €0.276/kWh and gas was €0.099/kWh. Average gross salary was €1,698 per month in 2024, and national median net income was €882 per month. A separate 2025 median monthly net salary was €1,400. The national unemployment rate was 6.0% in 2025. The national crime rate was 3,301 offences per 100,000 people in 2024. For 2024, the employee calculation gave €8,668 a year in income tax and €7,092 in social contributions. Household net-income estimates were €1,545 per month for one person, €1,836 for a couple and €2,118 for a family.
Portugal cities by population
The largest published cities appear first. Population is taken from the reusable official city layer; hub labels come from the existing city taxonomy.
All published cities in Portugal
Reports with this country
Accepted report pages with a row for this country.
Portugal facts
Current source-backed observations, grouped the way the city pages are, with geographic scope and observation periods.
Population and profile
How many people live in Portugal?
The published population was 10,694,681 people in 2024. Source: World Bank42
National, resident population scope. Foreign-resident and migration-background figures are separate metrics in the table below.
How many foreign residents live in Portugal?
The foreign-resident population was 1,543,697 people in 2024. Source: Agência para a Integração, Migrações e Asilo (AIMA)1
Residents without Portugal citizenship. The migration-background population is a broader measure and appears in the table below.
Legal, tax and other context
| Metric | Value | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median net salary, monthly | 1,400 EUR/month | 31 Dec 2025 | Eurostat7Official · national figure |
| Public healthcare access for foreign residents | Conditional | 3 Aug 2026 | Serviço Nacional de Saúde (SNS, Portugal) — Ministry of Health37Official · national figure |
| PM2.5 — annual mean | 18.2 µg/m³ | 31 Dec 2025 | OpenAQ49Independent · national figure |
| Area | 92,230 km² | 31 Dec 2023 | World Bank43Official · national figure |
| Cost level against the capital | 84 index (EU27=100) | 31 Dec 2024 | Eurostat — Comparative price levels and HICP (prc_ppp_ind, prc_hicp_midx)11Official · national |
| Gross-to-net pay for a sample household | single person no children — 24,254 gross → 18,207 net a year (2025, national currency) | 31 Dec 2025 | Taxing Wages 2026 — labour taxation decomposition38Official · country household scenario |
| Population by year | 10,375,395 people (2020) | 1 Jan 2020 | Population on 1 January by age and sex (DEMO_PJAN)35Official · country annual series |
| Religious affiliation of residents | Other — 0.965 % (2021) | 31 Dec 2021 | UNdata Table 28 — Population by religion, sex and urban/rural residence39Official · country religion category |
| Salary by profession | Professionals — 1,848 EUR/month (2022) | 31 Dec 2022 | Mean monthly earnings by sex, occupation and size class of the enterprise (2022)24Official · country occupation |
| Doctors per 1,000 residents | 5.85 per 1,000 | Not stated | Physicians (per 1,000 people), World Development Indicators34Official · national figure |
| Household electricity price | 0.276 EUR/kWh | 31 Dec 2024 | Eurostat — Household energy prices (nrg_pc_204 electricity, nrg_pc_202 gas)13Official · national |
| People employed in agriculture, forestry and fishing | 280,450 people | 2024 | ec.europa.eu4Official · national figure |
| People employed in mining and quarrying | 11,440 people | 2024 | ec.europa.eu4Official · national figure |
| People employed in manufacturing | 731,800 people | 2024 | ec.europa.eu4Official · national figure |
| People employed in electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning | 10,950 people | 2024 | ec.europa.eu4Official · national figure |
| People employed in water supply, sewerage and waste management | 48,090 people | 2024 | ec.europa.eu4Official · national figure |
| People employed in construction | 390,840 people | 2024 | ec.europa.eu4Official · national figure |
| People employed in wholesale and retail trade; motor vehicle and motorcycle repair | 730,050 people | 2024 | ec.europa.eu4Official · national figure |
| People employed in transportation and storage | 205,770 people | 2024 | ec.europa.eu4Official · national figure |
| People employed in accommodation and food services | 393,040 people | 2024 | ec.europa.eu4Official · national figure |
| People employed in information and communication | 153,240 people | 2024 | ec.europa.eu4Official · national figure |
| People employed in finance and insurance | 87,750 people | 2024 | ec.europa.eu4Official · national figure |
| People employed in real estate | 77,060 people | 2024 | ec.europa.eu4Official · national figure |
| People employed in professional, scientific and technical services | 280,490 people | 2024 | ec.europa.eu4Official · national figure |
Common questions
Answered from the published values on this page, each with its source and date.
What is the unemployment rate in Portugal?
The national unemployment rate was 6 % in 2025. Source: Eurostat — Unemployment by sex and age — annual data (une_rt_a).
How many people live in Portugal?
The published population was 10,694,681 people in 2024. Source: World Bank.
What is the median gross salary in Portugal?
The median gross salary was 1,099 EUR/month in 2022. Source: Eurostat (Structure of Earnings Survey, earn_ses_monthly).
Is the air quality good in Portugal?
The annual PM2.5 mean is 18.2 µg/m³. The WHO 2021 guideline is 5 µg/m³ and the EU limit value is 25 µg/m³, so this reading is above the WHO guideline but within the EU limit. Source: OpenAQ.
Cite this page
Open a format to select or copy this ImmigrationDB compilation citation. The native disclosure and text fallback work without JavaScript.
APA citation
ImmigrationDB. (2026, September 12). Moving to Portugal: salary, cost of living [ImmigrationDB compilation; snapshot approved-static-d7ed373c115d60d0; version approved-static-d7ed373c115d60d0]. ImmigrationDB. https://immigrationdb.com/countries/portugal/ Retrieved 2026-09-12. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/BibTeX citation
@misc{immigrationdb_immigrationdb_moving-to-portugal-salary-cost-of-living_02ecd241b8fa,
author = {ImmigrationDB},
title = {Moving to Portugal: salary, cost of living},
publisher = {ImmigrationDB},
year = {2026},
date = {2026-09-12},
version = {approved-static-d7ed373c115d60d0},
snapshot = {approved-static-d7ed373c115d60d0},
url = {https://immigrationdb.com/countries/portugal/},
note = {Retrieved 2026-09-12. ImmigrationDB compilation. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/},
}Markdown citation
[Moving to Portugal: salary, cost of living](https://immigrationdb.com/countries/portugal/) — ImmigrationDB; ImmigrationDB; snapshot approved-static-d7ed373c115d60d0; version approved-static-d7ed373c115d60d0; retrieved 2026-09-12; built 2026-09-12.This citation identifies the ImmigrationDB compilation/page. Underlying source publishers and datasets retain their own terms; inspect the Sources section and cite those records separately. View the underlying source records.
Sources
Every number above comes from one of these records. Open the original source for its geographic scope and publication date.
- Agência para a Integração, Migrações e Asilo (AIMA) aima.gov.pt · checked 2026-08-21
- Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira, Portugal info.portaldasfinancas.gov.pt · checked 2026-08-03
- Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira, Portugal info.portaldasfinancas.gov.pt · checked 2026-08-03
- ec.europa.eu ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-08-12
- EF EPI ef.com · checked 2026-08-03
- European Medicines Agency ema.europa.eu · checked 2026-08-03
- Eurostat ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-07-14
- Eurostat ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-08-07
- Eurostat ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-08-05
- Eurostat ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-08-05
Show 39 more sources
- Eurostat — Comparative price levels and HICP (prc_ppp_ind, prc_hicp_midx) Eurostat · ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-07-14
- Eurostat — Distribution of income by household composition (ilc_di04) Eurostat · ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-07-26
- Eurostat — Household energy prices (nrg_pc_204 electricity, nrg_pc_202 gas) Eurostat · ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-07-14
- Eurostat — National accounts aggregates (nama_10_a10) and employment (nama_10_a10_e) Eurostat · ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-07-26
- Eurostat — Unemployment by sex and age — annual data (une_rt_a) Eurostat · ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-07-26
- Eurostat (Structure of Earnings Survey, earn_ses_monthly) ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-08-03
- Eurostat crim_off_cat (ICCS0101, NR) ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-09-05
- Eurostat demo_pjan ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-09-05
- Eurostat earn_mw_cur ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-09-06
- Eurostat hbs_exp_t121 ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-09-06
- Eurostat ilc_di03 ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-09-06
- Globalization and World Cities (GaWC), Loughborough University gawc.lboro.ac.uk · checked 2026-08-03
- Hospital beds (per 1,000 people) data.worldbank.org · checked 2026-08-13
- Mean monthly earnings by sex, occupation and size class of the enterprise (2022) ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-07-30
- MIPEX mirovni-institut.si · checked 2026-08-03
- OECD Centre for Tax Policy and Administration sdmx.oecd.org · checked 2026-08-03
- OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation sdmx.oecd.org · checked 2026-08-07
- OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation sdmx.oecd.org · checked 2026-08-07
- OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation sdmx.oecd.org · checked 2026-08-07
- OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation sdmx.oecd.org · checked 2026-08-07
- OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation sdmx.oecd.org · checked 2026-08-05
- Our World in Data (UNODC-backed grapher export) ourworldindata.org · checked 2026-08-03
- Physicians (per 1,000 people) data.worldbank.org · checked 2026-08-13
- Physicians (per 1,000 people), World Development Indicators api.worldbank.org · checked 2026-07-14
- Population on 1 January by age and sex (DEMO_PJAN) ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-07-29
- RASI 2024 — national recorded criminal reports and official INE population denominator RASI 2024 · portugal.gov.pt · checked 2026-07-26
- Serviço Nacional de Saúde (SNS, Portugal) — Ministry of Health Serviço Nacional de Saúde (SNS, Portugal) · sns.gov.pt · checked 2026-08-03
- Taxing Wages 2026 — labour taxation decomposition Taxing Wages 2026 · sdmx.oecd.org · checked 2026-07-29
- UNdata Table 28 — Population by religion, sex and urban/rural residence UNdata Table 28 · data.un.org · checked 2026-07-30
- WHO GHO RS_196/RS_198 ghoapi.azureedge.net · checked 2026-09-05
- WHO GHO RS_196/RS_198 ghoapi.azureedge.net · checked 2026-09-05
- World Bank api.worldbank.org · checked 2026-08-02
- World Bank api.worldbank.org · checked 2026-08-02
- World Bank Data data.worldbank.org · checked 2026-07-14
- World Bank Open Data api.worldbank.org · checked 2026-08-07
- World Bank Open Data api.worldbank.org · checked 2026-08-07
- World Bank SP.POP.TOTL api.worldbank.org · checked 2026-09-05
- OECD — Taxing Wages (DF_TAXINGWAGES) tax wedge and net income OECD · oecd.org · checked 2026-07-14
- OpenAQ openaq.org · checked 2026-07-14