Portugal fulfilled the commitment to withdraw 200 thousand persons from poverty and social exclusion by 2020. In 2019, there were 721 thousand less persons in a situation of poverty or social exclusion than in 2007. Even so, the rate of being at risk of poverty or social exclusion stands at 22.4% in 2020, corresponding to an increase of more than 250 thousand persons compared to 2019. There are still more than 2.2 million persons at risk of poverty or social exclusion. This figure, which represents more than one fifth of the population, urgently calls for an in-depth reflection on these topics.

The data of the Survey of Income and Living Conditions (ICOR) conducted in 2021 report income and work conditions relative to 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic. Figure shows the evolution of poverty and social exclusion in Portugal since 2015 and of the three indicators used to construct it. All the indicators show a similar trend: between 2015 and 2019 there was a reduction of poverty and social exclusion, interrupted in 2019 and 2020, because of the pandemic. More specifically the rate of risk of poverty after social transfers in Portugal increased to 18.4% in 2020, corresponding to an increased number of 200 thousand persons in a situation of poverty in relation to 2019. A reduction to 16.4% was observed in 2021. In 2020, 5.2% of persons lived in a household with very low work intensity, 0.2 percentage points above the figure for 2019. This increase was also reversed in 2021, when this rate fell to 4.6%. The material and social deprivation rate stood at 6% in 2020, but fell to 5.3% 2021. 

The material and social deprivation rate increased to 13.5% in 2021, 0.8 percentage points higher than the rate of 2020, in the same direction of the variation for the severe material and social deprivation rate discussed in the previous point. 

Figure 2 shows some of the dimensions considered by Eurostat to calculate material and social deprivation. In 2021, at the household level, 16.4% of persons are unable to keep their house adequately heated; among the poor, this figure rises to 27.8%. It was also found that 12.2% of persons are unable to spend a weekly sum of money on themselves; in the poor population this figure rises to 27.5%.

Households with children (aged 0 to 17 years old) or elderly persons (aged over 65 years old) are more affected by material deprivation. In 2021, 1.4% of children and 4.4% of the elderly lived in households could not afford to have a meal with animal protein (or vegetarian equivalent) at least once every two days. For children and the elderly living in poverty, these figures rise to 2.3% and 10.6%.

Gross domestic product (GDP) contracted by 8.3% in real terms in 2020 in relation to 2019. Despite the measures to mitigate the impact of the crisis, this contraction had consequences for household income.

In the population in general, 18% of households report significant income reductions in 2020. Among the poor, 41.8% of households experienced income changes; 22.8% report income reductions and 19% refer to an increase. The motives most indicated for income reduction are decreased working hours and loss of employment. Likewise, the motive most referred to for increased income in 2020 is wage indexing or revaluation.

In addition to the increased expense associated with public services, such as in health, various measures directly targeted companies and households. Among the total population, 13% received at least one financial support related to the pandemic, a figure slightly below that of the poor population, 13.8%. 

In 2021, 7.3% of households were worried about not having enough food to eat, 5.1% were eating less than they thought they should be eating, and 2.4% experienced hunger, but did not eat due to lack of money or other means. For the poor population, these percentages rise to 20.6%, 13.1% and 8%, respectively. This means that more than 2 in every 10 poor persons fear not having enough food to eat. Moreover, food quality is lower for the poor population, with 15.4% having stated that they are unable to eat healthy and nutritious food (6.2% for the total population).

Housing deprivation is also higher among the poor. In 2021, almost 40% of poor households lived in housing with humidity problems, compared to 27.8% for the total population.

Interest in politics, reported in Figure 5, is an indicator of participation in society’s political life. A widespread increase in politics was observed between 2008 and 2020, among all income distribution quintiles. Even so, in 2020, in the poorest group (Q1), 8 in every 10 persons express no interest whatsoever or very little interest in politics. This figure drops to 3 in every 10 in the wealthiest group. Inequality in political participation compromises the quality of democracy, as it reduces its representativeness.